Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are three siblings in the New Testament record, who became very prominent people in biblical history and in the record of how God’s providence deals with individual people in very unique ways. Their relationship and experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ has left a powerful and enduring testimony of how God loves people and how people can love God.
- Mary anointed the Lord with ointment, wiped His feet with her hair, and was the one Jesus praised for sitting at His feet to take in everything He said during one of His visits (John 12:1-3).
- Martha complained to Jesus that her sister Mary was not helping her with all of the food preparation during one of Jesus’ visits to their home (the same visit mentioned above) - John 12:1-3.
- Lazarus is the focus of the biblical record in John 11, although the actions and reactions of Mary and Martha contain very important spiritual lessons as well. It is also fascinating, that during the 4 days the body of Lazarus laid in the tomb, his spirit and soul were fellowshipping with God and other believers already in heaven. Then Jesus called his spirit and soul back into his body and raised him back to life...to be a great witness for Christ.
Lazarus is also mentioned several times in the next chapter...John 12...for very interesting reasons.
- Lazarus, Mary, and Martha entertained Jesus again six days before the Passover. They provided another meal for Him as they fellowshipped.
- Lazarus had the pleasure and the privilege of reclining next to Jesus as they enjoyed the meal. It had to be a unique feeling for Lazarus to look at Jesus, talk with Him, and keep thinking ... “This is the man who raised me from the dead. If it weren’t for Jesus, my body would still be lying in that tomb, rather than enjoying this meal with Him here in my house”.
- Lazarus witnessed his sister Mary pour the pint of pure nard on Jesus’ feet and wipe it off it with her hair. I think we can be sure that Mary was just as grateful as Lazarus, that Jesus brought her brother back to life. How would you feel if Jesus raised your beloved brother or sister from the dead?
- Lazarus became somewhat famous, because of his resurrection, which caused a large crowd to come to his house to see him. Verse 9 says they came to see Jesus and Lazarus.
- Lazarus also became a new enemy of the chief priests. Verse 10 states how the Jewish Leaders now wanted to kill Jesus and Lazarus as well, because he was such a powerful proof of Christ’s supernatural power. They could not deny the awesome miracle, which was causing many other Jewish people to believe in Jesus, as the promised Messiah.
- A few days later, as Jesus was entering Jerusalem for the Passover, many people who had watched Jesus call Lazarus back to life and out of his tomb were following Jesus into Jerusalem. As they walked, they told more and more people about Lazarus’ resurrection, causing even more people to follow Christ. When the Pharisees heard and saw all of this happening, they got angrier and more frustrated. They complained to each other saying, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”
- The resurrection of Lazarus was one of the greatest miracles Jesus did during His ministry and everywhere Lazarus went, he had such a powerful effect on people. He lived out the rest of his life as a supernatural witness to Jesus Christ....the promised Messiah, who had come in the flesh.
John 1:1-2: In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word (Jesus) was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God. He was with God in the beginning.
John 1:14: The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Historical Note: According to Saint Epifanios, Bishop of Konstantia in Cyprus, righteous Lazarus was thirty years old at the time of his death and resurrection, and lived another 30 years after being raised back to life. Another tradition recorded that in order to escape the hatred of the high priests, Lazarus fled to Kitio in Cyprus (in about 33 A. D.) just over 200 miles from the coast of Israel, where there was a large Jewish community.
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The story of Lazarus mentioned in John 12
John 12:9-11: Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of Him, but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of Lazarus, many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in Him.
Historical Note: In Cyprus, Lazarus met the Apostle Paul and his ministry partner...Barnabas, as they were traveling from Salamina to Paphos. They consecrated Lazarus as the first Bishop of Kitio, a ministry he had founded himself. He acted with love and affection as the shepherd of the Church there and served for some eighteen years, until the end of his life (at 60).
The first tomb of Lazarus in Bethany remains as a site for pilgrims to this very day. The second tomb on the island of Cyprus was found in Kitio sometime in 890 AD with his relics inside and bearing the inscription: "Lazarus, the Friend of Christ".
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Background of John 11
The story of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha in John 11 begins at their Judean home in Bethany. "Simon the leper" (Mark 14:3) was also from Bethany.
Bethany is on the Southeast slope of the Mount of Olives, on the carriage road to Jericho. Notice on the map below how close Bethany is to the Mount of Olives and also how close it is to Jerusalem.
It is so close to Jerusalem (2 miles or a 40 minute walk), that Jesus often preferred to lodge in Bethany, when He had things to do in Jerusalem.
Thus, the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus became the center of many significant activities and events and anytime Jesus came to their home, there was always an entourage (disciples, etc...) that came with Him, plus the curious crowds.
IMPORTANT: To get the maximum spiritual benefit from this devotion, can I appeal to you to do something for me? As you read through each section of this story, make a conscious effort to visualize yourself being in Lazarus’ place...as he was living there with his beloved sisters, as he got sick, as he died, as he was buried for four days, and then as he was brought back to life by Christ? Visualize going through these experiences yourself. In your imagination, put on your virtual reality glasses, which will allow you to see yourself in Lazarus’s body, as he goes through this series of life changing experiences. If you will do this, you will visualize yourself coming out of the tomb you share with Lazarus as a new person...for the glory of God.
The name Lazarus means:
“God Has Helped” ~or~ “My God Is Helper”
Now that we know the name LAZARUS means “God has helped” or “My God is helper”, we are prepared to see how God helped Lazarus in John 11.
Below is the complete text of John 11:1-44. It is grouped into sections, which naturally go together conversationally...so that it becomes like a dialogue in real time.
Image Resource credits: The excellent images used in this devotion were provided by a website called “FREE BIBLE IMAGES”. Their awesome tools and materials are found at: https://freebibleimages.org/illustrations/gnpi-071-lazarus-resurrection/
Verses 1-3: Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick”.
Verses 4: When He heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it”.
BACKGROUND NOTE
There are 3 kinds of sicknesses identified and illustrated in the Bible, which can give Lazarus’ sickness a helpful context.
- A sickness unto death.
...A sickness unto death means that your specific time to die has finally come and you will die through this sickness.
...Hebrews 9:27 affirms this in saying, “People are destined (appointed) to die once and after that to face judgment”.
...The great prophet Elisha is a perfect example of this in 2 Kings 13:14: Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness (sickness) from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him.
...Elisha was one of the greatest and most powerful prophets in the Bible and yet God chose to allow him to die of a sickness. God could have taken him to heaven alive, just like God did with Elijah (the prophet before Elisha). A chariot of fire came down from heaven, picked up Elijah, and took him back up to heaven alive. Elijah never had to experience death, just like Enoch in Genesis 5:24. But Elisha went the normal way...God allowed him to get sick and die, so his spirit and soul could go on to heaven.
...Therefore, if a person comes down with a “sickness unto death”, they will die. It is their time to go and praying for them to be healed won’t help or save them. It is their appointed time to die. But during the time of their sickness, they do have this one last chance to examine themselves, make sure they are saved, and know Jesus Christ personally, because when they take that last breath...then the judgement starts...if they are not truly saved.
- A sickness unto chastisement (discipline/correction).
...A sickness unto chastisement means that God has allowed a person to get sick, because of sin in his or her life.
...God allows the sickness to come into their life to get their attention and to motivate them to deal with it...meaning they acknowledge it to God, repent of it, and turn away from it. When they respond properly, God will heal them of the sickness. If they refuse to deal with it and do not respond, the illness can turn into a “sickness unto death”.
...Therefore, a “sickness unto chastisement” is the Holy Spirit working proper discipline and correction into the life of a person, with the goal of bringing the person to repentance, and then physical healing.
...In 1 Corinthians 12:27-38, Paul exhorted the Christians in that church to examine themselves (for any known sin) before they partook of the Lord’s Supper. He actually told them that there were many of them who were weak and sick and had even died already, because they had taken the Lord’s Supper with sin in their lives...so they better start taking it seriously and come to the supper with a pure, clean heart.
...In John 5:1-15, Jesus dealt with an invalid man. He healed the man, but then told him to stop sinning or something worse could happen to him. That is a pretty clear example of “cause & effect”.
- A sickness unto the glory of God.
...Now we get to Lazarus’ case. He was very sick and getting sicker, when Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus to please come quickly and help their beloved brother.
...God did not allow Lazarus to get sick, because he had been sinning...a sickness unto chastisement, discipline, or correction – nor was Lazarus experiencing a sickness unto death (permanent death).
...Jesus explained that the sickness Lazarus had - would lead to the glory of God. God and Jesus would be glorified through this sickness, but it would mean Lazarus would experience a temporary death. BUT...the temporary death and sadness would be followed by a supernatural resurrection...which would glorify God as much as any miracle in the Bible, excluding the death and resurrection of Christ Himself...and it would bring unbelievable joy into the lives of Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and everyone who knew them. This put Bethany on the map.
Verses 5-8: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days, and then He said to His disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
When Jesus purposely stayed where He was for two more days, it became obvious that He was allowing the needed time for the sickness to take its toll on His friend Lazarus. Therefore, we see how the Lord always has His own unique and perfect time line, as He operates in the lives of His children. In reality, He is never early and He is never late. He is always right on time, for His perfect will to be done.
There will be circumstances in our lives, where we do not understand God’s perfect will at the time we are going through a tough and challenging experience...but we will see God’s perfect will later. This is why we are called to walk by faith, until faith becomes sight.
As He completes the trial we are going through, we will see how His will was being done, just as Mary and Martha saw what Jesus was really up to...by allowing Lazarus to die.
They got to see the power and the glory of a resurrection. How much more awesome is a resurrection...than just being alive, getting sick, and being healed of the sickness?
As we will see, Mary and Martha did not grasp His use of time. They were very sad and disappointed, and thought that Jesus had blown this opportunity, by not coming when they first called for Him (sent word to Him through their friends).
Verses 9-20: Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” After He had said this, He went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up”.
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better”. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but His disciples thought He meant natural sleep.
So then He told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him”. Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him”.
On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask”. Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again”. Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day”.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world”. After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside.
“The Teacher is here”, she said, “and is asking for you”. When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him.
When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”.
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord”, they replied. Jesus wept.
Jesus did not just cry, He wept with intense emotion, even though He knew He was about to resurrect Lazarus. His weeping fully demonstrated how much He cared for these three people, but it also reveals how much He cares for you!
Psalm 34.17-18: When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Isaiah 43.2: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you...and through the rivers...they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Then 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?”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone”...He said. “But Lord”...said Martha, the sister of the dead man...“by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days”. Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
Without the process of Embalming, here is what happened to the body of Lazarus during those four days in the tomb, as his body went through the first three stages of Decomposition.
The rate of decomposition is largely dependent on the cause of death, the weight of the deceased, and other environmental factors. For example, bodies decay at a faster rate if they are exposed to the elements or wildlife, if they are in warm environments, or if they are under water. This is why forensic scientists created body farms (warning: article contains images of human decomposition) to study human decomposition rates under various conditions. Below, we focus on the decomposition process without embalming when a body is in a neutral climate, not in a coffin, and the remains are undisturbed.
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This list has six stages of decomposition, but we are focusing on the first three, which equate to the 4 days Lazarus was in the tomb. I put these three in bold black text, but I also listed the last three for your curiosity.
- 3 hours postmortem: stiffening of the muscles — aka rigor mortis — sets in.
- 24-72 hours postmortem: internal organs begin to decompose due to cell death; the body begins to emit pungent odors; rigor mortis subsides.
(Remember Martha’s warning to Jesus above.)
- 3-5 days postmortem: as organs continue to decompose, bodily fluids leak from orifices; the skin turns a greenish color.
- 8-10 days postmortem: the body turns from green to red as blood decomposes and gases accumulate.
- 2+ weeks postmortem: teeth and nails fall out.
- 1+ month postmortem: the corpse begins to liquefy into a dark sludge.
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So, we can see what Jesus was facing, as He looked toward the tomb, and commanded Lazarus to come out. We can also see what shape the body of Lazarus was in, when the voice of Jesus reached his decomposed ears. You can visualize how soiled the white linens were, that his body had been wrapped in, by those bodily fluids leaked from his orifices...which turned his skin to a greenish color.
HOW POWERFUL WAS THE VOICE OF JESUS CHRIST, WHEN HE SIMPLY SPOKE THREE WORDS...”LAZARUS COME OUT”!
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard me. I knew that You always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent me”.
When He had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice (“mega voice” in the Greek), “Lazarus, come out”!
Note: If Jesus had not called Lazarus specifically by name and just issued the general command to “Come out”, every dead person in the world would have been brought back to life.
Also important, when Jesus spoke to Lazarus, He was actually speaking to the spirit and soul of Lazarus (the real Lazarus), which were in the 3rd heaven with God...when Jesus called out to him.
When a Christian dies, his or her physical body will stay on the earth (hopefully in a proper grave) until the rapture or the 2nd Coming, but the spirit and soul of that Christian will go immediately to the 3rd heaven (that the Apostle Paul visited in 2 Corinthians 12), and into the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
At either the rapture or the 2nd Coming, the spirit and soul of each Christian, that had died already will be reunited with his or her physical body. Their spirits and souls never died, but resided in heaven until the resurrection of their bodies.
So, Lazarus is a perfect example of how each believer’s spirit and soul will be reunited with their bodies...also just like the spirit and soul of Jesus was reunited with His body at His resurrection.
Jesus commanded the spirit and soul of Lazarus to come back from heaven and re-enter his decaying physical body. The moment his spirit and soul re-entered his body, his body was regenerated and quickened and made alive again. Thus, he was able to do what Jesus had just commanded him to do...get up and walk out of that tomb.
The dead man came out, with his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Again, just visualize how the people saw the white linens his body had been wrapped in, so soiled by those bodily fluids leaked from his orifices...making the next thing Jesus said so urgent.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go”.
Some consider it an additional miracle, that Lazarus was able to walk out of his grave (which could have been a traditional small cave in the side of a hill), even though he was fettered with his grave-clothes, which were bound around his hands and feet, and his face was covered with a napkin (according to the practice of the Jews in burial procedures). He came forth out of the tomb in the same burial clothes he was buried in, to show that it was he himself and not someone else. His short walk out of the tomb (after 4 days of death) showed that he was not only alive, but he was also strong, to the point of walking...even if it was more like a shuffle...due to the bindings around his feet.
Remember the title of this devotional commentary:
“What does the death and resurrection of Lazarus in John 11 have to do with you and me?
Here is the answer:
As a resurrected child of God, ARE WE STILL WEARING ANY OF OUR GRAVE CLOTHES...the remnant of our old dead spiritual lives?
BACKGROUND NOTE
In Jesus' time, Jewish people prepared bodies for burial by:
- Washing and anointing: The body was washed and anointed with expensive perfumes like myrrh, nard, and aloes.
- Wrapping in a shroud: The body was wrapped in a shroud, which were fine, clean, linen cloths.
- Covering the face: The face was covered with a special cloth.
- Tying the hands and feet: The hands and feet were tied with strips of cloth.
Additional insights from BibleOdyssey.org
As soon as death was confirmed, the deceased’s eyes were closed, the corpse was washed, and then wrapped and bound. According to the third-century AD Jewish tractate Semahot, men could only prepare the corpse of a man, but women could prepare both men and women.
Literary depictions often suggest that perfumes or ointments were used for this washing. The body was wrapped and bound in strips of cloth. John 11 has such preparations in view: Lazarus’s “hands and feet [were] bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth” (John 11:44).
Thus prepared, male relatives and friends would carry the corpse in a procession toward the place of interment, accompanied by friends, neighbors, and relatives.
Such processions are described in the New Testament (Luke 7:12 for example) and in Josephus, who emphasizes the splendor of Herod’s funerary cortege (War I.671-3). Some Mishnaic texts suggest that processions occasionally halted in order to “make lamentation” for the dead (m. Meg. 4.3; m. B. Bath. 6.7, for example).
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What does it mean for you, as a resurrected child of God, to take off your “old spiritual grave (burial) clothes”...indicative of your old-dead spiritual life...that you were resurrected from and out of? Paul explained in detail in Ephesians 2:1-10 how we were raised from spiritual death through the Lord Jesus Christ to live a new life!
Ephesians 2:1-10 (in outline form)
...You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
...All of us lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.
...We all were by nature deserving of wrath.
...But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
...Then God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
...As God’s handiwork, we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Applications
- The burial clothes had to come off of Lazarus, as a living person, so he could follow and serve the Lord. He could not function as a human being, all bound up with the grave clothes. As long as those burial garments were bound around him, he had no physical freedom.
- The day you or I got saved, we were raised from spiritual death. The Lord Jesus spoke to each of us personally and commanded us to come out of our spiritual grave (our old lives we had been living in the world as lost & depraved sinners) and He resurrected us from our spiritual death.
- When we heard the “Mega Voice” of our Lord, we responded and said “yes Lord” and we experienced a spiritual resurrection (our personal salvation).
- Then the Lord Jesus said to us, “Take off those dirty, soiled grave clothes, so that that my righteous covering, in and over your life, can be seen by all”.
Paul put it like this in Ephesians 4:22-24. I have pasted in Young's Literal Translation of these three verses and then I have added my own expanded paraphrase version of these same three verses.
Young's Literal Translation of Ephesians 4:22-24
You are to put off concerning the former behavior the old man, that is corrupt according to the desires of the deceit, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man, which, according to God, was created in righteousness and kindness of the truth.
My expanded paraphrase version:
Now that you are a new born-again, resurrected child of God...you are to now begin putting off (removing) any behavior related to your old life, which was corrupted from the deceitful desires of your old sinful and depraved nature...that controlled your human body. As the Holy Spirit points out each one of your old sinful attitudes and habits, you are to acknowledge them and then put them behind you. As you do this, you will feel the spirit of your mind being renewed in Christ-likeness. This is the way you will manifest to all, the new person you now are in Christ, and show the world that you, as this new person, were created in the righteousness and kindness of truth.
2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ (through the born-again...salvation experience), he (she) is a new creature (a new creation). The old things (of the old life) passed away. Behold, everything has become new (for the new Christian).
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In Lazarus’ case, other people had to remove, one by one, the burial linens that were bound around him. He could not do it himself and Jesus told others to do it.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go”.
Lazarus with his new clothes on, ready to follow and serve the Lord the rest of his human life!
In our case, we are commanded to remove our old spiritual grave clothes ourselves, because we have the Holy Spirit to help us. And the Apostle Paul, in the rest of Ephesians 4, actually gives us specific examples of remnants of the old, dead life (spiritual burial clothes), that the Holy Spirit will help us remove from our new lives. Here are the issues he lists, each symbolizing a piece of our old burial wraps.
- Putting away all lying and any type of falsehoods.
- Speak only the truth with your neighbor.
- If you get angry, do not let it lead to sin.
- Do not let not the sun go down upon your wrath - the desire to carry out your anger - which will give the devil space in your mind and emotions.
- Do not ever steal again, in any form or fashion.
- To keep you from being tempted to ever steal again, work hard with your hands (and your mind), so that you will have what you need and you will be able to help others in need.
- Do not let any corrupt word come out of your mouth. Any words that do not truly represent the person and character of Jesus Christ are corrupt.
- Only words that build up and encourage and help people should come out of your mouth. Others should feel the grace of God when they hear you speak to them.
- Do not say anything that will grieve the Holy Spirit of God, who lives in you, and who sealed your salvation with the blood of Christ...until the day of redemption.
- Set aside, remove, and totally get rid of all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil-speaking, and malice. Put all of this away from you, so you can be and will be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving to one another...in the same way God forgave you in Christ.
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If a street beggar inherited a fortune, one of the first things he would do (after enjoying a good meal), would be to take off his old tattered street clothes and put on the nicest clothes he could find, from the finest clothing store in town. He would no longer feel comfortable or content in the old, worn out garments...from his old life of begging.
When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he was still bound with the grave clothes. They represented the domain of death from which he had come, but now that he was alive, these old and soiled grave wrappings were not fitting or proper for him.
See how Paul explains the process of exchanging our old spiritual grave clothes for the virtues of Christ. The notes in parenthesis are my commentary.
Colossians 3:5-14 (in outline form)
Put to death (by setting aside), therefore, whatever belonged (past tense) to your (old) earthly nature (that was crucified and buried with Christ):
- Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
- Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
- You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived (before your salvation experience).
- But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these:
- Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
- Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self (the old sinful nature) with its practices and you have put on the new self (the life of Christ living in you), which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
- Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
- Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
- Bear with each other (tolerate each other) and forgive one another, if any of you has a grievance against someone.
- Forgive (anyone) as the Lord forgave you.
- And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. {Love unifies}
In the same way, a person can get saved one day and is then forever spiritually alive, that person can still have remnants of the old life, that need to be removed...one by one through the work of the Holy Spirit, in what is called SANTIFICATION.
Sanctification is the process of being properly prepared and equipped for the spiritual purposes, to which a newly saved Christian is called...just as Lazarus was called to more ministries after the Lord Jesus brought him back to life.
Therefore, as the process of sanctification begins and continues, the remnants of the old life...symbolized by the grave clothes...must fall away, fall off, be removed from this new life, etc... This is the way or the proof that this person really has become a Christian.
As the grave clothes are removed or fall off, what will others begin to see in the life of a new growing Christian? God has designed spiritual growth, so that others will see the symbolic clothes of Jesus Christ covering you, which are the holy character qualities or virtues of Jesus Himself, that were demonstrated and illustrated throughout His 33 to 33 ½ years on earth. He lived out God’s will for humanity.
In Colossians 3:12-17, Paul describes at least 13 signs that will manifest themselves in a spiritual believer (elements of your spiritual clothing replacing your former spiritual grave clothes). Here is the way Paul phrased these.
Colossians 3:12-17: Put on then (Christ’s spiritual resurrection clothes)...as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved (and let these virtues clothe you).
- Keep a compassionate heart.
- Always be kind.
- Practice humility.
- Allow meekness to control your reactions.
- Practice patience.
- Always bear with one another.
- Forgive each other, as the Lord has forgiven you,if one of you has a complaint against another.
- Be ready to forgive each other,as the Lord has forgiven you.
- Above all these...put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony...love harmonizes the fellowship between believers.
- Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...keeping your heart at peace.
- Be thankful.
- Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...abundantly.
- Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom...helping them see how God sees things...His perspectives.
- Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,with thankfulness in your hearts to God...so that you live in a spirit of worship and praise.
- And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Visualize each one of the above...beginning to show up in your life after you become a born-again believer. We are visualizing them as outer clothing (resurrection garments), that others can see, but we know they really represent the internal character/personality qualities or traits, which spring from Christ living in us or to put it another way, “Jesus living out His life in and through our human bodies”.
In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul identified other kinds of spiritual clothing, that we should feel and others should see in us, after our salvation experience (our spiritual resurrection). Paul referred to these as the “Fruit of the Spirit”. This indicates, that if the Holy Spirit is really living in you now, then the effect (result) of that will be these spiritual qualities...called “fruit”.
Any kind of fruit grows from something. Apples grow from apple trees. Peaches grow from peach trees. Grapes grow from grape vines and on and on. The spiritual qualities below (the fruit) grow from the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life. They are proof that the Spirit of Jesus Christ really is in your life.
Matthew 7:16-19: By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
If you really have been raised from spiritual death (just as Lazarus was raised from physical death), your grave clothes will come off and be replaced by qualities (fruit) such as these.
Galatians 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Source: www.artofit.org/image-gallery/522980575488661917/printable-bible-quiz-fruit-of-the-spirit
We can visualize the Holy Spirit as the root system, producing the tree, representing the Life of Christ growing upward into our lives...where the various kinds of fruit are manifested and available to the people in the world to taste.
Colossians 2:7: Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
John 15:5 (in outline form)
I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.
- He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit.
- Every branch that does bear fruit...He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
You are already clean, because of the word I have spoken to you.
Remain in Me, as I also remain in you (because):
- No branch can bear fruit by itself.
- It must remain in the vine.
- Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
I am the vine. You are the branches.
- If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.
- Apart from Me you can do nothing.
- If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers.
- Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
- If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Final Questions For Each Of Us
What does all of this mean to us in 2025...the death of a guy named Lazarus who lived 2,000 years ago and got sick and died, and then was raised back to life by Jesus? And what do the materials (burial garments) he was buried in...have to do with each of us? It seems like a long stretch to relate the experiences of Lazarus directly to you and I.
Well, there is an interesting declaration from God in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Take a look.
2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture (every Scripture) is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
We can trust that every single bible verse is completely true, that it has infinite value for each of us, and that it applies to our personal individual lives...even though each of us is so different and unique.
In the last chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon wanted to sum up everything he had just written, as God breathed these truths into his mind...so he said this.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: Now all has been heard. Here is the conclusion of the matter (for each of us).
- Fear God and keep His commandments.
- For this is the duty of all mankind (every Scripture, including the commandments, apply to every person...this why it is our duty).
- For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil (because He gave us the truth we needed to do what is right, so we will all be accountable to Him and we will have no excuses).
Therefore, each of the Biblical points expressed in this piece, means something to you and me...in one way or another or in one form or fashion or another. So, please consider the three questions below.
1. As a born-again Christian, are you are still wearing some of your spiritual grave clothes (allowing flawed attitudes, behaviors, values, habits, etc...to continue) in your daily living and interactions with others?
2. If so, how will people know you are saved?
3. Would Lazarus have considered living his resurrected life in sin or selfishness?
Romans 6:22: But now having been set free from sin (spiritual death), and having become slaves of God (who live spiritual lives), you have your fruit to holiness, and the end...everlasting life.
As a person who had just been brought back to life, Lazarus would have been so grateful to have another chance to live out his full life. He would have wanted to make the most of it, and as it says in the verse above, he would have wanted everything he did to bear fruit to holiness. This means that everything he did, would demonstrate the life of Jesus Christ, and people would experience Christ – by just having contact with Lazarus.
4. Therefore, are you living out your resurrected life in sin or lukewarmness or do you want everything you do to bear fruit to holiness...meaning that everything you do...demonstrates the life of Christ?
5. Will people experience Christ, just by having contact with you, because you have removed all of those grave clothes and people can now see Christ in your resurrected spiritual life?
Thank you for your time. May the Lord bless your life and give you grace to delight in His perfect will during 2025! I would love to hear from you about any comments or questions you may have.
Yours in Christ,
Gene
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It is interesting to picture the rest of Lazarus’ life after being called back to life. And his witnessing to others his own resurrection, and even more, Jesus’ resurrection. I have to believe Lazarus was one of the many who saw the risen Jesus.
Martha gets a bad rep sometimes, but she acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah before Mary.
Jesus timed his arrival so that there would be absolutely no doubt about Lazarus really being dead. Verified by your description of what the body undergoes after death.
Super compilation of Scripture verses. And, as usual, your use of colors highlights them well.
Thank you, Gene
I like the symbolism! Very helpful to think of the cloths this way! 🙏✝️
As usual, you have delivered an excellent Sermon. I am amazed by how God has blessed us through you. I appreciate you more than you know.
Happy New Year Gene!
Thank you again for such inspiring and well researched correspondence!
You always seem to add the WOW factor, then back it up with other scripture!
Ken O’Neill