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 11:44)
One of the most beautiful aspects of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that everything Christ does is for the purpose of raising up humanity. The raising of Lazarus of Bethany in John 11 is of course an obvious prelude to our own resurrection and the power of Christ over death. His power is not just limited to raising the dead but restoring the decayed, literally a corpse that had begun to rot. The spiritual lesson concerning Christ as the chosen one to restore and regenerate humanity is hard to miss. Only the Author of life can resurrect the dead and stand in as the new Adam.
Many today are walking around in their grave clothes. They’re lost and burying themselves in sin, shame, and guilt. In John 11 we have Christ showing up after the funeral where Lazarus’s sisters are mourning his loss. The incarnate Christ, who fully understands the general misery of the whole human race, presents himself as the Messiah with even greater clarity on this day.
When the Word of Life speaks, commanding Lazarus to “come forth,” his voice as Word revives the dead and brings new life. Easter is the seal of the truth and glory of Christ. Amazingly, because of Easter, the Scottish theologian Hugh Mackintosh was able to say, “The heart of man and the heart of God beat in the risen Lord.”
Below is an amazing clip from “The Greatest Story Ever Told.”
