Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, July 16.
In the Bible there are stories of at least ten people who were raised from the dead. The Old Testament prophet Elijah raised one of them, as did the prophet Elisha. In the New Testament Peter brought Tabitha back to life, and Paul brought life back to Eutychus. But the majority of those ten lucky people were raised by Jesus. Can you name them? Most of us can only name one. And he is the subject of today’s devotional . . . Lazarus.
The name Lazarus is a Latin variation of the Hebrew “Eleazar”, a name that means “God helps”. God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, certainly helped this man. The Gospel of John - the only place the story is found - tells us that shortly before Christ’s death, his good friend Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus was four days dead. In John 11 we see the Lord approaching the tomb, and we hear him give a three-word command - “Lazarus, come forth!” I once heard a preacher say that it was important that Jesus included His friend’s name in that command, because otherwise, everyone who had ever died would have “come forth”!
Have you ever wondered what Lazarus experienced during those four days? And what was his life like afterward? And how did he face his “second” death? These questions won’t be answered until that day we ourselves wake up in heaven. For now, we’re left with this amazing story. The story of the last great miracle of Christ, before He faced the Cross. Before He himself faced death.
And before He became the eleventh person raised from the dead!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
