Good morning, brothers and sisters.
I’ll ask you to open your Bibles, please, to John 11.
As we come again to the study of the Word of the Lord, I remind you of that principle of Bible study that is absolutely indispensable: total reliance upon God’s Holy Spirit.
There is no amount of research or human wisdom that can open the Word of God to our spirits. Like our Lord Jesus, the Bible has two sides: its human side and its divine side. We need to apply academics to the human side, but at the end of the day, we need to come to the Lord as little babies, as little children, and ask Him to unveil the Lord Jesus to our hearts.
Listen as I quote this wonderful prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1:17:
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom
and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.
God has put all fullness in the Lord Jesus Christ, and of His fullness we have all received. As a mother longs to give her fullness to her baby, and is pained if that fullness is not received, so our Lord Jesus hurts if we do not draw from His gracious fullness. He is full, and He is full for us.
If we could only see His infinite passion to manifest Himself to us. He promised that, if we would come as little children, He would reveal these things to us.
Bow with me, brothers and sisters, in the presence of the Lord, and let us seek His blessing on this precious Word. Let us pray.
Our Father, we thank You again that You have not left us on our own when it comes to seeing Your heart and knowing You through our Lord Jesus. You have put a Bible Teacher in our hearts: the Holy Spirit, the life of God, Who knows and searches the depths of God and reveals them unto us.
We know light dwells with You, and we ask You to dawn upon us in a living way, our Lord Jesus Christ. Unscale our eyes, we pray. Discover to our hearts a new revelation of Him.
We thank You in advance that You ever-overanswer prayer. We claim it in the all-prevailing name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
I’d like to continue our little look at John 11 this morning. Last evening, we honed in on the first part. If you were not here last evening, do not feel as though you will be lost, because when you present the Lord, every message stands on its own two feet. You can come in anywhere and still see the Lord.
There is connection, however, and let me give a little of what we were looking at. In John 11, we have a special family. The Bible says they loved the Lord, and the Bible says the Lord loved them. The Bible calls Lazarus His friend. There was union; there was fellowship. They were getting it right. They were friends of the Lord.
The chapter is full of instruction on how the Lord manifests Himself to His friends—to those who are loving Him, are loved by Him, and are enjoying fellowship and communion with Him.
Last night, we looked together at what it means for the Lord to manifest Himself to His friends. By way of review, I remind you that, in the illustration of the sickness, death, and raising again of Lazarus, all of the Lord’s dealings are designed to manifest Himself.
I pointed out yesterday that He could easily have prevented the sickness and death. But He said He was glad that He was not there to prevent it, because now He had the opportunity to manifest Himself in a greater way as One Who overcomes.
If He had prevented it, He would have been known as the One Who prevents death. But now He is known as the One Who overcomes man’s most unsolvable problem. He sometimes lets things go from bad to worse because He desires to reveal Himself in a greater way to His friends, to those who walk in union with Him.
I will not get into much more review, only to say this: How does He manifest Himself to His friends? By testing their faith.
Yesterday, we looked at the illustration: by the things He allows in our lives; by His deliberate delays; by removing His sensible presence; by confusing us to pieces with what we think is a clear word and turns out not to be a clear word; and by ministering and dealing with us as we are, and where we are, in order to bring us to the place He wants us and to turn us into those He wants us to be.
That is how He manifests Himself to His friends.
Now this morning, I would like to begin where we left off, with the words of Martha to her sister Mary. If you will glance, please, at John 11:28:
When she had said this, she went away,
and called Mary her sister secretly, saying,
The Teacher is here,
and is calling for thee.
Well, in the context of the chapter, “The Teacher is here, and is calling for you”—calling you to Himself and to the truth of resurrection life.
Jesus is everlastingly the same, and that call has been true through the ages. This morning, as last evening, I say to you with great confidence: The Teacher is here, and He is calling you to Himself and to the truth of resurrection life.
All of this is wonderfully illustrated in this chapter. This morning, I would like to look at the second part of this tremendous chapter. Just as surely as the Lord has an infinite desire to manifest Himself to His friends, this chapter also illustrates that He manifests Himself through His friends.
That is the part I would like us to consider this morning. When the Lord deals with us, He always deals in a redemptive way—that is, not only for you, but for others; for someone else.
Every time God works in your life, every time God works in my life, it is a redemptive deliverance, a redemptive work, so that it can reach out unto others.
There is no question that Lazarus was ministered unto by the Lord in this chapter. But when you read the record carefully, you see that the Lord had instruments to minister unto Lazarus. He ministered unto Lazarus by his family, by his sisters, by those related to him.
To properly discharge the burden that I believe the Lord has laid on my heart this morning, I think it would be helpful if I gave two preliminary observations. I want to back off and then come to the chapter. If you will bear with me in a little bit of donkey work, I think it will be clear how wonderfully this chapter illustrates that the Lord manifests Himself through His family, through His friends.
Glance, if you would, at John 11:23. My first observation is this: it concerns that distinctive title of our Lord Jesus given in this chapter.
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:
he that believeth on Me, though he die, yet shall he live;
and whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die.
Believest thou this?
It is that title: “I am the resurrection, and the life.”
So much has been written—so much excellent material—on that wonderful title, certainly far more than we have time to meditate on this morning. He is the resurrection. He is also the life.
The title life is an advance on the title resurrection. He is not saying the same thing twice. He is saying, “I am the resurrection, and I am the life.”
I think the shortest route to get across what is on my heart is an Old Testament illustration, and I am sure you are familiar with it. Deuteronomy 6:23 says:
He brought us out from thence,
that He might bring us in.
I love that little verse. He brought us out—and you know the context of that. He brought us out of Egypt, with all that is pictured by the slavery and bondage of Egypt, in order to bring us into Canaan, with all that is pictured by the land of Canaan.
The first is a salvation from. He brought us out; He delivered us from, in order that He might deliver us unto. He brought us out of Egypt to bring us into Canaan.
He brought us out of sin and slavery that He might bring us into Christ, the land of milk and honey. The land is a picture of life; it is a picture of our Lord Jesus. As they entered into the land, possessed the land, dispossessed the enemies, settled down, and lived off the land, so we are to live in and off of that which it pictures: our Lord Jesus Christ.
I believe, in the context of John 11, when Jesus called Himself the resurrection, it was in terms of deliverance from. Resurrection: deliverance from. You can see that in Lazarus: “Lazarus, come forth”—deliverance from the grave, from corruption, and from man’s most unsolvable problem.
But after he came from the grave, he also needed to be delivered unto—a salvation unto life. He was all wrapped up in grave clothes and so on.
Unfortunately, many Christians have only gone halfway. They know deliverance from. I am not undermining that. Thank God for the light that shows us our salvation from. But there is a life too. There is a deliverance unto. There is a salvation unto. He is the resurrection and the life.
I do not know whether you love that title of Jesus—“I am the resurrection and the life”—but if you do, then thank God for Martha. Because of Martha, we have that title. It was because of her own struggle that God gave this manifestation of Himself.
She was struggling with an incomplete view of the Savior, and He completed the view by giving this revelation. Yesterday, I told you how God deals with us as and where we are. Mary was Mary, and Martha was Martha. They were different. Though they had the same problem, they were not dealt with in the same way, because God deals with us as and where we are.
Martha needed to talk. Martha needed a theological explanation. She needed to discuss theology, the immortality of the soul, and the resurrection in the last day. He met her there. But it was in that discussion that He gave this great revelation of Himself as the resurrection and the life.
What was wrong with Martha’s statement? I think her statement revealed that she had not yet laid hold of a complete Savior. I think she understood a little about the first part—the resurrection, deliverance from—but I think God had yet to dawn upon her heart as the life.
Martha’s eyes, it seems, were more on doctrine than on the Lord. She was expecting doctrine to do something for her that only Jesus could do. Evidently, she inherited her creed from the Jews. They believed in the resurrection, and she was leaning heavily on her theology, on her doctrine.
Doctrine is a wonderful thing, but, as Owen reminded me last night, it is not Jesus. It is not Jesus. It is a wonderful thing, but it is not Him.
Many Christians expect resurrection to do something for them that only Jesus can do; the second coming to do for them what only Jesus can do; heaven to do something for them that only Jesus can do; and death to do something for them that only Jesus can do.
His glory He will not share with another. Heaven is not going to do a thing for you. Heaven is not going to do a thing for me. No—the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them. The Lamb Who is the Shepherd will do something for you. But He is not going to share His glory with something called heaven.
I have heard Christians long for death. They say, “Oh, I cannot wait for death. This abiding corruption in my heart, this old sin nature—I cannot wait to die, and then I will stop sinning.” Death is not going to help you with that. Doctrine is not going to help you with that.
Listen to 1 John 3:2:
We know that, if He shall be manifested, we shall be like Him;
for we shall see Him even as He is.
When we see Him, we will be like Him. That is the cure for the old sin nature. That is the death blow: the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John Newton wrote many hymns—more than “Amazing Grace.” That is a great one, but he wrote other hymns as well. One of my favorite hymns by Newton is called “Hatred of Sin.” We do not sing that one a lot, but it is a wonderful hymn. In the fifth verse, it says:
O no foe invades the bliss,
when glory crowns the Christian’s head;
one sight of Jesus as He is
will strike all sin forever dead.
Isn’t that a wonderful verse? One view, one sight of Jesus as He is, will strike all sin forever dead. Exactly so.
Martha said, “My brother will rise again someday, in the future, down the road, by and by.” She believed the doctrine of the resurrection. Was she right? Indeed she was. Her brother would rise again someday, down the road. But why was that true?
It was true because down the road Jesus would be there to make sure it happened. That is how it is going to happen. He is going to be there; He is going to do it.
Martha needed to know: the only reason your brother is going to rise again down the road is because I am going to be there to raise him up. I am here now. It is the same Me. I am the resurrection and the life. You do not have to wait until the future. You can enjoy a present foretaste of that right now.
It is Jesus, brothers and sisters in Christ—not something called resurrection, not some doctrine called the second coming, or something like that.
It is a precious thing to have doctrine. You look to the Lord, and your doctrine will straighten out. You look to the doctrine, and you might miss the Lord.
We think, “Someday, down the road, it is going to happen. Someday I will be filled with the Spirit. Someday I will be sold out. Someday I will be totally surrendered to the Lord. Someday I will appropriate the life of Christ. Someday I will be with Him in the heavenlies. Someday I will enjoy victory and enter into His rest.”
What do you mean, someday? Now—it is Him. There is a present foretaste right now.
If it is true that someday I will see Jesus, and that is the end of the old sin nature—one view of Jesus as He is will strike all sin forever dead—then what is my hope for victory now over the lusts of the flesh? It is seeing Him.
I need to behold the Lord, and you need to behold the Lord. That is your hope of glory: Christ in you right now.
We need, as Martha needed, to take our eyes off doctrine, even orthodox doctrine. You say, “Well, I believe in eternal security.” Eternal security, as a doctrine, never secured a flea. Put your eyes on Jesus, the Keeper of your soul. He is your hope. He is the One Who keeps you.
It is not merely the second coming of Christ; it is the second coming of Christ. It is the One Who is coming again. We need to have our eyes on the Lord.
It is not death that is going to help you; it is Jesus. It is not heaven that is going to help you; it is our Lord Jesus.
Some people talk about being pre-this, post-this, or mid-this. I do not know how you all are here in all of this. Some say, “I cannot wait for the millennium, when Jesus reigns on a throne, Satan is bound, the knowledge of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea, righteousness and peace prevail, and He rules with a rod of iron and justice.”
Are you pre-mill? I am better than that: I am pre-pre-mill. I am enjoying it now.
He reigns now. Satan is bound now. The knowledge of the Lord covers my life like the waters cover the sea now. He rules with a rod of iron now. God always intends us to look to a living Christ right now.
He is the resurrection and the life, and right now we can have a present foretaste of all that is coming. He did not tell you about the future merely so that you would know about the future. He tells you about the future so that you may know the Lord now.
Every future truth contains a present principle for how to know and enjoy the Lord Jesus Christ right now.
All of that is my first preliminary observation. I took a long way around the block to tell you that, if you understand this passage as dealing with Christ as the resurrection and the life, it will help you understand why, when God takes Lazarus out of the grave and then takes him out of his grave clothes, those are different matters: resurrection and life.
Let us do a little more donkey work, and then we will get to the text. I think there is light in relating John 11:4—
This sickness is not unto death,
but for the glory of God.
—with 1 John 5:16:
If any man see his brother sin a sin not unto death,
he shall ask, and God will give him life
for them that sin not unto death.
Remember, the Apostle John wrote both the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John. In one place he says, “This is a sickness not unto death.” In the other place he says, “There is a sin not unto death.” I think there is a relationship between the sickness not unto death and the sin not unto death.
Someone may ask, “Are you one hundred percent sure that God intended that relationship?” No, I am not. I think it is so, but I am not one hundred percent sure that God intended to unite those two things. But I know this: whether God intended it or not, it is a wonderful illustration.
The truth I am going to share is true to the balance of Scripture and the balance of truth. If you do not like the illustration, throw the illustration out. But do not touch the truth that we are going to look at.
Before we develop that illustration, let me get a little technical. This is the last time, and then we will get practical and look at the heart of the Lord.
In 1 John, what is the difference between the sin unto death and the sin not unto death?
The book of 1 John opens and closes in the same way. It opens with a double description of His people. In chapter 1, he describes those who are living in fellowship with Him as those who are walking imperfectly in the light.
If you walk imperfectly in the light, you have fellowship with Him, and the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses you from all sin.
In contrast to those who walk imperfectly with Him in the light are those who walk in darkness. That is not the same thing: walking imperfectly in the light and walking in darkness.
Those who walk imperfectly in the light are open to the Lord. Their heart is saying yes. They are positive. They love the Lord. They are not perfect; they still sin. But they love the Lord, they are open to the Lord, and they have responded to the Lord. There are still many imperfections in their lives.
Those who walk in darkness are in willful rebellion. They have said no, so they have gone off into darkness. To them, the blood of Christ is not automatically cleansing.
If you are in the light this morning, if your heart is open to the Lord as I speak and as you listen, the blood of Christ is cleansing us from sin. We are not perfect; He is perfect. We walk imperfectly in the light of Christ as God shows us Christ.
You have one light of Christ; I have another. You are to walk in your light and not put that on me. I am to walk in my light and not put that on you. But the blood of Christ cleanses us.
If you are in darkness, the invitation is to repent, confess, and come back into the light, where the blood of Christ cleanses you automatically. That is where confession comes in.
There is a lot we could say about that, but I want us to move on. Just as the book begins with those who walk imperfectly in light and those who walk in darkness, the book ends with the sin not unto death and the sin unto death.
I think the sin not unto death has to do with Christians who walk imperfectly in the light. There are still a lot of hang-ups and much uncrucified filth, practically, in their lives, but it is not unto death. So He says, “Pray for them.” Pray for Christians walking in the light who are sinning, but not unto death, and I will grant them life.
There is a lot you could say about the ones we are not supposed to pray for. I think that is willful rebellion, but that is a subject all its own. I will let the brothers here handle that one.
Come back, please, to John 11. Our Lord Jesus manifests Himself through His friends.
I think Lazarus is a wonderful picture. He is a lover of Christ, and Christ loved him. There is fellowship. He is a friend of God. But sickness got into his life. Do not think merely of physical sickness; that is a principle. Sickness got into his life.
What happens when sickness gets in the way in the life of a friend of God, one who loves the Lord? What happens when death gets in the way? I think we have here an illustration of salvation from and unto.
Let me take you to the text, John 11:43–44:
And when He had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice,
Lazarus, come forth.He that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave-clothes;
and his face was bound about with a napkin.
Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
“Lazarus, come forth”—that is salvation from. But the man who had died came forth bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said, “Unbind him. Loose him. Let him go.”
He was delivered from death, the grave, corruption, pollution, and man’s most unsolvable problem. He was alive, but he was not free. He was alive—no question about it—but he needed to be delivered unto another life.
He was still in his grave clothes, wrapped in the linens of death. He was raised, but entangled. He was encumbered with the rags of death, and he needed to be set free. The risen man was still in bondage.
If you remember your own life, you can probably testify to this same experience. I know it is true in my life.
In 1958, “Ed Miller, come forth,” and I was born again. Bless God, I came out of the grave. I came out of the grave.
And I lived like that for seven years—in my grave clothes. I had no clue that I had been given a life not my own, that there was a supernatural life. I did not know.
You are saved to serve, all right. Have you ever tried to serve the Lord when you are wrapped in linen and grave clothes? I did. I served the Lord like that. What a terrible picture it was: alive, but still bound. The new life was not released.
Even now, by God’s grace, as I walk imperfectly in the light, God is using His dear children to unwind me and release the life that is now from God. It is a glorious, glorious ministry.
Having said that, let me suggest from the text three ways God ministers through His friends. He not only manifests Himself to us, but through us.
Mary and Martha had a wonderful threefold ministry, and I believe He has called His body to that same ministry.
Let me give the illustrations up front, and then go back and comment on each one. Number one, John 11:3:
The sisters therefore sent unto Him, saying,
Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick.
The first ministry is prayer—simple little prayer.
The second ministry is found in John 11:39:
Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone.
The third ministry is found in John 11:44:
Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
There is the ministry of unbinding. There is the ministry of loosing. There is the ministry we have in the life of a friend of God who has death in his life, but it is not unto death. We have a ministry to release the new life he has—to unbind him and let him go.
Those are our three ministries: pray, remove the stone, and loose him and let him go.
Mary and Martha came to the Lord Jesus—or sent a messenger—and said, “He whom You love is sick.”
Remember the verse I quoted in 1 John 5:16. If you see someone sinning a sin not unto death, ask, and God will give life. That is a neglected, precious verse that God has given to us.
They did not ask the Lord Jesus to come and heal their brother. I am not saying that it is wrong to do that. I am simply saying they did not do that. Certainly Jesus could have healed Lazarus; He could have raised him up. No problem at all.
But they left it to the Lord. They simply brought their brother and said, “He whom You love is sick.”
You almost have to recall 2 Kings 19, where Hezekiah received that letter from Sennacherib threatening the people of God. The Bible says he opened it up and laid it before the Lord. “Lord, read it. There it is.”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we all walk imperfectly in the flesh. We have not arrived. If you see someone sinning a sin not unto death—in other words, they love Jesus, they love the Lord, they love His Word, but somehow death comes in and sickness comes in—do you pray for them?
Do you bring them before the Lord? Do you pray for them?
Someone may have a short fuse, but they love the Lord. They have this short fuse, and they lose their temper. You say, “Well, they need counseling.” Maybe. But maybe they need prayer, and God will give them life.
You see someone who is unforgiving, lazy, or neglects the Word of God. You talk to them, and they love the Lord. They neglect the people of God, but they love the Lord. Their heart seems open if they had some life, but there are all these imperfections.
Maybe they gossip. Maybe they exaggerate. Maybe they are lazy. Maybe they are presumptuous. We say, “Well, that offends me. We need to separate ourselves, have a censor on them, and rebuke them.” Maybe—but start off: “Lord, he whom You love is sick.”
If you would present one another, if I would present my brothers and sisters—we all do not have the same light—but if you see an inconsistency in a life, sometimes God may lead you to go to that brother or sister, open the Scriptures, and deal with it. Very often, however, I think He has called us simply to say, “Lord, he whom You love is sick.”
I have a dear—let me say relative—that I am praying for. There is something in this life, and I am excited because of this new promise I have received. I just know He is going to give life.
If they have impatience, it does not say He is going to give patience. He always gives life in answer to prayer. He always gives the revelation of Christ. I have been praying, looking, and watching. I want to see God do a wonderful thing.
That is the first part of how the Lord ministers through us. I think Satan has gotten us so distracted by the second half of 1 John 5:16—“What about the sin that is unto death? What does it mean that we should not pray for them?”—that we lose the promise of the first half.
The first half is that we can pray for our brothers and sisters, and God will give them life. What a power God has put in our hands, and we are not using it. We are not praying for one another.
Look at John 11:39, please. The second part of the Lord’s manifestation of Himself through His friends is: “Remove the stone.”
What does it mean to remove the stone? How will you remove the stone from my life? How do I remove the stone from your life? What is pictured by the rolling away of the stone?
I think that if you look at the grave of our Lord Jesus, you get a little light on what it means. The rolling away of the stone was a messenger of good news. That stone was to tell a story. When it was rolled away, it announced good news: the gospel. Jesus is alive.
But remember John 20:1–2. When Mary Magdalene saw the stone, she did not hear good news; she heard bad news. She looked at the stone and said, “Somebody has stolen His body.” It was not designed to say bad news. It was designed to say good news: Jesus is alive. He is no longer here.
What does it mean to roll the stone away? I think it means to declare good news. It is to go to a brother or sister who has death in their life, roll the stone away, and say, “Something wonderful can happen here. There is some good news for you. Jesus can do something with this situation.”
You might think that is an easy thing to do. It is a lot easier to pray than to roll the stone away. One reason is John 11:39. The New American Standard words it this way: “Lord, by this time there will be a stench.” I like the King James: “By this time he stinketh.”
It takes the life of Christ and an act of faith to roll away the stone from a brother or sister who has death in their life, because very often, by this time, it stinketh.
The situation stinks. It is so corrupt, so vile, so rank.
Christians are generally open to the Lord, but they can get themselves so messed up. Then death takes over, and things begin to disintegrate.
They love the Lord, but in the hour of temptation they go down. Their marriages get messed up, and their children get messed up. They violate the law and get in trouble with the law. They get into depression—awful depression—and nervous breakdowns.
There is the lust of the flesh, bondage to pornography or something else, and drugs. It is amazing what Christians can get involved in. Yet you know they love Jesus. You know they love the Lord.
It takes a miracle of God for you to go to that situation that stinks, roll the stone away, and say, “I am announcing that He can do something wonderful for you.”
We have a dear sister in Newport. I have a battle going on in my soul, because up here, I honestly do not believe even the Lord can help her. I have struggled. I want so much to roll the stone away from her life. Her situation stinketh.
It is horrible what she got messed up in. Then she will come and weep, love the Lord, and pour out her heart; then she goes right back into the same old thing. There is no deliverance.
I want to be able to roll the stone away and say with assurance and conviction, “God can do something for you. There is a miracle that is possible.” Yet, in my heart, I do not even believe it is going to happen.
We need to trust the Lord to give us faith: first, to pray for our brothers and sisters. If there is trouble in their life, inconsistency, or if they are not living up to the character of Christ, pray for them, and He will grant life.
Then, by God’s grace, roll the stone away. I know your heart will recoil and say, “Oh, Lord, no, You cannot.” Roll the stone away. Watch what the Lord will do.
You cannot raise them from the dead. He has to do that. But you have a ministry in rolling the stone away, and I have a ministry in rolling the stone away.
Jesus could have rolled the stone away by a word: “Roll away.” He could have done it with an angel. He had done that before. He could have used an earthquake. But He wants to use you. He wants to use me. He wants to use the family of those who are friends of God.
Pray for them. Roll the stone away. Announce that this is not impossible—not for the Lord. I know it stinks. I know it is corrupt. I know it is vile. But it is not impossible, not for Jesus.
Declare the good news. Declare the gospel. Roll the stone away. Tell them that the Lord can do something, and then stand by and watch Him do it.
Finally, John 11:44:
And he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with grave-clothes;
and his face was bound about with a napkin.
Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
Jesus could have brought Lazarus right through those grave clothes. He did that for Himself. Of course, there is a difference: He was raised in an immortal body; Lazarus would die again. We know that.
But my point is this: if He could break the bands of death, certainly He could break the bands of grave clothes. He could have done it. But He wants to use you. He wants to use me. He wants to use the body to minister unto the body.
He wants us to have a redemptive part in bringing our brother or sister to the place where the life God has put within might be released.
Do not read this casually. I have read the traditions concerning how they used to bind these feet. They tied their hands and feet, wrapped them like a mummy in layers, and put spices between the layers. It was like glue. They glued them together.
I do not know whether you have a mental image. “Lazarus, come forth.” How did he do that? Do you think he floated out of there? Did he shuffle out? Did he hop? Did he fall over and roll out?
It is almost as sad as it is funny, because that is how many Christians live. They are there, trying to do the work of the Lord and trying to minister, but they are so tied up. The life of Christ, the resurrection life, the life not their own—the new life—is all bound up.
I wonder what their emotions were. If they floated out, I know there are some of us who would have been out of there. I do not know about you. Maybe they were excited. Maybe they were terrified. Maybe they were happy. I do not know.
Can you imagine if it was your loved one in that sheet? That is your grandfather. That is your mother. That is your wife whom you laid away. That is your husband. That is your little baby. That is your child. That is your neighbor. That is your friend.
If that were my Lillian, and Jesus said, “Loose her, let her go,” how tenderly I would do that. That is my wife. I would take those cloths off, and when I saw her eyes, I would cry. I would hug her and kiss her.
Is that how you treat your brothers and sisters who are bound? Pray for them. Roll the stone away. Declare that Jesus can do something for them.
Then, by the grace of God, help them to see with His life and help them to hear again with His life. Help them to speak by the life that is within.
He is not calling you to give them lessons on how to have a good family, how to be a husband, how to evangelize, or how to do mission work. He is calling you to release the life of Christ. That is what it is all about: the life that is within.
Loose him and let him go. Let him see with God’s eyes, hear with God’s ears, and speak with the life God gives him. Let him serve with God’s hands and walk in the paths of the Lord. Help him. Help him.
God has left that to us: to minister in such a way as to release the life of Christ.
Tradition tells us that Lazarus lived another thirty years after this. I do not think he needed a course on evangelism. I do not think he needed a course on missions or on how to present the gospel.
John 12 gives us the sequel. It is the last time Lazarus is mentioned in the Bible. They had a great feast, and the Bible says he was there. People came to see him who had been raised from the dead.
When you know Christ as the resurrection and the life, you become a channel through which He can minister His life and help others to know Him as the resurrection and the life.
When you know Christ as life, all you have to do is show up. That is all Lazarus did for the next thirty years: he just kept showing up.
As he showed up, there was an attraction, because it was not his life. It was another life. God’s children have the privilege of helping set that life free.
Brothers and sisters in the Lord, the Teacher is here, and He is calling for you—calling for you to come to Him and to come to the truth of resurrection life.
He will try your faith so that He can manifest Himself to you, but it is so that He can manifest Himself through you.
If you see a brother or sister who sins a sin not unto death, pray for them. God said, “I will grant him life.” Oh, glorious promise. May God help us to embrace it.
Roll the stone away. You might be Lazarus. You might be the one bound like this. Then know that your brothers and sisters are here to help you.
They will tell you what God has done in their lives. They will announce that it is not impossible. You say, “But you do not know how rotten, how corrupt.” It does not matter. Jesus can do something. He can make something.
Your brothers and sisters are here to love you and to tenderly help you see with His life and hear with His life.
May God help us. He wants to manifest Himself to us and through us. The Master is here. He is calling for you.
Thank You, our Father, not for what we think these things might mean, but for all that You know they mean. Will You work that in our hearts? You have inspired these things.
Burn them into our spirits, we pray. We ask You, by Your grace, to deliver these saints from anything that was not from You. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.