Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, March 6, 2022
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: The raising of Lazarus was a pivotal moment in Jesus’ ministry as he moved toward the cross. For now, we wait.
Unlike the Jesus portrayed in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who consistently asked people not to make a big deal of his healings and miracles, John’s Jesus went out of his way to make a show of this story. When he learned about Lazarus’ death, he stayed two more days, so when he arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days. The Jews believed a dead person’s spirit hung around the dead body for three days. When Jesus arrived, there would be no question Lazarus was dead. Truly and unmistakably dead.
When he went to Martha and Mary, who were clearly already believers, both scolded Jesus for not being present—they knew that he could have and would have saved Lazarus from death if he had been there. What more did Jesus have to prove to them?
Jesus also made quite a show of the raising itself. He prayed to God aloud, even though he knew God was already listening. He did it for the sake of the bystanders who would become witnesses of the incredible event.
And this was an incredible event. Resurrections like this one were not unheard of, but they certainly weren’t commonplace. At just four days out, there would have been quite a few mourners to witness the event. Clearly, Jesus wanted people to know just how powerful God was.
Undoubtedly, word would spread about the raising of Lazarus. Religious leaders immediately set out to kill Lazarus so that the event could not be verified. But by this time, news of Jesus was uncontainable. This would be one of the pivotal events that caused religious leaders to begin contemplating killing Jesus himself. The line was drawn in the sand. The rest of Jesus’ time would be spent outmaneuvering the religious leaders and preparing the disciples to continue his work after his departure. There would only be one event that could top the event of Lazarus’ resurrection. And for that we wait.