Tuesday 04 August 2020

Psalm: Psalm 96

Background

If we're honest, it's easy to claim to have faith when there appears to be the possibility of something happening, and much less so when all those possibilities seem to have vanished. As Jesus, the bereaved sisters and the gathered mourners arrive at the tomb (verse 38), the general thinking continues: that if Jesus had been around earlier, he could have prevented Lazarus' death (John 11:21, 32). That much is easy for everyone to believe. Bringing a four-day-old corpse back to life, on the other hand – now, that's a tough call, even for Jesus!

And yet it happens (verse 44) – in full view of the grieving sisters and an increasingly cynical crowd. Jesus himself never doubted that it would (as he points out in his brief prayer before calling Lazarus out (verses 41-42)), but he still needed to do something publicly to get everyone's attention. He calls out – and in a scene reminiscent of those old horror films involving mummies, out of the tomb walks the previously dead Lazarus, wrapped up with strips of cloth from his head to his toes.

To Ponder:

• If Jesus had healed Lazarus earlier when he was just ill (as opposed to letting him die first), do you think the response from the public would have been the same? Why?
• Imagine being Lazarus for a minute. How do you think he might have felt when he realised he was back on Earth amongst the living?