Pastor's Point

Jesus has finally arrived, but it was too late; Lazarus was dead! If only He had arrived earlier. Jesus made His way to the tomb with the grieving crowd following. He stood in front of Lazarus’ tomb weeping, revealing His heart to the crowd (John 11).

Then suddenly He instructed the people to remove the stone from grave’s entrance. They couldn’t believe their ears. Martha blurted out in her surprise, “But Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been dead four days.”

The people obeyed. Jesus calls out to Lazarus and behold the creator of life (John 1:1-3) gave new life to Lazarus. Lazarus waddled out of the tomb still wrapped in His grave clothes alive! Jesus directed the people to remove the grave clothes.

This miracle catches us by surprise in several ways. We dare not miss the sign – the miracle of raising a person from the dead is primary. Yet we are surprised by other elements as well. Why did Jesus have the people remove the stone? Was He challenging their faith? Why did He have the people remove the grave clothes? This request seems more obvious.

Lazarus couldn’t do it for himself. Whatever the reasons one thing is abundantly clear – Jesus chose to involve the people in His work. Amazingly, astoundingly He involved His people in His work.

There are many obstacles that hinder people from coming out of their sin – their graves. There is the sin itself biding them. We cannot remove the sin. Only Jesus can do that. But we can work to remove stones. They cannot even hear the voice of God calling because these “stones” are so thick that they muffle His voice.

Though it is impossible for the church, for you and me, to remove all these stones, Jesus is instructing us, His people, to “remove the stone.” Stones of ignorance; stones of apathy; stones of physical need; stones of misunderstanding; these are just a few if the stones we can address and help remove.

And the grave clothes; when people find new life in Christ Jesus they bring with them habits, experiences, hurts – grave clothes. They need to be discipled – to have their grave-clothes removed. It is our responsibility in partnership with the Holy Spirit to help them remove the excess baggage that they carried with them from their life in sin. This takes time, effort, patience, persistence, diligence and an extra amount of God’s love, which He provides. But Jesus is looking at us and telling us – “remove the grave clothes.”

Let’s not neglect our responsibilities. Let’s draw upon God’s limitless resources and accept the gracious privilege of being involved in His work. He calls us and people’s eternal lives depend on it!

The young man had lost his job and didn’t know which way to turn.  So he went to see the old preacher.

Pacing about the preacher’s study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, “I’ve begged God to say something to help me. Tell me, Preacher, why doesn’t God answer?”

The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply — something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. “What did you say?” he asked.

The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. “Sorry,” he said. “I still didn’t hear you.”

With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. “God sometimes whispers,” he said, “so we will move closer to hear Him.”

This time the young man heard and he understood. We all want God’s voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem.  But God’s is the still, small voice… the gentle whisper.

Perhaps there’s a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God’s whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I find myself closer to God.

There was an incredibly large group of people assembled. On one side of the group stood a man, Jesus. On the other side of the group stood another man, Satan. Separating them, running through the group was a fence.

The scene set, both Jesus and Satan began calling to the people in the group and, one by one, each having made up his or her mind, each went to either Jesus or Satan.

This kept going, and eventually Jesus had gathered around him a group of people from the larger crowds, as did Satan. But one man joined neither group. He climbed the fence that was there and just sat down on it. Then Jesus and his people left and disappeared. So too did Satan and his people.

And the man on the fence sat alone.

As this man sat there, Satan came back, and appeared to be looking for something that he’d lost. The man said, “Have you lost something?” Satan looked straight at him and replied, “No, there you are. Come with me.”

“But,” said the man, “I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor Him.

“That’s okay,” said Satan. “I own the fence.”

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. (Matt 6:24)

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh 24:15)