The Power of GodSample

End to Beginning

Death is often a scary and painful thing. To many, it is seen as the end of everything and it is very hard to lose a loved one. Which is why it must have been strange for the disciples when, after being informed of Lazarus’ illness, Jesus decided to stay where He was for two more days not answering the call of Mary and Martha. In fact, He even responds with a pretty strange sentence. He says, in verse 4, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” As usual, we see that Jesus has the bigger picture in mind.

After two days had passed Jesus told the disciples it was time to head on down to Lazarus, also informing them that he had passed away. (Verse 11-13) Upon His arrival Martha ran out to meet Jesus and made a wild expression of faith; in verse 21 she acknowledges that Jesus had the Power to save her brother and yet she doesn’t get mad. She seems to grasp that God has a Plan. She even calls Jesus the Messiah (Verse 27).

We have seen Jesus display God’s Power throughout the New Testament with amazing healings. We have seen Him turn water to wine, tell a storm to quiet down, give sight to the blind, and even tell a lame man to walk. At this point, the Jews must have thought, "What can this man not do?!". Well, there was still one more major display that He needed to give.

When Mary came and echoed the words of her sister to Jesus that He could have saved their brother and Jesus saw the mourning crowd, we get an amazing display of Jesus’ Humanity as well as the shortest verse in the Bible; “Jesus wept”. We see that He cares deeply for us and feels our pains and emotions too. So He tells them to remove the stone from the tomb. It is also important to not forget that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. By this time it would have smelled pretty bad inside that tomb. And after a short prayer to God He says just three simple words, “Lazarus, come out!” And with that, God showed that He even holds Power over death.

Even the literal end isn’t the end for Him.

GO DEEP

Take a moment to think about one moment when you thought, "This is it for me, there is no way out of this tough situation." Maybe it was a really tough final exam, or even an addiction or a near-death experience. Now look at the situation that Lazarus was in. God turned the full stop into a comma in his life - even Jesus expressed that Lazarus had only been sleeping.

BE BOLD

Can you think of someone who may feel right now that they are at their end? Pray for them. And then take this chance to share with them how God can make this end just a footnote in their great story.

MEMORISE IT

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." John 11:25-26