BACK TO LIFE

Have you ever thought about the fact that the primary way that God chose to reveal Himself to us is through story? The Bible is filled with poems, prayers, sermons, genealogies, and proverbs, but the most common genre of the Scriptures is narrative! I think God chose to do this because He knows us best. He knows that it’s through story that we find our greatest meaning and purpose.

One of my favorite stories comes from the dramatic scene in John 11 where Jesus finds Himself at the tomb of His best friend, Lazarus. By the time Jesus got there, Lazarus had been dead for four days. In Jewish tradition, the soul would hover over the body for three days, but on the fourth, there would be no more hope for any reversal of the loss. This little cultural detail sets up the story to show that Jesus is being faced with an impossible situation. Surrounded by weeping family members and friends, the loud and emotional scene comes to a divine pause, and then Jesus calls out…

“‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, ‘“Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”

John 11:43–44 (NIV)

This song carries significance because it reminds us that this story is OUR STORY! This is not just a historical event, which it is, but it’s so much more! Apart from Jesus, you and I are without hope, without life, and without promise. But, with Jesus, the One who has called us “friend,” no matter how far gone we think we are, no matter how tightly we feel wrapped under the weight of the proverbial grave clothes, we can all still hear the powerful and authoritative voice of Jesus calling out to us “(insert your name here)… COME OUT! Take off the grave clothes and be free!”

I remember when my friend, Brian Johnson, and I were first seeing this song come to life. There was so much excitement in the room as we imagined other believers singing out this core Gospel truth. Because of the Cross and the Resurrection, we can all sing:

No longer I who live, but Christ in me

For I’ve been born again, my heart is free

The hope of heaven before me, the grave behind

Hallelujah, You brought me back to life

This is the GOOD NEWS that Jesus continues to declare, that IN HIM…

There is no grave that He has not conquered

There is no death that He cannot resurrect

There is no pain that He cannot comfort

There is no sickness that He cannot heal

There is no shame that He cannot cover

There is no bondage that He cannot break

Why?

Because, just like Lazarus… He has called us back to LIFE!

For everyone who would receive Christ’s free and complete gift of salvation, this is no longer just A story… this is OUR story!

Key Questions:

1. Have you heard Jesus call YOUR name out of the grave? If not, take a minute to pray and ask Jesus to become the Lord and Savior of your life. Let His grace pull you from death to life, and confess that by following Him, you are leaving your old “grave clothes” behind.

2. What areas of your life, or your faith, have you given up hope on? How might Jesus invite the hope of His resurrection power to come over you?

3. In the story found in John 11, after Jesus resurrects Lazarus, He invites those watching to unwrap the grave clothes. What would it look like in your own life to join Jesus in helping unwrap those around you from the heavy burden of their previous bondage?