It is Passion Week! On Sunday I asked everyone to read John 11-21 to prepare for Easter. This week I will blog on my reflections as I read through the chapters. Today, it is John 11-12...
I have preached on John 11 several times. It is one of my favorite chapters (John is my favorite book in the Bible...chapter 13 is pretty good too!) in Scripture. What sticks out to me reading through it this time is not chapter 11, but chapter 12!
In John 11, we see so many crucial and important things...Jesus waiting for Lazarus to die before going to see him. Christ's interactions with Martha and Mary. Jesus breaking down in a painful, sorrowful sobbing as He confronts death. Of course, the resurrection of Lazarus. What about the fallout?
We see the leaders determine then, because of what happened, that they have to rid themselves of Jesus. The witness of Lazarus' LIFE is the catalyst of Christ's DEATH. I want to you to think about Lazarus. Lazarus is a threat. He is a WITNESS of Christ's power and deity. His very life is a witness. Wherever he goes, he is a reminder to everyone of Christ and what happened.
A physical resurrection will do that. Watching Lazarus eat, sleep, walk, and talk...his breathing points everyone to Jesus. That resurrection wasn't about the physical as much as it was an illustration of the spiritual. If you know Jesus. If you believe in Him, then you are just like Lazarus. You have been spiritually resurrected!! Pretty cool!
Now, in chapter 12 we see the fallout of that. At the end of chapter 11 and in chapter 12, it says that the crowds came to see Jesus and Lazarus! It says they were talking about it. The challenge is that we also are all living witnesses. We were all dead in our trespasses and sins. We have all been resurrected. What do people see in you? Do they see a transformation? Does your presence point people to Christ? A challenging thought...with more to come!
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