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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth!' And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Loose him, and let him go.'” (John 11.43-44; emphasis mine, jb).
Loose Him and Let Him Go
Jesus could have done several things that He commanded others to do. He could have rolled the stone away, but some might have accused Him of trickery as a result of His being in contact with the tomb. He could certainly have miraculously stripped away the graveclothes (narrow bands of cloth in which a corpse was wound), but the fact that Lazarus came out of the tomb under his own power while still bound, added weight to the miracle; there could be no deception involved in as much as Lazarus was yet wearing the wrappings in which his body had been prepared four days earlier. Further, the command forced others to immediately come in contact with the person who had come forth from the grave and thus creating a group of witness who could not have been duped or mistaken. Just as there was no wiggle room for Jesus before Lazarus was raised, neither was there any wiggle room for Jesus' detractors after the fact. A notable miracle had been performed and could be attested to by a large group of unbiased and credible witnesses.
The effect the miracles associated with the raising of Lazarus is indeed interesting. John records “Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.” (John 11.45-46). Notice that many believed in Jesus as a result of the things that they had witnessed. Notice also that others reacted in an entirely different manner; they went as snitches to the Pharisees and alerted them to the events of the day. One set of indisputable facts and two opposite effects is reason for pause! How could it be that folks could witness the same events and come to such polar conclusions?
As believers, we need to be come to grips with this reality. Some folks will never believe regardless of the strength of the case. Unless the heart is opened from the inside, no amount of evidence can create a place for Jesus to reside. This sad reality is true even when people have to argue with indisputable evidence. The presentation of truth is all that Jesus could do and the reaction to it was entirely up to those who saw the events. If Jesus Himself could not convince some folks, even those who could not dispute the evidence, we should not be surprised that some today refuse to belief when presented with the truth of the gospel. While those who present the gospel to others have an obligation to present it in a manner that is consistent with truth and do so in a loving manner, the results are yet left in the hands of others. While joyfully truth converts those of a good and honest heart, truth also drives a wedge in the heart of some who refuse to give her a fair hearing.
“Loose Him and let him go,” in this case was something that others had to do for Lazarus. In the case of spiritual bondage, all the power in heaven cannot loose a person from sin until such time as that person elects to loose himself. Unlike the case with Lazarus, all a man's friends and all of his family cannot loose him from the graveclothes of sin until he is ready to be loosed. The word was spoken at Calvary that empowers every accountable person to be loosed from the bondage of sin, but many prefer to be garbed in the stench of death. Were God able to save such a man, He would. However, He has bound Himself to honor the free will of man. “Loose him,” is effective only when a man wishes to be loosed!
Questions:
1. How effective was the raising of Lazarus in causing others to believe in Jesus?
2. What, if anything, could Jesus have done differently that would have resulted in others believing in Him?
3. What made the difference in the witness at the tomb of Lazarus? By this I mean the difference between those who left convinced that Jesus was Messiah and those who left to consorted with His enemies.
4. If the gospel will not save a man, what will? If the gospel hardens a person's heart, what hope is there for that person?
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