Yesterday Today ForeverSample

No one can change death. Death, to us, seems the “president” of all things in our life that lie outside of our control. It represents our limitations. It reminds us of our weaknesses.  Death is that final word that, although we try to change ourselves, change the world and change our future, ultimately lies outside of our control.

Jesus is the “president of life.” He is the author, the creator, the star-breather. Nothing is outside His reach and His power. So when He says Lazarus' sickness will not end in death, the family and friends of Lazarus actually believed Him. Jesus had a track record of life-changing miracles, and He amazed so many people because, before Him, no one had spoken so authoritatively like He did or made claims to the extent that He did. Time after time He came through on what He said. 

But this time Jesus didn’t come through for them. This time, Lazarus died. 

However, Jesus didn’t lie.  He said Lazarus’s sickness would not end in death. He never said he wouldn’t die; He just meant Lazarus would not stay in that state of death.  

Jesus, the unchanging God, changed the unchangeable. He changed the power of death. Jesus spoke to dead Lazarus and raised him to life, staying true to His promise: “this will not end in death.”