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.