Grave Clothes

Intro

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Scripture

John 11:1–46 NASB95

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.” 17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. 21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” 28 When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” 38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44 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.” 45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life (11:17–27)

The rabbis believed that the soul lingered near the grave for three days, hoping to re-enter the body, but as decomposition became evident, the soul would depart (Leviticus Rabbah 18:1; Ecclesiastes Rabbah 12:6). In the oral law, if a body needed to be identified, it had to happen within three days (so Michaels; note cautions in Keener). Thus, this would be an especially dramatic raising from the dead.

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life (11:17–27)

Martha’s statement to Jesus (“Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died,” 11:21) may sound like a rebuke, but she would have known that Lazarus died shortly after the messengers had been sent. It probably represents her sorrow and sincere belief that Jesus could have done something if only he had been there

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life (11:17–27)

Jesus’ challenge (“Do you believe this, Martha?”) was an invitation that went beyond raising Lazarus from the dead. He asked Martha to believe in the power that not only can raise the dead but also can give eternal life. The raising of Lazarus was in this sense a prophetic action (like those performed by Jeremiah or Ezekiel) signifying the new life that God, in Jesus, offers to anyone who believes (cf. 6:35–44).

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John Jesus’ Outrage at the Power of Death (11:28–37)

Jesus was overcome with the scene and its futility, with the terrible specter of death hanging over God’s people and the fact that the mourners were overcome with it rather than trusting in the one who is life itself. This is a critical message for us all. Christ has overcome death, and we need to live in light of that fact.

^Important^

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John Jesus’ Outrage at the Power of Death (11:28–37)

Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, and he still wept, undoubtedly for the same reason—that his loved ones and followers still had to suffer the horrible pangs of death.

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John Lazarus Raised from the Dead (11:38–44)

He wanted them to know that everything he did only happened because he was completely dependent on the Father (5:19, 30; 7:16, 28; 8:16, 29, 42

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John Lazarus Raised from the Dead (11:38–44)

Jesus lives in constant prayer and communication with the Father. When he engages in vocal prayer, he is not entering, as we do, from a state of non-praying into prayer. He is only giving overt expression to what is the ground and base of his life all along.

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John Lazarus Raised from the Dead (11:38–44)

The Jews buried their dead by placing the corpse on a long wide cloth with the feet at one end. Then the cloth would be drawn over the head to cover the body, where it would be tied together at the ankles, with the arms secured to the body with linen strips and the face bound with a headcloth over the face to hide its discoloration (so Sanders, Beasley-Murray). Needless to say, Lazarus could do little but shuffle to the opening, so Jesus said, “Unwrap him and let him go!” (11:44

St. John, Vols. I–III Vers. 41–44

The crowd retreat, surprise, wonder, terror seated on every face; the boldest recoiling from that awful form which comes shuffling out of the grave. This Man of tears, so gentle, tender, easily moved, endued with a sensibility so delicate that the strings of His heart vibrated to the slightest touch, has by a word rent the tomb.

John, 1 John, 2 John, & 3 John The Death of Lazarus (11:1–16)

Note that they refrained from asking Jesus to come. They were well aware of the serious danger to him if he should come. Perhaps they hoped he would heal Lazarus at a distance, as he had the official’s son in 4:50–52

We

What we clothe oruselves with has a direct connection to our identity. THink about the prodiga son, when we retunred the gracious father clothed him in teh finest robe (Sign of authirty), gav ehim a signet ring (restoring the son as an heir to), and placed the best sandals on his feet (Saying that he is no longer a salve, but free and alive)

Take off the grave clothes and let him go.

What are you clothing yourself with? So I see Christians, still coving hemrsleve with the grave clthes that Jesus calls us ot of. We go back becasue it’s comfottbale,

But Heres the thing, the grave clothes signified hat Lazarus was still dead right, So What does Jsus do, removes teh grave clthes, becasue lazrus isn;t dead anymore. HE’s alive, and frineds when we have Jesus He removes gteh grve clothes on us. HE says, simialir to what the father says in the prodigal son story, ‘You once were dead, but now you are alive”

SO friends, what clothing yourslf with?

Paul in his lettter to the Galatians writes “

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

and you might be thinig, well Ryley it’s kindof hard to clhte yourself wiht a person. I would say, you right. ButLook waht Paul writes in Colossians 3:12:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians. 3:12

All things we see in Jesus. Freinds, I think it’s time for eh church to stop cloting instelf with problems and start clothing themselves

Liten friends, I know way to many chrsitians still lving as if tehy were in teh grave. Still living as though they are wrapped up int he grave clotjes, They have hame (Warp), gulit (wrap),

We weren’t created to be clohtesd in shame, in guilt, in anger, in whatever negative thing you want to put in there.

No, we were created to be alive. To be clothed in life.