The seventh Sign... part 4...

This journey has been an amazing one, and we are now at the final moment of these seven Signs that point clearly to Jesus as Messiah.  John is so careful to make clear that this was his only purpose, the only goal, and that all he wishes is for people to see Christ for who and what He truly is, which is the Son of God, Emmanuel, The Angel of the Lord, One with the Father and the Spirit. 

To solidify this desire to show this Truth above all other truths, the seventh Sign demonstrates clearly that Christ has authority over all things, including the one thing that many at that time, as well as many today, feared the most: death.  To be sure, this is not the first time a person has died and Jesus changed that by bringing them back (little girl, widow's son, nobleman's son), but this is the first time it has been done with so large an audience, and so dramatic a point.  The others had not been gone for four days, already done with the burial rituals and already sealed in their tombs, you see.  And the others were not called forth in the manner of a loud shout, either, as we just saw.

"The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth.  Jesus said to them, 'Loose him and let him go.'"

John 11:44, HCSB

Now try to put yourself on this scene, as we've done with all the other Signs so far, and imagine this entire town outside in mourning for Lazarus.  All of the people present know their family, and they know that Jesus is coming.  Four days pass, and the tomb is closed, and now Jesus shows up and asks that it be opened, and then He calls the man out of death... literally.  (You might say Lazarus was roused from a dead sleep?)  And then, with this entire population watching, the man they were all mourning just walked out.  The man they had prepared with oils and fragrant materials, the man they wrapped and inspected, the man they all KNEW to be completely dead for FOUR DAYS, placed inside a tomb... he just got up and walked out.  As an object lesson, then, Jesus has them go and unwrap their own handiwork, showing that they cannot bind what God intends to set free.  In other words, men on this earth cannot control the Father or His will or His plans or His timing, and anyone who says they can speaks blasphemy.

Seeing this Sign, I cannot imagine how anyone would be able to doubt Christ's Divinity at this point.  Of course, the word of Lazarus' resurrection spread like wildfire, and the Jewish leadership decided to plot more seriously against Jesus, and to kill Lazarus, too, since he is the walking proof that Jesus should be followed.  Their own pathetic attempt at control, trying to bind the will of God with their infantile interpretations that seemed to focus only on what they would get on earth, shows their immense fear of the power that Jesus holds... and they should be afraid, because it is right to fear the Lord.

Next we're going to back up quite a ways, and look at something else of great importance in the Gospel of John, which will tie directly to this study.  I pray, with all my heart, that you will remain with us for the coming weeks as we continue to examine this amazing Gospel!

God bless you all!!!