Faith tells you to open the Grave

John 11:36-44

Have you been to Israel?  If not, you should put it on your travel plans, it will be a great trip, at least it was for Jan and I.  It will amaze you when you see what God is doing to and with His people.  The history and the sites will open your eyes to much of the Bible that you read past, and one such item is the number of graves carved in the hillside with stone that has been cut to roll in front of the grave.  I went to Wesley’s notes to get an understanding of these burial sites: (11:38 It was a cave - So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their wives, except Rachel, were buried in the cave of Machpelah, Gen 49:29 - 31. These caves were commonly in rocks, which abounded in that country, either hollowed by nature or hewn by art.  And the entrance was shut up with a great stone, which sometimes had a monumental inscription.)

So when Jesus came to where Lazarus was buried it was not anything unusual, and we do not know if Lazarus was a man of wealth or a person of great importance in his community, the Bible does not speak to this.  There is no evidence we should believe he was, so Lazarus may have been buried in an old tomb with up to ten other bodies.  Often I forget that our Lord was fully man and yet God and as man He had emotions and the writer is sharing this with us in verse 38, “Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”  Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”  This is the same Martha that hours ago said I believe you are the Son of God, the Christ, and you wonder what was going on in her mind, did she think Jesus wanted to just see the body? 

Can you identify with Martha, often when God says to us in our experiences, “Take away the stone” we act as if we forgot who is speaking, and we call this using our common-sense, when the only thing that will please God is faith.  Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell that if you believed you would see the glory of God?  “So they took away the stone,” and maybe Martha and Mary help, but more than likely it was the curious who came with them to the grave, they move the stone.  Was their action an act of faith, probably not, they may have heard about how Jesus made the blind man see, we do not know, but more than likely they were just curious.

John reports that Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. (Note: Jesus always went to the Father, it was the Father through the Son doing the miracles) I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, (Note: the curious and people like me will read this account) that they may believe that you sent me.”  When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out.”  As you read this account you may be in the curious group, and common sense tells you the same thing it told Martha, Lazarus body is decaying, but faith tells you to open the grave and be part of God’s amazing grace, it’s your choice!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice