Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
Jesus had not yet gone into Bethany but stayed outside the town in the place where Martha had met Him, waiting there rather than going on to the house. Martha left Him there to go secretly call Mary, and Mary came hastily to that same spot and fell at His feet grieving that her brother would not have died if He had been there, followed by mourners who thought she was going to the grave to weep. This moment belongs to the raising of Lazarus, the greatest of His miracles, when after four days dead and decaying in the tomb Christ called him back to mortal life. He had deliberately delayed coming until after His beloved friend had died, guided by divine wisdom so that the raising would give crowning evidence that He was the Son of God and lead many to believe and glorify God. In restoring him after four days in the grave He revealed Himself as Savior and Lifegiver, and in weeping with Mary and Martha and giving back their brother He showed His tender compassion for all who grieve and trust in Him.
Place and Moment
Jesus had not yet entered the town but remained outside Bethany in the place where Martha had met him. He stayed waiting there instead of going on to the house. Bethany lay on the sloping descent of the Mount of Olives, and he often rested there at the house of Lazarus.
Martha left him there to go secretly call Mary. Mary rose hastily and came to that same waiting place. She knelt at his feet and said with quivering lips that her brother would not have died if he had been there. The mourners who saw her leave followed her because they thought she was going to the grave to weep.
He had deliberately delayed going to his friends and came only after Lazarus had died and been in the tomb. The delay was guided by divine wisdom and God's plan for the raising. He did not go at once because he could not witness suffering without bringing relief. His staying outside the town reflected a life of persecution and insult. Driven from Bethlehem by a jealous king, rejected by his own people at Nazareth, and condemned to death without cause at Jerusalem, he with his few faithful followers found temporary asylum in a strange place, driven from the people he had labored to save. Though ever touched by human woe, he had healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, fed the hungry and comforted the sorrowful, walked upon the heaving billows and by a word silenced their angry roaring, cast out devils that in departing acknowledged him to be the Son of God, broken the slumbers of the dead, and held thousands entranced by words of wisdom, yet he was unable to reach hearts blinded by prejudice and insane hatred that resolutely rejected the light.
Miracle and Meaning
This moment outside the town belongs to the raising of Lazarus, the greatest and most wonderful of Christ's miracles, in which after Lazarus had been dead four days Christ called him out of the tomb. Lazarus was of Bethany, among the most steadfast of the disciples, whose faith in Christ was strong from their first meeting and whose love was deep, and he was greatly beloved by the Saviour. While Christ blesses all who seek His help and loves all the human family, He was bound to the family at Bethany by peculiarly tender associations, and His heart was knit to them by a strong bond of affection, for one of whom His most wonderful work was wrought.
The raising that followed while Jesus was still outside the town was a return to mortal life, not a clothing with immortality. Like the son of the widow of Nain and Jairus' daughter, Lazarus after being raised continued subject to death and decay, unlike those who came forth at Christ's resurrection who were raised to everlasting life. Lazarus had no experience from the time he was dead to recount, because the dead know nothing.
Lazarus' death was permitted under divine wisdom and God's plan, with Jesus delaying until Lazarus was in the tomb, so that raising him would give the Jews crowning evidence that Jesus was the Son of God. That raising led many to believe in Jesus and to glorify God, and it made Lazarus a living testimony to Christ's divine power. Though Lazarus had been dead long enough for his body to decay, Christ restored him to life after four days in the grave, revealing the Father to believers and unbelievers and showing Jesus as Savior and Lifegiver with full authority.
The raising was compelling evidence of Jesus' Messiahship to Nicodemus. The miracle had a powerful effect on people and drew a large, enthusiastic multitude to the place where Jesus was staying. The raising also pointed to the ransom Jesus would pay on the cross.
Raising the dead to life was Jesus just as certainly fulfilling His mission as the Pattern Man as when toiling as a carpenter while hiding His divine mission, as when treading the waves on the Sea of Galilee, and as when dying as man's sacrifice on the cross to lift the whole race to a new and perfect life. His weeping over Lazarus' death and restoring Mary and Martha's brother to them in sympathy for their grief shows His compassion for bereaved mothers and His readiness to help those who trust in Him.
Jesus had not yet gone into Bethany but stayed outside the town in the place where Martha had met Him, waiting there rather than going on to the house. Martha left Him there to go secretly call Mary, and Mary came hastily to that same spot and fell at His feet grieving that her brother would not have died if He had been there, followed by mourners who thought she was going to the grave to weep. This moment belongs to the raising of Lazarus, the greatest of His miracles, when after four days dead and decaying in the tomb Christ called him back to mortal life. He had deliberately delayed coming until after His beloved friend had died, guided by divine wisdom so that the raising would give crowning evidence that He was the Son of God and lead many to believe and glorify God. In restoring him after four days in the grave He revealed Himself as Savior and Lifegiver, and in weeping with Mary and Martha and giving back their brother He showed His tender compassion for all who grieve and trust in Him.
Place and Moment
Jesus had not yet entered the town but remained outside Bethany in the place where Martha had met him. He stayed waiting there instead of going on to the house. Bethany lay on the sloping descent of the Mount of Olives, and he often rested there at the house of Lazarus.
Martha left him there to go secretly call Mary. Mary rose hastily and came to that same waiting place. She knelt at his feet and said with quivering lips that her brother would not have died if he had been there. The mourners who saw her leave followed her because they thought she was going to the grave to weep.
He had deliberately delayed going to his friends and came only after Lazarus had died and been in the tomb. The delay was guided by divine wisdom and God's plan for the raising. He did not go at once because he could not witness suffering without bringing relief. His staying outside the town reflected a life of persecution and insult. Driven from Bethlehem by a jealous king, rejected by his own people at Nazareth, and condemned to death without cause at Jerusalem, he with his few faithful followers found temporary asylum in a strange place, driven from the people he had labored to save. Though ever touched by human woe, he had healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, fed the hungry and comforted the sorrowful, walked upon the heaving billows and by a word silenced their angry roaring, cast out devils that in departing acknowledged him to be the Son of God, broken the slumbers of the dead, and held thousands entranced by words of wisdom, yet he was unable to reach hearts blinded by prejudice and insane hatred that resolutely rejected the light.
Miracle and Meaning
This moment outside the town belongs to the raising of Lazarus, the greatest and most wonderful of Christ's miracles, in which after Lazarus had been dead four days Christ called him out of the tomb. Lazarus was of Bethany, among the most steadfast of the disciples, whose faith in Christ was strong from their first meeting and whose love was deep, and he was greatly beloved by the Saviour. While Christ blesses all who seek His help and loves all the human family, He was bound to the family at Bethany by peculiarly tender associations, and His heart was knit to them by a strong bond of affection, for one of whom His most wonderful work was wrought.
The raising that followed while Jesus was still outside the town was a return to mortal life, not a clothing with immortality. Like the son of the widow of Nain and Jairus' daughter, Lazarus after being raised continued subject to death and decay, unlike those who came forth at Christ's resurrection who were raised to everlasting life. Lazarus had no experience from the time he was dead to recount, because the dead know nothing.
Lazarus' death was permitted under divine wisdom and God's plan, with Jesus delaying until Lazarus was in the tomb, so that raising him would give the Jews crowning evidence that Jesus was the Son of God. That raising led many to believe in Jesus and to glorify God, and it made Lazarus a living testimony to Christ's divine power. Though Lazarus had been dead long enough for his body to decay, Christ restored him to life after four days in the grave, revealing the Father to believers and unbelievers and showing Jesus as Savior and Lifegiver with full authority.
The raising was compelling evidence of Jesus' Messiahship to Nicodemus. The miracle had a powerful effect on people and drew a large, enthusiastic multitude to the place where Jesus was staying. The raising also pointed to the ransom Jesus would pay on the cross.
Raising the dead to life was Jesus just as certainly fulfilling His mission as the Pattern Man as when toiling as a carpenter while hiding His divine mission, as when treading the waves on the Sea of Galilee, and as when dying as man's sacrifice on the cross to lift the whole race to a new and perfect life. His weeping over Lazarus' death and restoring Mary and Martha's brother to them in sympathy for their grief shows His compassion for bereaved mothers and His readiness to help those who trust in Him.