John 11:32-44 (NRSV)
Read John 11:32-44 on biblegateway.com
Verse 32When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
Verse 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. Verse 34He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Verse 35Jesus began to weep. Verse 36So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" Verse 37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" Verse 38Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Verse 39Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Verse 40Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" Verse 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. Verse 42I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." Verse 43When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" Verse 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Devotion
This preview of life beyond death is the most dramatic of all. It takes courage to rewrite the entire script at God's direction. As Jesus comes to the tomb where Lazarus is buried, he says to Martha, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" Jesus speaks to the Father for the sake of the crowd, so that they, too, might believe.
Then Jesus calls Lazarus out. The dead comes to life—not just healed. Jesus gives the surprise ending of freedom from death. Here we see a preview of his own death and resurrection. Here is a preview of the new, resurrected life promised to each of us. The glory of God shines.
As we look ahead in faith, it is sometimes hard to wait for the wonder of eternal life and God's happy ending. Keep watching the preview; the best is yet ahead.
Prayer
God of glory and might, your vision for our redeemed life is beyond my ability to imagine or grasp. Expand my belief and stretch my sight so that your previews of eternal life become my life now. In gratitude and praise, I give my heart to you. Amen.