Such were the amazing words that fell on sorrowing ears from the lips of the Lord in the days of His life on earth. The circumstances in which they were uttered set forth our Lord’s sympathy for His own in days of trial, and His power over even death itself, throwing light on our Lord’s ways with His own. Blessed and memorable scene!
How dear was that Bethany home to which He loved to repair. There in the quiet atmosphere of love and appreciation He was often found. Three individuals in that home are mentioned in the narrative—Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. To the great grief of the sisters their brother fell seriously ill. The sisters, sure of the Lord’s interest and sympathy, sent word to Him of this sickness, believing that He who freely healed the sick as He moved about the cities of Judah and Galilee would surely hasten to their relief, and heal their brother.
The Lord replied to the message, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” Lazarus died and yet in the end he lived. The Lord knowingly and of set purpose abode two days in the same place where He was.
Did this show that He did not care sufficiently for the sisters? Surely not! The verse, that lies between our Lord’s declaration that the sickness was not to death, but for the glory of God, and the statement that our Lord tarried two days where He was, reads thus, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”
After the two days expired the Lord said to His disciples that they should go into Judaea. His disciples deprecated this, saying that the Jews were ready to stone Him, and why should He adventure into danger by going thither? He answered that when men walk in the light, they do not stumble; if they walk in the night, they stumble. Our Lord evidently was acting in perfect wisdom, walking in the light that is far beyond this world’s. So He plainly told them He was going to wake Lazarus out of sleep.
The disciples took it as meaning literal sleep, but our Lord corrected their misapprehension by saying plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” This disposes of the theory of soul-sleep. Evidently sleeping refers to the mortal body, for, if it referred to the soul, it would prove too much, for it would mean the soul was dead and ceased to exist. How could Lazarus then be awaked out of sleep, if that were true? The body was sleeping, the soul survived in full consciousness. In the resurrection of Lazarus we have his body restored to life in this world.
It is very striking that this chapter is taken up so manifestly with what Jesus said and did. We read, “When Jesus heard,” “Now Jesus loved,” “Jesus answered,” “Howbeit Jesus spake,” “Then said Jesus,” “Then when Jesus came,” “Jesus says,” “When Jesus therefore saw,” “Jesus wept.” There are several other instances in this incident in which our Lord’s name is mentioned in gracious activity, but these will show how thoroughly He dominated the situation, as indeed He always must.
As soon as Martha heard that the Lord was coming she went out to meet him. Reproachfully perhaps, she said, that if He had come in time her brother had not died, but that even now God would answer His petition, in relation to her dead brother. The Lord replied, “Thy brother shall rise again.” Martha replied, “I know that be shall rise again … at the last day.” Then our Lord gave utterance to the words that head this article, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” Thrice wonderful words! The hope of the world, without which men would be utterly hopeless. Ponder over them again and again, and yet again, till their wonder thrills your inmost soul. None but our Lord could have uttered them.
“I am” is the assertion of His deity, and these words occur again and again in the Gospel of John, and in the Book of the Revelation, written by the same disciple. The added words, “The Resurrection and the Life,” plainly imply death, for it is only the dead who rise; so the completion of this wonderful announcement implied Manhood, pure, spotless Manhood, in which the incarnate Christ fully did the will of God. In time He would lay down His precious life as a sin-offering—unlike those of bulls and goats, which were ineffectual and inefficacious—our Lord’s, the only real sin-offering, efficacious and accepted of God as the settlement of the whole question of sin. And further, the sacrifice being accepted, resurrection was the necessary sequence. But, blessed be God! it was for us believers He died substitutionally. He “was delivered for our offences.” He rose representatively. He “was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25).
Martha had said to our Lord that she knew her brother would rise again in the resurrection at the last day. She got her eye on an event, Our Lord turned her eye upon Himself.
Our Lord let Martha into a wonderful secret. Here is the whole utterance, “I am the Resurrection. and the Life: he that believes in. Me, though He were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” A believer may die, millions have, yet everyone of those believers shall live. Their bodies may crumble, and their dust be blown to the four winds of heaven, yet this statement of our Lord is gloriously true to faith. The body of a believer, alive on earth at the second coming of our Lord, will be changed, and mortality will put on immortality. The believer in that case will never die. And thank God, there are millions who might have this experience, even as these words are being read. In short, every believer on the Lord shall live eternally for their Lord is the resurrection and the life.
Martha sent for Mary, who, when she saw Jesus, fell at His feet weeping. When our Lord saw Mary weeping, and the Jews with her weeping, He groaned in His spirit and was troubled. Then we get a verse, one of the very best known and highly prized verses in the Bible. It is the shortest verse, consisting of only two words, “Jesus wept.” Yet it contains a wealth of meaning which will take all eternity to explore.
“Jesus wept”—Jesus, what does that sacred Name mean? Jehovah Saviour—Jehovah, the ever-present God, underived, self-sustained, none higher than He; Saviour, and this could not be true of Him unless He embraced Manhood, and died a sacrificial death upon the cross for our salvation. He wept! What sympathy these tears betokened; all the more wonderful in that He knew that very soon the sorrowing sisters would be filled with joy, as they welcomed their brother back to life. And our Lord is just the same today, as we stand round the open grave of a loved one, dying in the Christian faith.
The body of Lazarus was in a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Our Lord asked that the stone be removed. Evidently Martha’s faith was tested for she came forward, and reminded Him that Lazarus had lain in the sepulchre for four days, and that corruption had set in. But our Lord was indeed Master of the situation. He replied, “Said I not to thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” Then He prayed to His Father in order that those present might believe that He was the Sent One of the Father. Finally with a loud voice He cried, “Lazarus come forth.” It has been remarked, that if our Lord had not said, “Lazarus,” marking the one who was to be subject to His divine life-giving power, all the dead would have risen.
This was performed, just before His own death, the most striking of all the miracles of our Lord. Surely if He could give life to Lazarus as the life-giving Son of God, He could not be holden of death Himself. And so it was. He proved that His Name Jesus—Jehovah Saviour—was a glorious reality. One word stamps the whole scene, not death, not corruption, but life, life, LIFE! For was not our Lord the resurrection and the life? Was He not the Prince of life? “They killed the Prince of life,” but He came forth in resurrection.
Surely in witnessing such a miracle, the like of which the world had never seen, all would have rejoiced. But no! Some went their way, and informed the Pharisees of what had taken place. A council of the chief priests and Pharisees to consider the situation was held. They were alarmed. If miracles such as these were performed, all men would believe on Him, and the Romans would come and take away both their place and nation. They plotted His life from that moment with grim determination. And not many days after they carried out their fell design, and crucified the Life-giver. Such is unregenerate man in his wickedness.
In the light of all this, it can surely be seen that the Lord tarrying two days where He was, allowing the sickness of Lazarus to run its fatal course, and raising him from the dead, justified to the full our Lord’s saying, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” And this will ultimately be said of every saint whose body is placed in the grave.
And as to the chief priests getting their way, as allowed of God, in crucifying the Lord of Glory, did it plan out as they schemed and thought? Caiaphas, the high priest that year, unregenerate man as he was, ungodly plotter of our Lord’s death, was used to utter a prophecy indicating what would really be the result of Christ’s death—surely a remarkable example of inspiration, “Ye know nothing at all. Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spoke he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation.” And yet constrained to utter this prophecy, he would plot to murder Him, the Lord of life and glory. Such is man!
The evil deed of Caiaphas remains the foulest crime this world has ever witnessed. But God has turned it to good and glorious result. Righteousness, inflexible righteousness has been maintained, and because our Lord has made full atonement for sin at the Cross and come forth as the resurrection and the life, God declares His glorious Gospel, proclaiming salvation to “whosoever will.” From the Risen One has flowed streams of rich blessing to untold millions, and still the stream of blessing flows on today. What a triumph!