Monday, January 23, 2012

THE THIRD RESURRECTION


John 11: 41-42            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.”  


The Scriptures record four resurrections from the dead. Yes, four specific events. The first is in Luke 7:15 where Jesus raises the Widow’s son from the dead. The second is Luke 8:53 where Jarius’ daughter is brought back to life. Scripture also reveals that more people were raised from the dead by both Jesus and his disciples. In Matthew 10:8 we see Jesus giving resurrection powers to the twelve disciples. And in Matthew 11:4, Jesus informs the John the Baptist’s followers that both He and the twelve were raising the dead. The fourth resurrection, the greatest resurrection, is that of Jesus himself by Himself.

In this event, Jesus allows himself to be caught up in the grief that Mary, Martha and the others felt. As the Son of God he does not come to redeem the world from some imaginary grief. Neither does he minimize the grief that we feel when someone close to us dies. His arrival, although delayed, is never too late.

Jesus never intended that our faith be a “miracle faith”. He did not intend that we think that the more a person believes in what God in his omnipotence can do, the greater the hold we have on that omnipotence or the more it is at our disposal. Jesus is not a “Genie in a bottle.” As the story ends with the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection, Jesus leaves us with the knowledge that all he does is in agreement with the Father’s will. 

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