Raised to Life

All four Gospels record at least one incident where Jesus brought a dead person back to life. But the raising of Lazarus from the dead, described only in the book of John, stands out. Unlike Jairus’ daughter or the widow’s son, Jesus had personally known Lazarus and loved him. By the time He reached Bethany, Lazarus had been buried for four days. When Jesus stood outside the tomb and called out to Lazarus, the dead man walked out of the tomb alive again.

Jesus’ power over death became evident from this miracle. But it also underlined the work that Jesus had come to do. The Messiah came to raise up the spiritually dead, those enslaved to sin and destined to die. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we bury our old life with its sinful habits and ambitions. We are resurrected to a new life and destiny in Christ when we accept His call to follow Him.

Our salvation does not just resurrect us spiritually, but also physically. When Jesus returns, our physical bodies will be raised up. Included in our salvation is the gift and promise of eternal life.

We can only imagine how Lazarus lived the rest of his life on earth. He must have lived with the awareness that every breath of his was a gift from the Lord of the universe. Gratitude and worship may have never left his heart or stopped flowing from his lips. Lazarus’ story begs us to examine our renewed lives in the light of our salvation. Our eternal lives reflect the glory of the One in whom we believe and to whom we belong. Our resurrection will point to the beauty and power of Christ’s resurrection.

Respond

• Have you examined the purpose of your life? How does it reflect that you follow Jesus?
• How have you experienced the benefits of being spiritually born again?