Lazarus Raised

Lazarus Raised
John 11:43-44

43 And [kai] when he thus [tauta] had spoken [epo] , he cried [kraugazo] with a loud [megas] voice [phone] , Lazarus [Lazaros] , come [deuro] forth [exo] .
44 And [kai] he that was dead [thnesko] came forth [exerchomai] , bound [deo] hand [cheir] and [kai] foot [pous] with graveclothes [keiria] : and [kai] his [autos] face [opsis] was bound about [perideo] with a napkin [soudarion] . Jesus [Iesous] saith [lego] unto them [autos] , Loose [luo] him [autos] , and [kai] let him [aphiemi] go [hupago] . KJV-Interlinear

43 And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth.' 44 He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, and let him go.' NASB

Jesus prayed to the Father to show those who were witness to these events, that it is by the power of God and His authority, that He, Jesus Christ, has come into this world and performs all that He does. He did not come here as an opportunist. He did not come here to earth of His own design and desire to be greater than the Father. But He came in accordance with the divine plan which was set out in eternity past, and is carried out with precision and perfection, such that no one can change any part of that plan.

Jesus prays after the tomb was opened. This bit of time gives all present, proof of the death of Lazarus. The smell alone would do this. Were there no smell of a decaying human body, then this entire event would be suspect and declared a fraud.

Jesus calls Lazarus by name. Hummm! One wonders that if He had not used Lazarus' name, then everyone who had ever died would come forth. That would get every ones attention certainly! But anyway, Lazarus only was called, and Lazarus only came forth.

Jesus did not have to call out His command. He could have merely thought it and Lazarus would still have come out. But then His audience would probably have figured that it was not He, Jesus, who made Lazarus come back to life. Thus the drama of the command in a loud voice. All could hear and see exactly what was taking place. There would be no question that it was Jesus Christ who caused this event to occur.

In the state of death, the Lazarus' body was decaying in the grave, It would have degraded substantially such that there would have been quite a bad smell, as Martha suggested. Lazarus also had a soul and a spirit. These two in death remain together, leaving the body and traveled to Paradise, which is one of four compartments in the underworld called Hades. This applies to Old Testament believers only.

Hades is the general term for the underworld. Sometimes it is a reference to hell, but only when the context is specific to that location.

In order to return to life, the soul and spirit would have to return from Paradise and reenter a healthy body capable of sustaining life. In order for the decaying body to become healthy, the decay process must be terminated and all degradation of that body must be eliminated. That means that the smell would also go away.

People would witness all of these things with all their senses. The odor disappears as the body is restored, and Lazarus' soul and spirit reenters the body. Health is restored otherwise He would not be able to rise up and walk out - still bound in his grave wrappings.

His walking out was a struggle, just as all of life is a struggle as the world tries to strangle the very life out of us all. With His wrappings removed, He is free again from death and resumes his life just as if he had been sleeping overnight and rose up again in the morning.

One can just imagine the absolute silence that must have followed Jesus' loud command. Jesus had to tell them to unwrap him which suggests that everyone was stunned into an absolute motionless state of awe!

The reactions will be mixed. For some the mere reading of the scriptures is enough to convince them of the truth it holds. For others a very dramatic event in their life is necessary before the light comes on inside their heads. For still others, that dramatic event must cause them tremendous pain before they wake up. And unfortunately for still others, there are no amount of miracles that will ever convince them that God is who He is, and that Christ is the only path to the truth.

Stubbornness and indifference are great barriers over which some have a difficult time crossing. Life is much better if you simply get with a Bible study program. But if you are one of the hold outs with a stubborn streak a mile wide, then you will (for certain) face some very difficult times within your life, all of which will be designed to make you wake up. Why should anyone make themselves hurt with great misery before they wake up.

Jesus Christ has the power over life and death. He controls history. There is nothing which He cannot do for you. You have but to get with a program which will bring you into His will for your life.

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