Killing Lazarus

One of the most powerful evidences that Jesus was the Messiah came in John 11, a chapter which reaches its climax in verse 43 when Jesus calls into Lazarus’ tomb with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” Verses 44 and 45 record:

“The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.”

This sign which Jesus performed was powerful and provided undeniable evidence of His identity: He was and is the Christ for whom the Jews had waited so long. The chief priests and Pharisees, who loved their position of authority and the respect and honor of men (Matt. 23:1-7), made a plan to kill Jesus, of which we are well aware. But the chief priests also made another plan, which is recorded in John 12:9-11:

“The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.”

They planned to destroy the powerful evidence of Jesus’ true identity, evidence which had been provided by the power of God to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. Every time an effective way to spread the truth about Jesus is found, the Devil tries to destroy it.

This is true not only in this case, but also in the church today. We have the means to spread the truth about Jesus today in ways that are powerful and effective to reach the lost. In the New Testament the best opportunities to share the truth with large numbers of people were found in religious and political gatherings and the disciples made good use of them (Acts 2; Acts 7; Acts 9:20; etc.), but today we don’t have to wait for people gather, we can send the message of truth to them in their home through Email, Television, Podcast, YouTube, Facebook, and more. These avenues are fairly new to humanity, and most of the messages being sent by them are full of filth. It is the responsibility of the church to be light in those dark places, to shine light on the darkness so that the truth of Jesus Christ can be discovered by those who are searching (Ephesians 5:8-17).

Sadly, there are those even within the church who see fit to ignore the powerful tools God has given us, and the Devil could not be more pleased. Those Christians who have decided to ignore the advances in technology and communication are playing into the Devil’s hand. He would love to be able to send darkness into homes, into families, into children, without any interference from the Lord’s people.

Today, Lazarus lives in every place where the truth is spoken. Evidence of Jesus’ identity is found in every place we speak the Word He has given. Don’t let the Devil kill Lazarus, don’t let him send darkness into the minds of the world without offering the light to everyone who seeks it. Make wise use of modern tools and technology to spread the truth of Jesus to every searching person.