“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 clothes and let him go.'” John 11:44
Can you imagine this scene? After Jesus’ audacious command to a dead man to return from the dead, get up, and shuffle out of the tomb, this crowd actually saw it happen. Now I have to confess that if I had been one of those individuals in the crowd, I would have turned and run away even faster than I run when I am chasing an ice cream truck. After all, dead people don’t just get back up after being in a tomb for four days! But this impossible feat is exactly what this crowd witnessed. Many of them had even helped roll away the stone the blocked the entrance to the tomb, so there could be no accusations of some elaborate trick. They had heard Jesus’ prayer. They had heard His command. They had likely wondered about what kind of crazy Jesus had to be to actually believe that a dead man could heed his command. And then it happened. All of a sudden a man came into the light from the darkness of the tomb shuffling his feet because he was still wrapped in his burial attire. Jaws must have it the ground. Some must have run away in fear. Doubtless, dozens stood there with blank looks on their faces. All tried to understand the incomprehensible miracle they had just witnessed. But Lazarus was not raised to merely be gaulked at. He was raised for life. So Jesus commanded those nearest Lazarus to help him remove the grave clothes so that he could genuinely experience the life to which he had been raised. It must have been an incredible sight to see the dead return to life.
While I confess that I have never seen a tomb opened and someone walk out alive, I have seen the dead receive life. In fact, I was once one of the dead, but now I am alive! You see, the Bible declares each and every person without a relationship with Jesus to be dead in his or her sin. But you need not be frightened. God loved you enough to send His Son Jesus to die in your place so that you could experience the life and relationship with God for which you were created. Though you may be spiritually dead, you can receive spiritual and eternal life. All you must do is to ask Jesus to forgive you and come into your life as the boss of your life. Then you too will have become one of the living. Perhaps you began a relationship with Jesus years ago, wonderful! But who do you know who still needs to receive eternal life? Who do you know who needs to know about Jesus?
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