IN these last few verses of this account of the raising of Lazarus, we come to the climax of the history. The whole aim that Jesus has had in mind is to increase our faith, and so increase our comfort and spiritual strength. The passage before us commences with another comment on the fact Jesus was deeply moved, and it seems plain to me that he was moved with sorrow at the unbelief which he observed in the people, and even in his particular friends, Mary and Martha. It seems to me that Jesus is deeply moved not only because of the unbelief, but because of the pain and sorrow this unbelief caused. Jesus saw Mary and Martha grieving unnecessarily, and suffering pain unnecessarily. Surely we are able to identify with the unbelief of Mary and Martha, and so Jesus also grieves for us, and wants us to grow in faith, so that we may have the full comfort and strength of the Gospel. The message and encouragement to faith in the incident of the raising of Lazarus is as much for us today, as it was for Mary and Martha. We need to let the message revealed here concerning Jesus and his saving love sink deeply into our minds and hearts.

Unbelief keeps us from beholding the glory of God. Martha’s lack of faith in Jesus’ power and love is still evident in the way she responds to the instruction of Jesus to take the stone away from the tomb. Here human understanding governed her mind. She knew that in the normal way, bodily decay in that hot climate would mean that the body of Lazarus would have already begun to decompose, and cause an unpleasant odour. She had no faith that Jesus could or was ready to do a mighty act of power and life. In response to this unbelief Jesus says, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God."

If Martha had believed then she would have not been sorrowing at this moment, but expecting to see God, in Christ, manifesting his glory. Her unbelief did not prevent Jesus demonstrating and revealing his glory as God, but it did cause Martha and Mary to suffer in an unnecessary way. So it is with us. Because we lack faith, this does not stop the glory of God being manifest in our lives, but it does mean we suffer unnecessarily while we wait for God to show his glory, and also when the glory is revealed, we often miss the wonder and blessing of that glory, because unbelief prevents us from beholding it as it is.

Here for Mary, Martha and our blessing, the glory of God is hard to miss. Jesus firstly performed an act of divine power, revealing his power and godhead. Jesus raised a man, dead for four days, from death and to perfect health. There was no damage left in Lazarus because he had been dead four days. Further, faith can see Jesus in a new light. Our understanding of the truth about Jesus increases amazingly. We see Jesus in his roll of Saviour from sin and death and hell. True this is simply a raising of Lazarus back to human and fallen existence, but it does substantiate the revelation of Jesus in verses 25 and 26, where Jesus says that he is the resurrection and the life, and that all who believe on him will live, though they die, etc. Faith sees Jesus as come to us to give us life and heavenly glory. Faith also sees that we can trust Jesus in our lives, so that nothing that happens to us, or around us, need cause us unnecessary pain. We always can look into the future with hope and confidence. We are in the hands of Jesus, and his love surrounds us. We are his, and he is ours.

Let us notice, how in every way, Jesus seeks to build up our faith. In verse 41 we see Jesus praying out loud. Jesus indicates that as far he is concerned, and concerning the exercise of his glory and power, the prayer was not necessary, but because of Mary and Martha and the people, including us today, he offers the prayer, to reveal his oneness with God, and his communion with and conformity with the loving and gracious will of God. Jesus wants us to be sure that he has come from God, and is God.

Not content with this - although Jesus could have just willed Lazarus to life without any audible word - Jesus calls in a loud voice to Lazarus to come out of the grave. Immediately, before the eyes, not only of Mary and Martha, but all the crowd, in order that there may be no doubt about the miracle, Lazarus comes out, still wrapped in the grave clothes. The grave clothes still on Lazarus is a further evidence that it was really Lazarus that was there. The person who had been buried had come forth.

I believe there is a further symbolism here in the way Jesus tells the people to unwrap Lazarus from the grave clothes. By unwrapping Lazarus, they would be able to verify that this was not a deception and a conjuring trick, but that the one who had come out of the grave was really Lazarus. By telling the people to take the grave clothes off, surely Jesus is symbolising the need for us to strip off the grave clothes of our unbelief, and see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and so be strengthened and comforted in life’s struggles.

The glory of God shines forth from this whole incident. There is the glory of the grace and love of God radiant in this action. God gave his Son to come into the world to seek and to save us lost sinners, and this grace and love is still poured out in spite of our unbelief. What a mighty and glorious salvation God has provided in Jesus. The glory of God shines brilliantly in it. This salvation is nothing less than life from death, and gift of eternal glory in the presence of Jesus forever. Our faith is in one who is ‘the resurrection and the life’.