Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, was sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, had sent a message to Jesus. Instead of leaving right away, Jesus stayed where he was for two days, then he told his disciples, “Now it’s time to go to Judea.” His disciples said, “Wait a minute! Just a few days ago the people were going to stone you. Now you want to go back there?”

At first Jesus spoke about Lazarus’ illness in a vague way. He said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” The disciples didn’t get the gravity of the situation. They said, “Well, if he’s sleeping, then he’ll just wake up.” They obviously didn’t want Jesus to put himself in harm’s way for no good reason. Then Jesus tried again, a little more clearly this time. “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”

When Jesus arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus and his sisters lived, his friend had already been in the tomb for four days. Mary and Martha both told Jesus the same thing when they saw him, “My brother would still be alive if you had made it here on time.” Martha, the recovering OCD, workaholic, still held out hope. “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask,” she told him. Jesus affirmed her faith and offered her hope. “Your brother will rise again.” Martha agreed, but she was cautious. Then Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Anyone who believes in me will live, even after they die.”

I wonder if Martha felt like this glimmer of hope was dangerous. She was mourning her brother. Daring to expect a miracle would make the grieving process start all over again. Jesus wasn’t being cruel. He never would’ve said what he said if he couldn’t back it up with action. He knew grief, too. He knew frustration. If you don’t believe me read John 11:33-35. He wept. “He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” Jesus didn’t accept death. He has been around since before Adam and Eve ate the fruit that made death a part of living, so He knew what God’s creation was supposed to be like.

What happened next is one of the most dramatic moments of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus stands before the opening of a tomb where a giant stone had just been rolled out of the way. He called his friend’s name, and Lazarus hobbled out. Lazarus’ sisters and the other mourners must’ve experienced every feeling imaginable as they stood on that dusty plot, mouths wide open. Were they scared, confused, joyful, hurt? Yes, all that and more! Nothing draws out more complex emotions than the reality of death, but Jesus is the answer to every hard question.

And we can’t talk about resurrection without talking about Jesus’ death and rising. Lazarus died sometime in February to late March in 30 AD, and Jesus’ crucifixion was early April of the same year. So this scene in front of the tomb with Lazarus comes 2-5 weeks before Jesus’ own death.

When Jesus took his last breath, hanging on that cross, his disciples and his family must’ve felt so hopeless. They saw the man they had followed dying a tortured death, and all seemed lost. We may wear a golden cross on a chain now, but the people standing on Golgotha saw the brutality of a tortured death sentence, but the cross was actually his throne. Three days later, there’s another scene in front of an empty tomb. Heavenly forces rolled that stone away, and this time, Mary and Martha didn’t have to remove the burial cloths. Those linen strips were found, neatly folded, like the resurrected man had all the time in the world. Which makes sense because he created time, and He’s the resurrection and the life.