Saturday 23 March 2013

Background

We are approaching Holy Week (the last week of Jesus' life).From the perspective of Jesus' opponents, the net is closing aroundhim; from the perspective of John's Gospel, Jesus' plan isbeginning to reach its climactic conclusion. And we come to whatmight be the most powerful sign of all which Jesus performs, andwhich points forward to what is to occur in the coming weeks. Aswith some of the other signs, this one is accompanied by one ofJesus' 'I am' sayings - here, "I am the resurrection and thelife".

The character of the miracle as a 'sign' can be seen in Jesus'statement in verse 4, that the illness is not 'for death'. It isall part of the plan to display God's power, revealed in Christ.This is given as the reason for his apparent lack of urgency,though his disciples put it down to an expectation that he will notdie, and that Lazarus' illness is nothing that rest andrecuperation will not cure!

There was a strand of rabbinic thought which held that the soulonly finally departed three days after death, so the remark thatLazarus had been buried for four days emphasises the finality ofhis death.

The passage is a reflection on the nature of death, resurrectionand faith. The reference to sleep, from which Lazarus will awake,poses a challenge to the finality of death, and it calls intoquestion and tests the faith of Jesus' disciples, of Mary andMartha, and of the gathered crowd. Every point of confusion betweendeath and sleep, every call to faith, prefigures the death andresurrection of Jesus, in which his followers are called to placetheir faith. Jesus' death will paradoxically underline his identityas "the resurrection and the life", in that it will bring life toothers, and the reference Lazarus' death is understood by thedisciples as a sleep which will bring healing (verse 12 - literally'if he has fallen asleep, he will be saved').

To Ponder

• "Jesus began to weep" (v. 35). If he knew what God was about toachieve through him, why did he weep? Through anger or sorrow atthe lack of faith of those around him? Through simple compassion?When was the last time that you wept (or felt overwhelmed) at thestate of the world or at the situation of others? Did it move youto action?

• Jesus calls Lazarus out, but then orders the gathered familyand friends to "unbind him, and let him go" (v. 44). The task ofbringing life and liberation to the dead man was Jesus', but wasgiven to them to complete it- and it must have been unsettling, tosay the least! If Jesus is the resurrection and the life, is hecalling you to step out of your comfort zone, to be engaged in hislife-giving ministry? What are you being called to "unbind" and"let go"?