The Voice with Power over the Grave
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11: 1-3)
“Where is He?” Martha asked Mary. “He’ll be here,” Mary replied. “But when? Our brother hasn’t opened his eyes all day. And his color is getting worse.”
“Soon,” Mary replied, worried that Lazarus’s breathing was becoming more strained. “I know He loves us. He loves Lazarus. Why is He taking so long?”
Night crept in, and Jesus still hadn’t come. It would soon be too late. Why, oh, why? And then … Lazarus died. Jesus hadn’t come. All of their faith had been for nothing. The funeral was over. Lazarus was in the tomb. Jesus hadn’t come.
Four days later, the word came. He was on His way! Martha ran to meet Him. “Oh, Jesus,” she wept, “if only you had been here. My brother wouldn’t have died.” Jesus said, “Lazarus will rise again.”
“I know, on the resurrection day I will see him,” Martha replied. Jesus looked at her and said, “I am the resurrection. Whoever believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she said. “I believe that you are the Christ.”
Then Mary came, her face still red from weeping. She fell at the feet of Jesus and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus said, “Show me the tomb.”
They came to the cave where Lazarus was buried. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” “But Lord,” Martha replied. “There will be a horrible smell.” Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
When the stone was rolled away, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” And just like that, Lazarus was alive! Alive! Jesus, just by speaking, raised Lazarus from the dead! When all had seemed lost, the impossible had happened – a miracle! There was an explosion of joy!
God’s timing is always perfect. It may not fit with our thinking, but His ways are above our ways.
God’s power is always sufficient. It may not look like what we had hoped for, but His plan is glorious, and it will come to pass. He does, indeed, have it in His hands.
What an awesome God!
Writer: Sherry Hunter
Sherry Hunter has taught 5th grade Sunday School for years and substitutes in the current 4th-5th grade class. She enjoys long-distance bicycle trips and travel to various places around the globe. She has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and has slept on a field of ice in a pup tent. Sherry’s children are Ben, Joey, and Chey; she has three grandsons and one granddaughter.