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not; therefore, He must be wrong." They were far from sharing Mary’s attitude which said, "He could have prevented this and did not; therefore, He must be right." Mary’s is the path of true faith that leads at last to soul satisfaction. III. • R e s t o r in g L a z a r u s (39-44) The request to open the tomb met with objections. The people knew that Lazarus was dead, and so long dead that to open the tomb would pollute the atmosphere (v. 391. But at last, consent was given to His word, and the tomb was opened (vs. 40, 41). Obedience makes possible one’s be holding the glory of the Lord and the performance of wonders. It should be noted that our Lord’s prayer was not for Himself, but for the sake of the people who were pres ent. He prayed for their sakes that they might believe He was sent from God (vs. 41, 42). ' Then He spoke the word of restora tion, and the one who had died and had been four days in the tomb came forth alive (vs. 43, 44). As a Man, Jesus could weep; as God, He could speak and cause the dead to hear. As a Man, He cduld feel pain and sorrow; as God, He could dispel grief and give life. What man cannot do He will do, but what man can do He exacts him to do, so Ha ordered that others should lopse Lazarus from the gravedothes and let him go. Points and Problems 1. "If thou hadst been here, my brother had not died" (John 11:21). Of course, the Lord, c o u l d have brought healing whether present or not. But sometimes, for reasons of His own, the Lord sees fit to delay His coming in blessing until a better time. In the present case Lazarus was allowed to pass through thè expe rience of death In order that “ the Son of God might be glorified” (v. 4) in raising him from the grave, Ofttimes the delays of God in answering pray er are not refusals, but He sees greater glory and blessing in a delayed an swer.
2. "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me . . . shall . . ..live . . . shall never die" (vs. 25, 26). Tremendous is the power and scope of this verse. In connection with the coming of Christ, believers, though they be dead and in their graves, shally live. To them Christ will indeed be the Resurrection and the Life. Death will in no wise interfere with His power. But in the day of His com ing there will be a generation of be lievers who will be living. Because of their faith In Christ they shall never die. To them Christ will give trans formed bodies and they will «rise to. be forever with Hina. To them He will indeed be the Life. “Believest thou this?” What hope and glory in such a belief! 3. "Jesus wept" (v. 35). The word for “weep” used'here is a different word than that used elsewhere in the chap ter. In fact this is the only place the word employed in this verse is used in the New Testament. • It literally means "shed tears.” His was no loud wailing for the dead, but a silent,; sympathetic shedding of tears. The reality of our Lord’s humanity shows itself in a remarkable way in this short statement. He experienced hun ger, thirst, weariness, joy, sorrow. He ate, slept, spoke, and in all respects He ■appeared like other men. Yet He was without sin. And -now we find He could weep. Tears are peculiar to flesh and blood. He was a man who could be touched with the feeling of our in firmity. Such a Saviour is just the kind of Saviour we need. 4. "It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it" (v. 38). The grave in Bethany which is pointed out to the traveler as the grave of Lazarus seems to an swer very well the description of this text. From the entrance one descends about twenty-two steps to where the body was laid. The opening of the cave could have had the stone laid upon it as this verse suggests. Three types of graves were used among the Jews: (1)' holes dug down into the ground; (2) caves hewn horizontally into the side of a rock (probably our Lord’s tomi> was like this), and (3) caves having a sloping descent. The latter i s . doubtless the kind in which Lazarus was laid. Golden Text Illustration J ohn 11:25 “Jesus is not dead.” These words were inscribed on a banner displayed at a heathen funeral in China on Easter Sunday. The funeral was that of Sung Chisojen, a.prominent Chinese g e n t l e m a n , whose assassination shocked all China. The great procession filled many streets, and numerous and gorgeous banners were displayed. The most remarkable of all, however, was the one that declared belief in the
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