Wednesday 24th July
Read John 11:43-44
“When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth round his face.
Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’” (NIVUK)
It is always striking just how anti-climactic many of the amazing miracles in scripture are described. Forty-two verses of build up and the miracle itself is as simple as Jesus shouting ‘Lazarus, come out!’ No dances. No special formulaic words. No fuss. Just a slightly angry one feels (shouting) demand that Lazarus come out.
Many commentators have noted the ‘miracle within a miracle’ that is Lazarus being able to come out whilst bound. This is not remotely important to John. The incident is recorded because that is what happened and it contrasts with Jesus’ rising, where in some trans-physical way, He passed through the grave-clothes, leaving them where He once lay. Lazarus is simply a foretaste of resurrection, the perfect final sign pointing to who Jesus is, and the entanglements of death still surround him. Hence the second command.
Other commentators, and again this is not John’s point, reflect on the need to call out Lazarus by name. They wonder if the power of Jesus’ words is so great that if Lazarus was not named, the dead all around would rise as well… That is a reflection that made me smile because it captures so well the power and authority that Jesus exercised. Simple, direct and powerful. Death diminished, if not yet vanquished.
