John 11:17-27 New International Version (NIV)

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[a] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

The reading from John 11 we heard earlier tells us of an encounter that happens just before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. And it is easy to miss something in the story. We understand the bit where Jesus hears about his friend Lazarus being ill. We wonder a little about why Jesus didn’t leave immediately. We feel sympathy for the fear experienced by the disciples when Jesus suggests returning to somewhere that was not just inhospitable but dangerous for them. We know the dramatic scene that takes place at the graveside, where Jesus weeps at the loss of His friend, and calls out to God to intervene in His sorrow. The crowds must have been dumb founded and awed by what they then saw. The news would have spread like wildfire.

Although I imagine that as the story was passed on it would have been embellished a bit and for some, who were further down the gossip chain, would have, maybe heard something that would have bore no resemblance to the original action but also, some would have been less likely to believe the story at all and fobbed the teller off with a snear or derision.

However, the part I think that we miss is this conversation between Jesus and Martha. In most bibles the heading for this part is “Jesus comforts the sisters of Lazarus” but I think there’s more to it than that. Martha believed in the resurrection of the dead, Now not all did at the time. The sadducees rejected all existence after death and the pharisees did believe something for the after life, but whether that was bodily form or not was debatable. So the idea of an afterlife may have been what was on Martha's mind when Jesus said “Your brother will rise again.” because she answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

We know now that is not what Jesus meant but for Martha she was assured that her belief in the messiah would give her that hope for the future.

WHAT DID JESUS RAISE LAZARUS FOR?

So I ask this question. What did Jesus raise Lazarus for? This might seem a daft question. But just think about it. WHY? Was it to show who Jesus was? Could be? Was it to save a friend who it is made very clear, Jesus loved very much? Might have been? Was it to show how powerful God was? Well, that was part of jewish theology anyway. It could of course be all of the above but Jesus said this “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?”

And when we read those words again we can’t stop ourselves hearing the resurrection and seeing the verse as a promise for a future life, after death.

Jesus says a lot about life. “I am the bread of life”, “I am the way, the truth and the life” but the one thing we can be sure of is that Lazarus was going to die again. Jesus had not stopped that inevitable outcome. It would happen again. So why give back life to Lazarus?

To do something so dramatic that people would take notice of

Was it to do something so dramatic that people would take notice. I wonder what would be the equivalent today of Jesus raising someone from the dead? I’m not convinced many would take notice of this now, even christians, or the reaction may well be the same for those that weren’t there when it happened, those hearing it second hand. I bet for many, the phrase “fake news” might be applied if they heard of it, even seen a youtube video, or insta face app tiktok. But for those actually there it would have still been a life changer surely?

So who was it for then? A lot of times whatever Jesus was trying to say was often met with confused faces from his disciples and it fell on deaf ears for those who really didn’t care for him at all. So when he did THIS, there wasn’t much doubt that He was making a statement. That statement was, that He was able to give life, even in the most desperate circumstances and you can’t get more desperate than this, Jesus could give life.

Remember Martha said that she believed, first that had Jesus been there Lazarus could have been healed. Then she said that her brother was going to be resurrected, but Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the LIFE” To demonstrate what that LIFE meant He THEN raised Lazarus from the grave, from death to life.

There was no going back from seeing that. From experiencing your brother being brought to life. To live a life again. Dare I say to be BORN AGAIN?

What is to show that this new life was for now

In raising Lazarus Jesus was saying all of the above but that the life He was able to give was also for today, for now. For Lazarus it wasn’t a future, heavenly life. It was very obviously happening there and then. In the present.

Very soon after coming to faith I realised that a barn dance was an important part of life as a christian. It was a chance to get together and enjoy fellowship, eat food and have fun. It may have been an early nineties thing, or even the particular church I was a member of. It could have been one of their traditions. So I asked the minister why the barn dance thing? You’ve got to remember that I had entered the church at 20, with lovely long locks of hair, doctor martens and a painted leather jacket, so barn dances were not high on my priorities. His reply has alway stuck with me. A profound word that has resonated with me ever since. He said “son, Jesus said that we would have life, life in a barn dance” John 10:10 - I can’t hear you but I'm sure you’re all laughing very loudly.

N T Wright said this in his book After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters “We can be so focused on the resurrection, on life after death, that we miss the life we can have before that”

We can be so focused on the resurrection, on life after death, that we miss the life we can have before death. Jesus said that he came to give life and life abundantly. The verse is better translated that we would possess, own, THIS LIFE, abundantly, over and above, more than is necessary, superior, extraordinary, surpassing, being uncommon.

There is a life that is like that. A life lived abundantly despite what is going on around us. A life lived to its fullness here and now with a present immediate hope. It is the life lived as a follower of Jesus. Life promised by Jesus. Life lived in His Kingdom where love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are a daily part of life. Where mercy, justice and forgiveness are experienced by all.

We might not feel that alive? In fact we might feel positively dead? But we aren’t. Those that believe and put their trust in Jesus can believe the promise of Christ later in the Chapter when he stood at the graveside He says...

40 “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” the glory of God displayed in our lives as it was in Lazarus that day..

41 So they took away the stone… and the dead man came out. I don’t know what your stone is. It might be doubt, fear, pressure of the world. It may be anxiety, lack of self confidence or pride...but Jesus can roll any stone away from any grave and allow the dead to be alive again