Lazarus sick.
Sisters ask Jesus for help.
Jesus is late.
Lazarus dies.
Jesus cries.
Jesus prays.
Miracle recovery is understatement of history.
This is an awesome story that I have been taught since I was knee high to a grasshopper and playing with the wooden blocks in Sunday School while spilling orange Raro juice down the front of my best clothes. If you were a church kid you know what I am talking about. In fact I am pretty sure there is a funny song that goes with this story but for the life of me I cannot remember how it goes.
As I grew in wisdom and understanding I realised that this story raises more questions than it answers. Firstly, why the heck did Jesus not take the time to go and see a dying friend? For someone who is all loving that seems a little harsh by my reckoning. Second, if Jesus had the power to raise Lazarus from the dead, why on earth was he crying about his death? If I knew I could bring him back I would be like "chill guys, I got this" but instead he acts like a mourner at a funeral (funnily enough).
Third, and perhaps the most perplexing for me, is that Jesus is NOT the first to be raised to life after dying. Now some of you may be thinking "well, duh" but lemme explain.
Jesus, the God-man that he is, defeated death by coming back out of the grave. The consequences of sin is death so by defeating death he also defeated sin and the hold that it has on humanity. This means that not only are we forgiven, but we now can live in eternity in bodies that are all shiny and sparkly and never decay (Twilight anyone?). That is the briefest explanation in history of what happened on the cross, and the shallowest too, but what does it mean if there was someone who was risen BEFORE Christ?
Sayings like "firstborn among the dead" that are attributed to Jesus seem to be a little more confusing. I read this now and think "Hold on, but what about our good friend Laz?" Maybe Jesus was the first to take on a renewed body. But then old Lazzy was walking around in a body that had been dead for four days in the heat of the middle east! No amount of Lynx is gonna make woman come running to that smell.
So how does Lazarus fit in with the whole resurrection thing? Thoughts?
A few thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI think Jesus grieved because he was dead, he loved him, some think he author of the gospel, the beloved disciple (e.g. Witherington). He grieved at the pain of Mary and Martha. Why 4 days, who knows? But it made it more dramatic.
Reanimations occur in the OT too, Elisha and Elijah. Just as the feeding miracles and the ultimate eschatological feast are anticipated in the feeding miracles of Moses and Elisha, they point to the ultimate. All miracles as signs, they look to the Kingdom. They are parables, proclamation--ambiguous, open to interpretation. Lazarus' raising is critical for John's account, it is the thing that turned so many people to Jesus, and made his death certain. His death sent most away again
- Mark Keown
Yep, there are resurrections well before Lazarus. But I don't think that that takes away from Jesus' resurrection at all because, well, because they all died again! It was still through Jesus' death and resurrection that sin, brokenness and death was essentially defeated. What would perhaps be more perplexing is the fact that there are some people (Enoch, Elijah) who never die.
ReplyDeleteDoes that help you in your attempt to 'Embrace the Tension'?
-Seb Murrihy
Scholars tend not to call them resurrections, revifications, reanimations etc, to keep resurrection exclusively for the ultimate, I like the distinction. Yes, the translations are perplexing.
ReplyDelete- Mark K
Did Moses die? Or did he translate to God, and return at the Transfiguration?
ReplyDelete- Mark K
Ahh yup, fair enough. Well, I guess something far more happened in Christ's resurrection than other revifications/reanimations/revitalisations/coming back to life.
ReplyDelete- Seb M
Firstborn from the dead is about status not about temporal priority, and Lazarus died again and Is buried in Cyprus. Jesus lives forever.
ReplyDelete- Phil Church
You asked why Jesus waited. Could it be his intuitive/ prayful connection to what God the father was doing?
ReplyDeleteIn this narrative there seems to be a purpose to his tardiness. He was setting the stage so that God may be glorified through his last and most impressive sign (Jn 11.4). A sign which would point forward to that moment when history will be torn in two, and when resurrection becomes a wider reality for creation. When Jesus himself would later die and be resurrected for the salvation of all. It's often considered his biggest miracle and as Mark points out is central to John's gospel of 'signs'.
- Grant Ridout
and there was probably pollen in the air so his hayfever (not to be confused with messianic-fever) was playing up, hence the tears:p
ReplyDelete- Grant R