Jn. 11: 1-45
“The passage of time has not altered the capacity of the Redeemer to change men’s lives. As he said to the dead Lazarus, so he says to you and me: “come forth.” Come forth from the despair of doubt. Come forth from the sorrow of sin. Come forth from the death of disbelief. Come forth to a newness of life. Come forth.” (Thomas S. Monson)
The fifth Sunday of the season of Lent invites us to reflect on the raising of Lazarus from the dead. What is the significance of this particular miracle that Jesus performed? We see a number of miracles worked by Jesus in the gospels, such as Jesus calming the storm, walking on the water, changing water into wine, multiplying the bread, and various healing miracles like healing the blind, the dumb, the lepers, exorcising demoniacs, etc. We also see three incidents wherein Jesus raised the dead, such as the son of the widow of Naim, the daughter of Jairus, and the third one, raising Lazarus. Among all the miracles performed by Jesus, the raising of Lazarus can be considered the most significant. All the other miracles depict Jesus’ power over nature, demons, and sicknesses. Whereas, the raising of Lazarus conveys the fact that Jesus is the author of life. Then we may ask why raising Lazarus alone is significant?
The rising of the son of the widow of Naim and the daughter of Jairus—can’t they both be equally significant manifestations of Jesus’ power over life? However, in the other two events, Jesus raised them immediately after death. Among Jews, there was a strong belief that once a person dies, that person’s soul lingers around the human body for three days. After three days, the human body starts decaying, and we could be sure of the complete separation of both body and soul at that moment. In the case of Lazarus, Jesus wanted to reach there only after his passing away. Jesus knew that he was seriously sick, yet he delayed his journey so that he reached Bethany only three days after Lazarus death and could manifest God’s glory.
Then the next question can be, if Jesus knew he would bring back Lazarus to life, then why did he cry when he saw the sorrows of Martha and Mary? We know that Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were very close to the heart of Jesus. Both Martha and Mary express the sentiment of sorrow that if Jesus had been there, their brother would not have died. They know the person of Jesus and acknowledge him as the Son of God. Though Jesus knew he would raise Lazarus, having witnessed the sorrows of Martha and Mary for their diseased brother, he feels with them and moves with compassion for their loss. He participates in their sorrow by crying along with them. Anyhow, at that juncture, no one expects that Jesus will bring back Lazarus because his body has already started to decay. For Jesus, raising Lazarus from his decayed state was not a matter of concern because He was the one who created the entire world with His word and fashioned human beings in his image and likeness. Then Jesus reveals the great mystery of his own person: that He is the way, the truth, and the life. If he could raise someone after the third day, then he could raise himself from the dead. Jesus died on the cross in order to give us strength and help us possess eternal life so that we too might conquer death by being raised from the dead and living with him forever.
As we reflect on this passage today, let us be aware that Jesus has perfect control of everything. The moments of death, fear, or anxiety can be the realities of our lives. However, we should not forget the Lord who raised Lazarus, whose body started to decay, and Jesus himself conquered death by his resurrection; he would guide our destiny, and we can be assured that we would be safe in his hands; he could bring us out of any difficult situation that we are in, which may be hopeless; he could lead us to newness of life and start again.