“Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” John 11:14
There are many times
in life when we are confronted with plain truths. God in His Word stands eternal to guide us, and
through His Word Christ can speak to us plainly. To tell us what we should do, what we shouldn't
do; to correct, chasten, guide, and direct.
Christ will minister to us plainly, through the vehicle of the Holy
Ghost. Furthermore, through the plain
truths of life, the inescapable suffering it brings, Jesus can show us His
glory, bring him closer to Him, and bring life from death.
Lazarus, and his
sisters were disciples of Christ. They
followed Him, believed in Him and put their faith in Him. Furthermore, Jesus loved them. They were close to him, he was their Lord,
but he was also a close personal friend.
Lazarus was sick and Jesus, when he found out, intentionally waited
another two days. Then Jesus told the
twelve disciples that they were going to go wake Lazarus from sleep, but they
understood not that he was dead, so Jesus said plainly that Lazarus was dead;
and he was glad for their sakes. No
doubt the plain truth of Lazarus’s passing was difficult to hear. It was difficult for Martha and Mary; it was
difficult for the disciples, even difficult for Jesus. His passing was something Christ could have
prevented, but the plain truth was far more important than ease of
suffering. The plain truth was that
Lazarus was dead, and he died so that God might be glorified. God’s providence in our lives, and the
accepting of that providence is greater than the understanding of it. That said, it can be difficult for us to
grasp this (saint or sinner), and it is often met with conflict, contention and
questions on our part. The passing of a
loved one, the failing of health, the loss of a job; we all exist under the
providence of God and as disciples of Christ we must accept that our lives are
not our own. That we are here to glorify
the Father. This great truth can be
veiled in a multitude of plain truths that may cause us pain or discomfort,
just like the death of Lazarus. However,
like Lazarus, Christ can bring life where there was not. When Jesus came four days later. He went to the tomb where Lazarus’s was laid
and he raised Him from the dead.
Granted, Jesus may not always raise again what was lost, but he can
bring peace and comfort in the midst of confusion and turmoil. He can bring perspective and life to a
situation that is clouded and deceased.
Through it all, Jesus is always the Savior.
When we embrace the
plain truths in our lives, when we accept the providence of God over our
being. It brings us into further unity
with the Father. There was no doubt
behind Martha and Mary of Chris’s power (confusion perhaps, but not
doubt). They were wholly given to the
will of Christ, and because they were, it brought them to the graveside. To the mouth of their plain truth, and they
witnessed the impossible; they witnessed Lazarus rise again.
