Unbind him, and let him go!

Meditation on John 11 (selected verses)

March 15, 2015

     

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was…

    When Jesus arrived in Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’

      When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’

     Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’

***

      Last Sunday in our confirmation class, we talked about eternal life--and what it means to be “saved.” We discussed some really important questions, such as who will be saved? What about Christians who fall away from the faith? Does God want everyone to be saved? Is there really a heaven--and a hell? If so, what are they like?

      I told the students that the Bible says that human beings need to be saved or rescued because of the first sin in the Garden of Eden. That first sin long ago brought evil and death into the world, corruption into God’s good Creation. Humanity would be stained by this sin and separated from God, until God sent His Son so that we might be freed from sin and reconciled with Him. Jesus took the punishment that we deserved when he died on the cross. Now we have the promise of new, abundant and everlasting life with Him.

       Yes, God desires all people to be saved. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the WHOLE world that he gave his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, so that all who believe on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. We don’t know if all people will become believers, but we don’t judge others. God has shown extraordinary grace and mercy to us. He calls us to do the same--to love our neighbors. We are lights to the world, messengers of the Good News, bearers of Christ's peace, builders of Christ’s Kingdom.

     I asked the students what they believe about heaven and hell. Heaven is a place where we are with God forever. Where we can finally see him face to face. And there is singing. And feasting. And joy as we worship the Lord. And there is love--more than we have ever experienced. And we are with the ones we love. No more worry, fear, suffering or pain. Hell is more difficult to talk about. We know it is a place of pain and suffering, “weeping” and “gnashing of teeth.” If we choose not to believe on the Lord Jesus and spend eternity with God in heaven, then we choose to spend eternity separated from God. This would be more horrible than we can imagine--to never again be in the presence of God’s light and love.

     Then, there was another good question. Why did Jesus raise people from the dead? “Oh, you mean Lazarus,” I said. So the glory and power of God would be seen and the true identity of Jesus would be known. And more people would come to believe. 

***

     “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus says in John 11:25 to his dear friend Martha, whose brother Lazarus, had died 4 days before. “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

     Martha and her sister Mary are grieved that the Lord has taken so long to respond to their summons. They believe that if Jesus had been there sooner, Lazarus would not have died. They had faith for the miracles they had seen Jesus do. He opened the eyes of a blind man. He commanded a paralyzed man to take up his mat and walk--and he did. He healed the son of a royal official, a child who was “at the point of death.” All of these people were still alive! They could not imagine that Jesus could bring to life what was already dead.

      But Jesus will do this--after Martha confesses her faith. She says to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” Yet even with her confession, Martha protests when Jesus, at the tomb, cries out, “Take away the stone!” Martha says, “‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’” The smell of the decomposing body has persuaded her that it is too late for a miracle.

    Jesus prays, then, in his grief, thanking God for always hearing his prayers. He asks for the miracle not for selfish reasons--because he is grieving his friend. He seeks God’s glory and asks that those who are gathered would come to believe that God sent him.

    When Lazarus comes out at Jesus’ shout, his hands and feet are still wrapped with the strips of cloth he wore when they laid him in the tomb. Jesus says, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

    Reading this passage this week, I questioned why the Lord would command that the stone be removed from the tomb, and why, when he brought Lazarus back to life, he would command others to remove the strips of cloth? Couldn’t Jesus have performed this miracle without any help? The answer is, “Of course.” With God, all things are possible. So there must be a reason for both. When I think of the stone being removed from the tomb, I think of the scene of Christ’s empty tomb--don’t you? I think we are meant to imagine this scene. When Mary and the others arrive, the stone has been rolled away. The whole account of the raising of Lazarus points to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ--and reminds us of His promise that we, too, will be raised with Him!

     When Christ commands the crowd to remove the cloth, doesn’t his words sound like a call to ministry, a commissioning? Friends, Christ doesn’t need our help! He can save the world without us! But he invites us all to be partners with Him in His life-giving, reconciling work when he says, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

    This passage, like others that tell of Christ’s miracles, emphasizes the importance of faith. Like Martha, we say we believe in Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world. But then we decide that it’s too late for a miracle--so we don’t even ask for one! We struggle with unbelief and hopelessness when faced with an obstacle or trial in our lives. And yet God gives us trials to lead us back to him, to reveal his glory and power, and strengthen our faith! We are so quick to withdraw in fear, dissolve into tears, slide into self-pity, or let loose angry words rather than seek the Lord in prayer. Didn’t Jesus model this for us when he is greatly distressed at Lazarus’s tomb?

     Sisters and brothers, we can trust the one, the only One, who can bring back to life what was already dead! The one who promises new and abundant life to all who believe on Him!

    The raising of Lazarus would lead many of the Jewish people who witnessed the miracle to become believers in Jesus the Messiah that day. But others would tell the Pharisees, who feared that more Jews would come to believe in Jesus. And the Romans would come and destroy them all.

      From that day on, they planned to put Jesus to death.

     

Let us pray.

Lord God, like Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb, we offer up to you our thanks and praise. Thank you for always hearing our prayers and for desiring all people to come to know you through belief on your Son. Thank you for your salvation, for the promise of new life as we learn to trust in you every day, no matter what obstacle, sadness, or trial lies ahead. Thank you for giving up your only Son, Lord, so that we might have new, abundant and everlasting life. Teach us to pray, Lord, rather than dissolve into tears, hopelessness, self-pity or anger. Stir us to anticipate your miracles and to be grateful for your extraordinary grace and mercy and ready to extend that grace to others. Forgive us for our lack of faith, while at the same time, like Martha, we confess our belief in Jesus the Messiah. Strengthen us to be obedient and walk as your Spirit leads, as we draw nearer and nearer to the cross--remembering when Jesus suffered, bled, and died for our sins, enduring the punishment that we deserve. And Lord we pray for our confirmation students. May they be lights to the world that you so love, messengers of the Good News, builders of Your Church and Your Kingdom. In Christ we pray. Amen.