Lazarus, come out!

When Jesus finally got there, he found Lazarus already four days dead. Bethany was near Jerusalem, only a couple of miles away, and many of the Jews were visiting Martha and Mary, sympathizing with them over their brother. Martha heard Jesus was coming and went out to meet him. Mary remained in the house....

Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within him, arrived at the tomb. It was a simple cave in the hillside with a slab of stone laid against it. Jesus said, "Remove the stone."

The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, "Master, by this time there's a stench. He's been dead four days!"

Then, to the others, "Go ahead, take away the stone."

They removed the stone. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and prayed, "Father, I'm grateful that you have listened to me. I know you always do listen, but on account of this crowd standing here I've spoken so that they might believe that you sent me."

Then he shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" And he came out, a cadaver, wrapped from head to toe, and with a kerchief over his face.

Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him loose." - John 11:17-20, 38-39, 41-44 (The Message)

The tension was palpable. People were upset. Even those who believed everything Jesus said, everything he claimed to be, didn't understand why he would let Lazarus die. (1)Lazarus was a popular man. The story tells us that "many of the Jews" had come from Jerusalem to console Lazarus's sisters, Mary and Martha. (2)Lazarus was a friend of Jesus. The scripture tells us this, and we see it in the way Jesus weeps when he sees Lazarus's tomb. (3) Some would say, Jesus "owed" it to Mary, who in a moment of extravagant love, had washed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume and dried them with her hair. Of all the miracles, this is the one he should surely have performed- saving Lazarus. Yet, he chose not to. Instead, he chose to let His glory be displayed later, to the distress and dismay of everyone around. Why?

Jesus answers this question in verse 15: "You're about to be given new grounds for believing. Let's go there."

We as human beings are so stubborn about believing only what we see. If I could just trust that, since everything the bible says about God, I've found to be true, then all he must really have it all under control, my life would be much less complicated. Instead, I fuss about things and worry a lot and I doubt sometimes that God is who He says he is.

As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.- Psalm 18:30 (NIV)