When Lazarus Is Resurrected

JESUS, along with those accompanying him, now arrive at the memorial tomb of Lazarus. Actually, it is a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. "Take the stone away," Jesus says. Martha objects, not yet understanding what Jesus intends to do. "Lord," she says, "by now he must smell, for it is four days." But Jesus asks: "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"

So the stone is removed. Then Jesus raises his eyes and prays: "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. True, I knew that you always hear me; but on account of the crowd standing around I spoke, in order that they might believe that you sent me forth." Jesus prays publicly so that the people will know that what he is about to do will be accomplished through power received from God. Then he cries out with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come on out!" At that, Lazarus comes out. His hands and feet are still bound with burial wrappings, and his face is covered with a cloth. "Loose him and let him go," Jesus says.

On seeing this miracle, many of the Jews that had come to comfort Mary and Martha put faith in Jesus. Others, however, go off to tell the Pharisees what has occurred. They and the chief priests immediately arrange for a meeting of the Jewish high court, the Sanhedrin.

Next time: Conclusion of When Lazarus Is Resurrected'

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991

Conclusion Of The Resurrection Of Hope

"Yes, Lord," she answers. "I have believed that you are the Christ the Son of God, the One coming into the world." Martha then hurries back to summon her sister, telling her privately: "The Teacher is present and is calling you." Immediately Mary leaves the house. When others see her go, they follow, assuming that she is going to the memorial tomb.

Coming to see Jesus, Mary falls at his feet weeping. "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died," she says. Jesus is deeply moved when he sees that Mary and the crowds of people following her are weeping. "Where have you laid him?" He asks. Lord, come and see," they answer. Jesus too gives way to tears, causing the Jews to say: "See what affection he used to have for him!"

Some recall that Jesus, at the time of the Festival of Tabernacles a few months before, had healed a young man born blind, and they ask: "Was not this man that opened the eyes of the blind man able to prevent this one from dying?" John 5:21; 6:40; 9:1-7; 11:17-37.

The Resurrection Hope

JESUS finally arrives at the outskirts of Bethany, a village about two miles from Jerusalem. It has only been a few days since Lazarus' death and burial. His sisters Mary and Martha are still mourning, and many have come to their home to console them. While they are mourning, someone informs Martha that Jesus is on his way. So she leaves and hurries to meet him, apparently without telling her sister. Coming to Jesus, Martha repeats what she and her sister must have said many ties during the past four days: "If you had been here my brother would not have died."

Martha, however, expresses hope, hinting that Jesus might yet do something for her brother. "I know that as many things as you ask God for, God will give you," she says. "Your brother will rise," Jesus promises. Martha understands Jesus to be speaking of a future earthly resurrection, to which Abraham and other servants of God also looked forward. So she replies: "I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day."

However, Jesus gives hope for immediate relief, replying: "I am the resurrection and the life." He reminds Martha that God has given him power over death, saying: "He that exercises faith in me, even though he dies, will come to life: and everyone that is living and exercises faith in me will never die at all.

Jesus is not suggesting to Martha that faithful ones then alive will never die. No, but the point he is making is that exercising faith in him can lead to everlasting life. Such life will be enjoyed by most people as a result of their being resurrected on the last day. But others who are faithful will survive the end of this system of things on earth, and for these Jesus' words will be true in a very literal sense. They will never die at all! After this remarkable statement, Jesus asks Martha,"Do you believe this?"

Next time: Conclusion of The Resurrection Hope

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991

Conclusion Of A Mission Of Mercy Into Judea

Apparently it is shortly after Jesus gives this illustration that a messenger arrives. He was sent by Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, who live in Bethany of Judea. "Lord, see! The one for whom you have affection is sick," the messenger relates. Jesus replies: "This sickness is not with death as its object, but is for the glory of God, in order that the Son of God may be glorified through it." After remaining two days where he is, Jesus says to his disciples: "Let us go into Judea again." However, they remind him: "Rabbi just lately the Judeans were seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"

"There are twelve hours of daylight, are there not?" Jesus asks in response. "If anyone walks in daylight he does not bump against anything, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he bumps against something because the light is not in him."

What Jesus apparently means is that the "hours of daylight," or the time God has allotted for Jesus' earthly ministry, have not yet elapsed and until they do, nobody can harm him. He needs to use the full the short time of "daylight" left for him, since afterward will come the 'night" when his enemies will have killed him.

Jesus adds: "Lazarus our friend has gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep." Evidently thinking that Lazarus is resting in sleep and that there is a positive sign that he will recover, the disciples respond: "Lord, if he has gone to rest, he will get well." Then Jesus tells them outspokenly: "Lazarus has died, and I rejoice on your account that I was not there, in order for you to believe. But let us go to him."

Realizing that Jesus could be killed in Judea, yet desiring to support him, Thomas encourages his fellow disciples: "Let us also go, that we may die with him." So at the risk of their lives, the disciples accompany Jesus on this mission of mercy into Judea. Luke 13:22; 17:1-10; John 10:22, 31, 40-42; 11:1-16.

Next time: The Resurrection Hope

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991

A Mission Of Mercy Into Judea

SOME weeks earlier, during the Festival of Dedication in Jerusalem, the Jews tried to kill Jesus. So he traveled north, evidently to an area that was not far from the Sea of Galilee. Recently, he has been heading south again toward Jerusalem, preaching along the way in the villages of Perea, a district east of the Jordan River. After telling the illustration about the rich man and Lazarus, he continues teaching his disciples things that he had taught earlier while in Galilee.

He says, for example, that it would be more advantageous for a person "if a millstone were suspended from his neck and he were thrown into the sea" than for him to cause one of God's "little ones" to stumble. He also emphasizes the need of forgiveness, explaining: "Even if [a brother] sins seven times against you and he comes back to you seven times saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."

When the disciples request, "Give us more faith," Jesus answers: "IF you had faith the size of a mustard grain, you would say to this black mulberry tree. 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea!' And it would obey you." so even a little faith can accomplish great things.

Next Jesus relates a true-to-life situation that illustrates the proper attitude of a servant of the almighty God. "Who of you is there that has a slave plowing or minding the flock," Jesus observes, "who will say to him when he gets in from the field, 'Come here at once and recline at the table?' Rather, will he not say to him, 'Get something ready for me to have my evening meal, and put on an apron and minister to me until I am through eating and drinking, and afterward you can eat and drink?' He will not feel gratitude to the slave because he did the things assigned, will he? So you , also, when you have done all things assigned to you, say, 'We are good-for-nothing slaves. What we have done is what we ought to have done.'" Thus, God's servants should never feel that they are doing God a favor by serving him. Rather, they should always remember the privilege that they have of worshiping him as trusted members of his household.

Next time: A Mission Of Mercy Into Judea

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991

Conclusion of The Rich Man And Lazarus-Rich Man And Lazarus Experience A Change

"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you received in full your good things in your lifetime, but Lazarus correspondingly the injurious things. Now, however, he is having comfort here but you are in anguish. And besides all these things, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you people, so that those wanting to go over from here to you people cannot, neither may people cross over from there to us.'"

How just and appropriate that such a dramatic reversal take place between the Lazarus class and the rich-man class! The change in conditions is accomplished a few months later at Pentecost 33 C.E., when the old Law covenant is replaced by the new covenant. It then becomes unmistakably clear that the disciples, not the Pharisees and other religious leaders , are favored by God. The "great chasm" that separates the symbolic rich man from Jesus' disciples therefore represents God's unchangeable, righteous judgment.

The rich man next requests "father Abraham:" "Send [Lazarus] to the house of my father, for I have five brothers." The rich man thus confesses he has a closer relationship to another father, who is actually Satan the Devil. The rich man requests that Lazarus water down God's judgment messages so as not to put his "five brothers," his religious allies,in "this place of torment."

But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to these.'" Yes, if the "five brothers" would escape torment, all they have to do is heed the writings of Moses and the Prophets that identify Jesus as the Messiah and then become his disciples. But the rich man objects: "No, indeed, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them they will repent."

However, he is told: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead." God will not provide special signs or miracles to convince people. They must read and apply the Scriptures if they would obtain his favor. Luke 16:14-31; John 9:28, 29; Matthew 19:3-9; Galatians 3:24; Colossians 2:14; John 8:44.

Next time: A Mission Of Mercy Into Judea

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991

Continue with The Rich Man And Lazarus Rich Man And Lazarus Experience A Change

Rich Man And Lazarus Experience A Change

The rich man represents the religious leaders who are favored with spiritual privileges and opportunities, and Lazarus pictures the common people who hunger for spiritual nourishment. Jesus continues his story, describing a dramatic change in the men's circumstances.

"Now in the course of time," Jesus says, "the beggar died and was carried off by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. Also, the rich man dies and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, he existing in torments, and he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in the bosom position with him."

Since the rich an and Lazarus are not literal persons but symbolize classes of people, logically their deaths are also symbolic. What do their deaths symbolize, or represent? Jesus has just finished pointing to a change in circumstances by saying that 'the Law and the Prophets were until John the Baptizer, but from then on the kingdom of God is being declared.' Hence, it is with the preaching of John and Jesus Christ that both the rich man and Lazarus die to their former circumstances, or condition.

Those of the humble, repentant Lazarus class die to their former spiritually deprived condition and come into a position of divine favor. Whereas they had earlier looked to the religious leaders for what little dropped from the spiritual table, now the Scriptural truths imparted by Jesus are filling their needs. They are thus brought into the bosom, or favored position, of the Greater Abraham, Jehovah God.

On the other hand, those who make up the rich-man class come under divine disfavor because of persistently refusing to accept the Kingdom message taught by Jesus. They thereby die to their former position of seeming favor. In fact, they are spoken of as being in figurative torment. Listen now, as the rich man speaks: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this blazing fire." God's fiery judgment messages proclaimed by Jesus' disciples are what torment individuals of the rich-man class. They want the disciples to let up on declaring these messages, thus providing them some measure of relief from their torments.

Next time: Conclusion of The Rich Man And Lazarus-Rich Man And Lazarus Experience A Change

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991

Continue with The Rich Man And Lazarus

Continuing his remarks to the Pharisees, Jesus relates and illustration that features two men whose status, or situation, is eventually changed dramatically. Can you determine who are represented by the men and what the reversal of their situations means?

"But a certain man was rich," Jesus explains, "and he used to deck himself with purple and linen, enjoying himself from day to day with magnificence. But a certain beggar named Lazarus used to be put at his gate, full of ulcers and desiring to be filled with the things dropping from the table of the rich man. Yes, too, the dogs would come and lick his ulcers."

Jesus here uses the rich man to represent the Jewish religious leaders, including not only the Pharisees and the scribes but the Sadducees and the chief priests as well. They are rich ins spiritual privileges and opportunities, and they conduct themselves as the rich man did. Their clothing of royal purple represents their favored position, and the white linen pictures their self-righteousness.

This proud rich-man class views the poor, common people with utter contempt, calling them 'am ha-'a'rets, or people of the earth. The beggar Lazarus thus represents these people to whom the religious leaders deny proper spiritual nourishment and privileges. Hence, like Lazarus covered with ulcers, the common people are looked down upon as spiritually diseased and fit only to associate with dogs. Yet, those of the Lazarus class hunger and thirst for spiritual nourishment and so are at the gate, seeking to receive whatever meager morsels of spiritual food may drop from the rich man's table.

Jesus now goes on to describe changes in the condition of the rich man and Lazarus. What are these changes, and what do they represent?

Next time: Conclusion of The Rich Man And Lazarus-Rich Man and Lazarus Experience A Change

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991

The Rich Man And Lazarus

JESUS has been talking to his disciples about the proper use of material riches, explaining that we cannot be slaves to these and at the same time be slaves to God. The Pharisees are also listening, and they begin to sneer at Jesus because they are money lovers. So he says to them: "You are those who declare yourselves righteous before men, but God knows your hearts; because what is lofty among men is a disgusting thing in God's sight."

The time has come for the table to be turned on people who are rich in worldly goods, political power and religious control and influence. They are to be put down. However, the people who recognize their spiritual need are to be lifted up. Jesus points to such a change when he goes on to say to the Pharisees: "The Law and the Prophets are until John [the Baptizer]. From then on the kingdom of God is being declared as good news, and ever sort of person is pressing forward toward it. Indeed, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one particle of a letter of the Law to go unfulfilled."

The scribes and the Pharisees are proud of their professed adherence to the Law of Moses. Recall that when Jesus miraculously gave sight to a certain man in Jerusalem, they boasted: "We are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses." But now the Law of Moses has fulfilled its intended purpose of leading humble ones to God's designated King, Jesus Christ. So with the beginning of John's ministry, all kinds of persons, especially the humble and the poor, are exerting themselves to become subjects of God's Kingdom.

Since the Mosaic Law is now being fulfilled, the obligation to keep it is to be removed. The Law permits divorce on various grounds, but Jesus now says: "Everyone that divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he that marries a woman divorced from a husband commits adultery." How such pronouncements must irritate the Pharisees, especially since they permit divorce on many grounds!

Next time: Conclusion of The Rich Man And Lazarus

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991

Conclusion of Provide For The Future With Practical Wisdom

Jesus is not commending the steward for his unrighteousness but for his farsighted, practical wisdom. Often "the sons of this system of things" shrewdly use their money or position to make friends with those who can return them favors. So God's servants, "the sons of the light," also need to use their mater assets, their "unrighteous riches," in a wise way to benefit themselves.

But as Jesus says, they should make friends by means of these riches with those who may receive them "into the everlasting dwelling places." For members of the little flock, these places are in heaven; For members of the "other sheep," they are in the Paradises earth. Since only Jehovah God and his Son can receive persons into these places, we should be diligent to cultivate friendship with them by using any "unrighteous riches" we may have in support of Kingdom interests. then, when material riches fail or perish, as they surely will, our everlasting future will be assured.

Jesus goes on to say that persons faithful in caring fro even these material, or least, things will also be faithful in caring for matters of greater importance. "Therefore," he continued, "If you have not proved yourselves faithful in connection with the unrighteous riches, who will entrust you with what is true [that is, spiritual, or Kingdom interests]? And if you have not proved yourselves faithful in connection with what is another's [the Kingdom interests with which God entrusts his servants], who will give you what is for yourselves [the reward of life in everlasting dwelling places]?"

We simply cannot be true servants of God and at the same time be slaves to unrighteous riches, material riches, as Jehovah concludes: "No house servant can be a slave to two masters; for, either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves to God and to riches." Luke 15:1, 2; 16:1-13; John 10:16.

Next time:The Rich Man And Lazarus

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991