Journey to the Open Tomb: Lazarus, Come Forth!

Perhaps Jesus had no closer friends nor more loyal disciples than Mary, Martha and Lazarus. They lived in Bethany, a village just over the Mt. of Olives from Jerusalem. It would have been a convenient place for Jesus whenever He went up to Jerusalem. Their door was always open, the welcome mat was out, and the light was on for Him. Jesus loved this family.

They were three different people with different personalities. Martha was the busy servant. She liked to cook and give orders. Mary saw in Jesus the Savior they all needed. She liked to worship at His feet. Lazarus enjoyed sitting at the table and talking with Jesus.

Just a few days before Jesus would make his Palm Sunday entry to Jerusalem, word was sent to Jesus that Lazarus was desperately sick. Come quickly, Jesus! But He didn’t come quickly. He delayed His coming as He sometimes does. The sisters didn’t understand that, and frequently, I haven’t understood it either. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been stone cold dead for four days.

John 11 presents us with both the humanity and the deity of Jesus. As a man, He wept at the grave of His friend. As a man, He groaned in His spirit and was troubled. We all have groaned and wept in the presence of death because we are human. But as God, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” A man who was four days dead, heard the voice of his friend and came out of the grave.

At Bethany, Jesus proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25).

It was this event, the resurrection of Lazarus, that caused the religious leaders to call a meeting and come up with a plan to kill Jesus. They also wanted to kill Lazarus.

Within two weeks there would be another empty tomb about 2 miles away.

Tomb of Lazarus

Bethany, home of Mary, Martha and their brother, Lazarus.