A Community for the Curious: Recent Episodes
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John chapter 11 is where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. This is a story I heard over and over growing up, but it never really stuck out to me. Rereading it, and really meditating on it, it struck me how much we are like Lazarus. John 11:38-44Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “ by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them. “Take off the grave cloths and let him go.” When we are in our sin, we are dead. So often, we let our sin fester, and it creates this “smell” on our lives. We keep living the way we want, knowing better, and choosing to be dead in our sin anyway. If I have a sin in my life that I haven’t confessed and given to God, I feel the effects of it in my life. I feel the stink that is coming off of me, and it affects how I interact with others. Maybe sometimes it makes people not want to be around me because of the “smell.” Lazarus was dead for four days before Jesus went to his tomb. Jesus waited until his body had started to decompose, to show that there was nothing that God couldn’t bring back. When we accept Christ, we get to come out of the tomb. We get to take off our grave clothes and go. The stink of our sin disappears under the cross. We get to confess our sin, give it over to the Lord, and have the burden and the smell of our life go away. There is nothing that Christ cannot redeem us from, and there is nothing we can do that washes away what he did for us on the cross. Lazarus was dead, just like we are dead in our sin, and we get to come out of our graves the same way he came out of his physical grave.
My name is Christian Ranicke and I am one of the 8th grade boy leaders. I am a senior in college at UWM and work on the tech team at CrossWay Church.This week, we are looking at John 10 where Jesus uses the image of a shepherd to explain His relationship with His followers. The Old Testament often refers to leaders of Israel as shepherds, but they were bad shepherds because of their wicked and selfish ways. Jesus, on the other hand, is the good shepherd and is personally invested in His sheep. John 10 says that He calls them by name, goes before them, gives them abundant life, and lays down His life for His sheep. He is not like a hired hand who does not own the sheep and flees when trouble comes. He stays and fights for His sheep and lays down His life for them.As sheep, it is so comforting to know that our shepherd cares for us like no one else. He is with us when trouble comes our way and He fights on our behalf. And He never loses! John 10:28 says “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Because of our relationship with Christ, our good shepherd, we have the assurance of eternal life and no one can take us away from Him.
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