John 11:35, now, Jesus has ordered the stone moved in front of everyone, if nothing happens, the shame will be public, if Jesus speaks and Lazarus does not come out, the sisters will have to stand there before an open tomb and a watching crowd, the command to remove the stone is not decorative, it is the moment when faith becomes visible. Martha believes Jesus is the Christ, but she also knows what death smells like, that is not a contradiction, that is the moment faith meets the stone. Jesus answers in John 11:40, did I not say to you, that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God? So, they take away the stone, for a moment, the whole scene holds its breath, the stone scrapes away, the grave is open, the air changes, the mourners are watching, Martha’s warning is still hanging there.
Mary is near the one whose feet she fell before and Jesus does not step into panic, he lifts his eyes and prays, he thanks the father for hearing him and says he is speaking, because of the people standing around, so that they may believe the father sent him, the prayer is public, because the sign is public. Then comes the command, John 11:43, Lazarus come forth, not a spell, not a performance, not a negotiation with death, a command, a voice goes into the place where no human voice can bring someone back. John 11:44, and he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Not an idea, a man bound hand and foot, face wrapped, the brother Martha had buried, the brother Mary had wept for, the friend Jesus loved, standing where a corpse had been expected.
There is a strange tenderness in what Jesus says next, he does not leave Lazarus standing there wrapped in the signs of death, he tells the people, loose him and let him go. The same community that watched him buried, now has to help unwrap him. The hands that may have comforted the sisters, now touch the grave clothes. The people who followed Mary, thinking she was going to weep at the tomb, now stand in front of a man who has walked out of it, but John does not let you confuse this miracle with the final resurrection, Lazarus is restored to mortal life. Scripture does not present this as the same final resurrection believers await at the last day, Lazarus will die again, but his temporary restoration points beyond itself. Lazarus comes out still wrapped in grave clothes, Jesus will rise, never to die again. Lazarus is called out by the voice of Christ, Jesus will rise as the one over whom death has no final claim.
Mary is near the one whose feet she fell before and Jesus does not step into panic, he lifts his eyes and prays, he thanks the father for hearing him and says he is speaking, because of the people standing around, so that they may believe the father sent him, the prayer is public, because the sign is public. Then comes the command, John 11:43, Lazarus come forth, not a spell, not a performance, not a negotiation with death, a command, a voice goes into the place where no human voice can bring someone back. John 11:44, and he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Not an idea, a man bound hand and foot, face wrapped, the brother Martha had buried, the brother Mary had wept for, the friend Jesus loved, standing where a corpse had been expected.
There is a strange tenderness in what Jesus says next, he does not leave Lazarus standing there wrapped in the signs of death, he tells the people, loose him and let him go. The same community that watched him buried, now has to help unwrap him. The hands that may have comforted the sisters, now touch the grave clothes. The people who followed Mary, thinking she was going to weep at the tomb, now stand in front of a man who has walked out of it, but John does not let you confuse this miracle with the final resurrection, Lazarus is restored to mortal life. Scripture does not present this as the same final resurrection believers await at the last day, Lazarus will die again, but his temporary restoration points beyond itself. Lazarus comes out still wrapped in grave clothes, Jesus will rise, never to die again. Lazarus is called out by the voice of Christ, Jesus will rise as the one over whom death has no final claim.