A Fourth-Day Man: Death UndoneHalimbawa

The third encounter is with Lazarus’s sister Mary. Mary echoes Martha’s protest:

So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32)

When Jesus sees Mary weeping, He is deeply troubled. In John 11 we find the shortest verse in the Bible:

Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

He is weeping in anger, sadness, and empathy. In all three encounters, Jesus has been hinting at what is to come. Now Jesus will show them what it means for death to be His enemy. He comes to the tomb:

Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” (John 11:39)

In Greek, it literally says Lazarus is "a fourth-day man." He's very dead. But Jesus is not dissuaded:

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” … He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Out came the man who had died, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:40-44)

Death is not an enigma to Jesus. And it doesn’t have to be for us either. From the perspective of eternity, death is simply Christ’s enemy to be vanquished. He is the resurrection and the life.

Because of Christ’s work on the cross, death becomes only a secondary reality. By believing in Jesus, you escape spiritual death. Because He is the resurrection, you can overcome physical death. Because He is life, you can avoid eternal death.

John 11 was written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Have you found life and hope in His name?

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