Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
John 11:43-44
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! He did it after four days in the grave. “By this time there will be a stench” is an understatement. Jesus called Him forth and he came out. There was still a problem though; Lazarus was bound in the grave clothes and his face was still covered with the cloth they had put over. Jesus did not free him; He directed the others to do that.
In fact, Jesus did nothing they could do for themselves. He didn’t roll the stone away. He had those there do it. He didn’t believe for them. He required them to believe in Him. That is why Jesus had them loose Lazarus. Unwrapping Lazarus was something they could do without His assistant.
Jesus does the same for us today. He is the one who give us new life. He calls us forth from the darkness of our spiritual death. But the believers are the ones who must reach out to the lost. They must roll away the stone that holds the lost from Jesus. Believers are the ones who must deal with the bondage of each other. We are part of the plan to set His people free. Our ministry to each other is what brings us to wholeness. Like Lazarus, we all are called into life by Jesus Himself. Like Lazarus, we need each other to be completely free.
Raised By Christ,
Pastor Jason
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