Lessons Learned from Jesus Raising Lazarus from the Dead

Today I read the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11. There are many lessons I can learn from this story.

Firstly, Jesus really cares about his friends. Mary (the one who poured perfume on Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair, at the home of Simon the leper in Mark 14 - not to be confused with the unnamed "sinful woman" who did the same at the home of Simon the Pharisee in Luke 7), whose brother Lazarus (not to be confused with the beggar also named Lazarus in Jesus' parable in Luke 16) was very sick. She and her sister Martha sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” These sisters knew Jesus' heart for his friend. They knew they can trust him to do something to help his friend. When their brother was sick they immediately thought of Jesus to get help from him. I can learn to trust Jesus more and more this way. I have been practicing praying for my patients, often right before I walk into the examination room to see them.

Secondly, God's delay in answering prayers will result in God's Son being glorified through it. Here in this story, instead of immediately going to see Lazarus, Jesus deliberately delayed his trip by 2 days because: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Although Lazarus did die, it gave Jesus the opportunity to raise him from the dead! He explained this plainly to his disciples: "...and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe." When I did the math, it dawn on me that his delay to see Lazarus didn't result in Lazarus' death because when he finally arrived Lazarus had already been dead for at least 4 days (verse 17)!

Thirdly, even though I have been raised with Christ (Colossians 3:1-4), I still have grave clothes that need my brothers and sisters to help remove them! After Jesus called Lazarus to come out of the tomb, he told those with him: "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (verse 44). I think my grave clothes include the lust of the flesh and the pride of life...

"For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world." (1 John 2:16)

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)

There are other people raised from the dead in the bible. There were at least 3 in the Old Testament and 5 specifically named in the New Testament plus a whole bunch of "saints" following Jesus' death on the cross. This is an interesting record of these people.