It’s a “will worship” morning! I thought my alarm was set for 5:45 am. It turns out that I inadvertently set it for 5:45 pm. My first appointment was at 7 am, about 35-40 minutes away. My morning was hurried and harried.
I stood before the LORD and presented my morning sacrifices and prayers but did not get into the green pastures until later. My Shepherd laid me down in John 11, and the Mind of the Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind in the story of Lazarus when I read verse 44:
John 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
I thought, if Lazarus’ feet were bound, how did he walk out of the tomb? The image of him hopping out from the mouth of the rock tomb seemed not to fit the solemnity of the moment. It connected my thoughts to earlier ponderings on the vanishing body of Jesus (Luke 24:31). In this case, it appears either that Lazarus was carried out of the tomb by invisible angels and set before Jesus, or he materialized in place outside the tomb, or Jesus levitated the body from the grave. In any case, Lazarus did not experience the transformation of his physical body at the time of his resurrection. It was his natural, Adamic body that stood before Christ and the crowd wrapped in graveclothes, bound hand and foot.
Along the still waters, I pondered these things. Except for Jesus’ resurrection, the raising of Lazarus is the most profound miracle recorded in Scripture. It’s greater than the opening of the Red Sea and all the miracles that attended the Exodus. It’s greater than the resurrection of others because they had not been dead for four days. It’s greater than the resurrection of the man who revived when his dead body touched the dead bones of the prophet Elisha for the same reason (2 Kings 13:21). Martha expressed concern that by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had begun to decompose (John 11:39), whereas Jesus’ resurrection occurred before corruption set in (Acts 13:34-37; Acts 2:27-31; see Psalm 16:10). We might think the resurrection of Lazarus was more of a miracle than that of Jesus except that Jesus arose under His own power (John 10:18).
Jesus said to those standing by, no doubt paralyzed in wonder, gawking at the sight, “Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:44).
The raising of Lazarus was a polarizing miracle (John 11:45-53). The plot to kill Christ was set into motion. I thought about how often it happens that when a loved one receives Christ and is made alive, those around are often amazed, but when that new creature in Christ is loosed from his graveclothes, their tune changes. Quickly, the “crowd” divides between those who believe and those who grieve. We do too often fail to do the work of loosing the new believer. The real impact of conversion begins when one newly risen in Christ (Colossians 3:1) is loosed from his “graveclothes” (the flesh and its lusts—Romans 6:11, Romans 8:1, 4; see 2 Peter 2:10).
In the valley, kneeling in the shadow of His Cross, the Spirit impressed on me the importance that I do not seek the old “wrappings” of death and corruption. And He reminded me of the key to walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). It’s a “daily” thing!
At the table, we communed a while over what an incredible miracle is salvation: baptized by the Spirit into Christ (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27), risen in Him (Colossians 3:1), made a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), and this truly only touches the surface of all that God hath wrought (see Numbers 23:23). Amazing Grace ’tis a sweet sound indeed! The greatest miracle of all is the work of GOD accomplished in the saving of a soul!
He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. We walked together into the Harvest. Goodness and mercy followed.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live as soon as I can set up the livestream.
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