Of all Jesus’ miracles, the raising of Lazarus is the most dramatic. The feeding of the 5,000 may have been on a larger scale, the walking on the water more terrifying – but the combination of extraordinary power and sheer pathos we see here gives this miracle a unique position in the gospels. John certainly gives it that kind of billing: he only records seven ‘signs’, and this is the final one; since seven is the biblical number for perfection or completeness, we can conclude that, for John, this is the most perfect, the most complete.
It’s not Jesus’ only raising of somebody else from the dead: we have already marvelled at the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7) and Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8). But this is the first resurrection miracle where the person Jesus raises is already entombed. The gap between Lazarus’ death and his rising is days, not hours. Even Jesus’ great friend (and Lazarus’ sister) Martha doubted that he could do anything now – when Jesus tells people to move the stone, she questions the wisdom of his actions, and the smell that people will have to endure (v39).
There is, therefore, no doubt as to the extraordinary nature of this miracle. Jesus is not just restoring the breath of life, but reversing decay. That much is clear from the striking description of Lazarus appearing, still fully clothed in bandages (v44). It must have been an unforgettable sight for those privileged to witness it. We’re not told what Martha and Mary thought, but we can only imagine their shock and joy. Nor are we told what Lazarus made of it all – all we know is that he was dining with them all some time later (John 12:2). Life went on!
What makes this such an important ‘sign’ for John is of course that the raising of Lazarus directly prefigures what Jesus will do himself. Jesus was himself entombed, and wrapped in bandages when he rose from the dead. If Jesus can do this for Lazarus, he can do this for himself, too. Or, as Peter puts it on the Day of Pentecost: ‘But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.’ (Acts 2:24) Jesus simply has too much life!
We, too, are called into this life. We may still be living, physically, but Jesus’ call to Lazarus in some ways is also his call to us: ‘Come out! Come into the new life I have in store for you! Be alive in me!’
Today, thanks to Jesus, you have resurrection life. Like Lazarus we do all still die – but death is not the end. The tomb is not our final destination. We are made alive in Christ. As we give thanks for that resurrection life today, let’s resolve to live that life to the full, to bring it to others, to share it with the world. In our different ways, we are all Lazaruses.