Day 22 – Raised From the Dead
JOHN 11:39-44
“Take away the stone,” He said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11:39-44).
Perhaps the most remarkable demonstration of Jesus’ authority was His ability to raise the dead. Of all the miracles performed by Jesus, none is more awe-inspiring than the story of Lazarus.
Reflection
- What does it do to your faith to know that God can overcome death?
- Is there something in your life that has died that God wants to bring back to life?
- Pray about it and see what God can do. (Don’t forget to thank Him, too.)
EZEKIEL 37:3-5
He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “O Sovereign Lord, You alone
know.” Then He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life” (Ezekiel 37:3-5).
It is deeply significant that both the Jewish Scriptures and New Testament speak of resurrection life from death. God’s ability to bring life from death has always been available, but He chose Jesus to show us the way. Ezekiel was speaking to a remnant of the nation of Israel that had been exiled and was being held in captivity in Babylon. His words promised life and freedom to a nation that could only see despair.
Reflection
- Can you see how God develops a model in the Jewish Scriptures to prepare us for His future plan of salvation?
- How is it that God can plan things many centuries before they take place?
- Could this represent the restoration of both early and modern-day Israel?
