I don’t remember ever hearing a message about “the plot to
kill Lazarus.”
What happened earlier is more familiar. The death and resurrection of Jesus’ close friend Lazarus is
recorded in John 11:1-44. Jesus heard that Lazarus was dying but waited an
extra two days before he headed off to see him. But the time Jesus arrived
Lazarus had been dead four days and was already starting to decompose. As the
KJV puts it, “by this time he stinketh.” The extra time had allowed many people
to arrive to mourn Lazarus’ death. Then Jesus commanded the stone in front of the
cave to be rolled away. Jesus prayed out loud to the Father and said that this was so “that they may believe that you [God the Father] sent me.” Then Jesus commanded Lazarus to rise from the dead and come out. And he did.
The raising of Lazarus is a familiar story but I had never paid
much attention to the “plot to kill Lazarus” tucked away in the next chapter:
“When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account
of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as
well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and
believing in Jesus.” –John 12:9-11
It takes a lot of nerve to plot to kill a guy just after he
was brought back from the dead! What was the reason that people wanted to kill
Lazarus? Was it because they had something against Lazarus personally? No. People wanted
to kill Lazarus because his physical resurrection was undeniable evidence that
Jesus was who He claimed to be. That miracle was very public and obvious. Many people knew Lazarus had been dead. Now they could see he was alive. People were coming to faith in Jesus because
they saw the signs of life in Lazarus. The enemies of the light wanted to put
an end to that.
If that is the case with Lazarus, what should we expect?
There is such as things as physical resurrection, but there
is also spiritual resurrection. Physical resurrection is when someone is
physically dead but is brought back to physical life. On the other hand,
spiritual resurrection is when someone is spiritually dead and is brought back
to life spiritually. This happens at the moment of salvation.
Ephesians 2:1 says that we “were dead in the trespasses and sins” in
which we once walked. Ever since Adam's rebellion, each of us come
into this world spiritually dead—separated from the life of God because of sin.
Even Christians were “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind”
(Eph. 2:3) Thankfully, God did something about this. The next verse says, “But
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by
grace you have been saved.” This is spiritual resurrection. Salvation is being
made alive again.
When God raised Lazarus there were obvious signs of life. He wasn't just laying there anymore. People could tell that he was no longer dead. In the same way, people should also be
able to see signs of life when someone receives spiritual resurrection. It doesn’t outwardly look the same for everyone, but at salvation God starts the process of
changing us from the inside out. We receive a new heart. New affections start
growing—new loves. Sins we used to love become bitter. The things of God that
we used to find dull turn from black and white to color. Some people are able
to say goodbye to deep sinful habits. Others start to struggle against them—when there
wasn’t even a struggle before. People find themselves wanting to read God’s
Word, go to church, and pray and worship…not because they have to, but now because they want to. These changes are noticeable.
Our lives should be a testimony to what God has done. It
takes a miracle to physically raise someone from the dead and it also takes a
straight-out miracle to raise someone to life spiritually. That new life did
not come from the corpse. Corpses don’t do anything. God did it and God gets
all the glory. Whether the changes seem big or small, fast or gradual, people see them. Some
people will be happy with what they see. Others won’t.
Are
you living a life that God’s enemies would be worried about? Or not? Does your
life give evidence to the world that Jesus Christ saves and changes lives . . .
or does your life, so far, give little or no evidence of Christ’s work?
They wanted to kill Lazarus. If we are living changed lives
we should expect that some people won't like it. Darkness hates the light. Sin hates a contrast. Sinners like other people to sin with them because it helps down out feelings of guilt. Those who hate Jesus won't like it. Satan certainly isn’t going to
like it. He doesn't want more people to put their trust in Christ. Satan doesn’t want people to look
at your life and see undeniable evidence of Jesus’ power to give new life. The
enemies of the light want to cover that up. Expect that. Prepare for that. But don’t let it
happen.
