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Celebrating Lazarus Saturday

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The story of Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead is one of the most popular stories found in the New Testament. The tale of Jesus raising one of His closest friends from the dead teaches us many lessons about Christ, how He thought, His values, and His power.

Depending on the type of church that you attend, you may or may not be familiar with Lazarus Saturday. Among many Eastern churches, Lazarus Saturday is the official start to Holy Week, as it falls each year on the Saturday directly before Palm Sunday. While many of these churches celebrate Lazarus Saturday through fasting, prayer, or designated worship services, you can also observe Lazarus Saturday simply by reflecting on this story found in John 11.

The Story of Lazarus
John 11:3-4 (RSV)
So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it.”

In John 11:2, we read that Lazarus’ sister, Mary was the same Mary who had anointed the feet of Jesus with expensive perfume before wiping his feet with her hair. Lazarus, Mary, and their other sister, Martha, were incredibly close to Christ. They were friends. With that in mind, the sisters didn’t hesitate to send word to Jesus when Lazarus became ill. After all, they knew Him personally.

However, Christ saw the end of the story from the beginning. When Jesus heard about Lazarus’ illness, He immediately declared that the sickness would not end in death. Instead, He would be glorified, and so would the Father in Heaven.

But Lazarus did die. Was Jesus wrong? No, of course not! He said that the story wouldn’t end in death, not that death wouldn’t be part of the story. While we view death as the end of a story, Christ just views it as a chapter. This is proven later in the story of Lazarus, and it was further proven in the story of the first Easter.

John 11:5-6 (RSV)
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

If you gloss over these two verses, you will miss what may be the most profound part of this entire story. Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days in the place where He was. Those two letters tell a powerful truth about this story. He loved the family, so He didn’t respond to their message. He loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, so He didn’t go running to Bethany when they called.

While the sisters and the disciples assumed that His love for them would prompt Him to rush to their side, it did the opposite. His love for them allowed the door to close on their hope. His love for them caused them to suffer a loss that they never dreamt of. His love for them prompted Him to not move at all.

Again, this was because Jesus knew how the story would end. He wanted Mary and Martha to witness something more powerful than they had ever seen before. He wanted Lazarus to have a testimony that would change the lives of people around him. Prompted by love, Christ let Lazarus die.

John 11:11-14 (RSV)
Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead;”

Isn’t it amazing that what humanity considered (and still considers) so final, Christ considered a nap? Jesus told the disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep, not that he was dead. They didn’t understand what He meant, so they pointed out the health benefits of a sick man getting some rest. Finally, Christ told them something that left them awestruck. Lazarus was dead. Lazarus was dead, Jesus could have stopped it, and He chose to do nothing. Why?

Because God wants us to understand that when we think all hope is lost, He is still working. What we consider the end of a story, God views as a transition. Lazarus was dead, hope seemed to be lost, and the mourners were brought in. But Jesus said, “Oh, he’s just sleeping. I’ll go wake him up.”

The Easter story is about God defeating the thing that we consider the strongest enemy we will ever face. Is there anything more final than a grave? Is there any day that brings about more resignation of hope than a funeral? No, there isn’t. Because of what Christ did on the first Easter, those days are not the last days! Death has been defeated, Christ is alive, and we can live too!

John 11:21-22 (RSV)
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

Martha heard that Jesus was finally on His way, but she also knew it was too late. By the time Jesus walked the dusty road to Bethany, Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. The natural process of decay had started, and Jesus had ignored her request.

Did you notice that Martha didn’t approach Christ with an attitude of worship? In fact, she didn’t even approach Him as a friend. She was frustrated, let down, and angry with God. “If you had come when I sent word, my brother would be alive, my family would be whole, and I wouldn’t be hurting like this!”

God understands when we get frustrated. Doesn’t that feel good to know? He didn’t punish Martha for her outburst, and she realized that her outburst wasn’t completely fair. That’s why she also said that she knew He could still do anything.

John 11:25-26 (RSV)
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Before Christ was ever laid in His own tomb, He called Himself the “Resurrection and the Life.” Resurrection is at the essence of who Jesus is. He brings life into things that appear dead because He is life.

John 11:43-44 (RSV)
When he had said this, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The dead man came out, his hands and feed bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Had Jesus not specifically called out to Lazarus, every dead body within the sound of His voice would have raised again. Why? Because He has always had power over death.

The story of Lazarus goes hand in hand with the story of the first Easter. In the story of Lazarus, Jesus overcame death from the outside of the grave. In the story of the first Easter, He overcame death from the inside. What does all that mean for us? It means that the same God who walks with us (on the outside) while also living in us (on the inside) has power over what we consider our greatest enemy. Death is not the end for the child of God. It never has been, and it never will be.

A Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to remember that my story isn’t over as long as I am following You. The story of Lazarus and the story of Your Son’s resurrection remind me that You have the power to breathe new life into any situation. In Christ’s name, Amen.

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