"Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad...
(Jn. 11:14-15)
At Lazarus’ grave, as in other Gospels, we behold both the humanity and deity of the Lord Jesus. Two times in this story we are told Jesus groaned (vv 33, 38), and twice we find the Glory of God mentioned (vv 4, 40). In vv 3, 5, 36 we're told how He loved Lazarus. And in (v35) how He wept. We see here the Son of God as well as God the Son!
In spite of His personal feelings for His dear friend (v 11), He tells His disciples He was glad for the death. I would never have said such a thing had it not been recorded in scripture; I would have considered it blasphemous. But, as in the case of His question to Philip (John 6:5-6), He knew what He was He going to do and the outcome before it happened.
How many of us are like those of that day who said, "Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?" Admittedly that would have been great, but to raise him from the dead was even greater; Jesus chose the latter. When we cease to dictate to deity, we too will see the greater!
There can be no resurrection until first there is a death. Paul said, "I die daily." Therefore, it goes without saying he experienced a daily resurrection. A preacher friend called another who was going through an agonizing time. He asked, "Are you dead yet," the reply was, "Yes!" My friend said, "Great, now you can be resurrected."
"God will not only be glorified in the future resurrection, but is glorified in the present when a lifeless life is brought back to life."
(rds)
An Old Disciple
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