“Lord,
He
Has Been Dead For Four Days.
The
Smell Will Be Terrible.”
John
11
39 “Roll
the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead
man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days.
The smell will be terrible.”
41 So
they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and
said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You
always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these
people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”
43 Then
Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And
the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his
face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and
let him go!”
Observation
This
is absolutely one of my favorite stories in the Bible!
Lazarus
wasn't just dead. He was four days dead! Stinking dead!
Jesus
told them to roll away the huge stone and open up Lazarus's tomb and
immediately Martha thought of how bad that dead body was going to
smell.
We
don't know how bad the smell actually was when the stone was rolled
away, but the stone was rolled away and then after it was rolled away
Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father, thanking His Father for hearing
His prayer!
I
say all of that because sometimes we read the Bible without taking
time to think about what we are reading. Take time to put yourself at
that tomb right beside Mary and Martha and of course Jesus and
visualize and sense the totally amazing miracle that took place.
If you remember,
it was a few minutes before arriving at that tomb that Jesus told
Martha this, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who
believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me
and believes in me will never ever die.”
Then
He walked over to a very dead (and probably very stinky) man's tomb
and called Lazarus by name and brought him back from the dead!
Can
you see Lazarus hopping and bouncing out of that tomb all wrapped up
from head to toe in those soon to be history graveclothes!
One
day, if you and I are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, He is going
to bring us back from the dead to live with Him forever!
Application
As
I read God's Word I will take time to think about what I am reading
and I will try to place myself in the middle of all the action!
How
about you?
Prayer
Heavenly
Father, help me capture everything that You have for me in Your Word.
I don't want to miss one single thing! Show me things that I have
never seen before or that I have never really taken time to try to
understand. Your Word is wonderful. Every day as I read the Bible it
is fresh and new. It never gets old.
Help
those who may be reading this blog today to see new things as they
read Your Word. Encourage them today. Help them to dig into and
explore Your Word with all of their hearts. And bless them richly as
they do!
Daily
Bible Reading: John 9,10,11
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