Friday - The Raising of Lazarus

This is the last of our little series on the miracles in the Gospel of John – and for lack of time I have to skip to the last and greatest miracle in chapter 11 – the raising of Lazarus from the dead, after he had already been buried for 3 days. 

Although I left home at the age of 31 to work in Congo as a missionary – it was only pure chance that I once saw a corpse before I left Britain.  However on my very first day as a missionary in Africa, at Ibambi in Congo, my wife and I were taken along to a deathbed.  It was very sobering.  A man lay squeaking in pain in his house, dying from cancer, with very little medical assistance.  He was surrounded by relatives and church members, who were encouraging him and praying for him, and he died in the course of the evening.

I came back to the house having to think through again what I really believed about eternity and realising perhaps for the first time why John in the Book of Revelation called death, the last enemy.  During my time in Africa the high mortality rate and AIDS ensured that I would see many, many more dead bodies and went to even more funerals, and each time I came away wanting to walk more closely to the Lord – for one day it will be my turn.

The raising of Lazarus by the Lord is a tremendous reassurance that Jesus has conquered even death and has power over the grave. 

You may have noticed that at the beginning of this talk I called the raising of Lazarus the greatest miracle – I was of course wrong, as the greatest miracle of all is wrought everyday all around the world each time someone believes on the Lord Jesus and is saved.  They are not raised to new earthly life only to die and be buried again like Lazarus was, but they are given eternal life - to live forever.

Now you know why I love Jesus.  But how are you facing death, the last enemy of humankind?