A new life in death

There are many similarities in Lazarus’ own raising from the dead and Jesus’ death and resurrection

“The Spirit of the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life.”  

When extraordinary circumstances such as death, grieving and suffering overtake our lives, it can be difficult for us to remain hopeful in God’s words of promise and their fulfillment. We can find ourselves shaken to the core of our faith. In our grieving and suffering, we have no one else to turn to, so we call out to the Lord from the depths of despair with anguish. Psalm 130 expresses the need for us to call out to God pointily, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication” (Psalm 130:1-2). 

Martha and Mary call out to Jesus for help. The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was ill and they had every expectation that Jesus would come immediately. After all, they were close friends of Jesus. We read in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10:38-42, how Jesus visited their home and dined with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. “The sisters sent word to Jesus saying, ‘Master, the one you love is ill’ ” (John 11:4). The extraordinary response Martha and Mary gave to their brother Lazarus’ impending death was to send for Jesus. By doing so, they witnessed to the belief that Jesus was the Son of God. Why then did Jesus not come immediately after receiving the message? Jesus said to his disciples after receiving the message, “This illness will not end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4).  

Jesus’ response to Lazarus’ illness and ultimate death is meant to reveal that Jesus himself is the Son of God. This seventh and final sign in the Gospel of John is meant to prepare the disciples for Jesus’ own impending passion, death and resurrection. The Son glorifies the Father in the raising of Lazarus, and so too, the Son gives glory to the Father in his passion, death and resurrection. The raising of Lazarus is a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Jesus. This presented an opportunity for Jesus to teach his disciples that the Son of God had to suffer and die and rise on the third day. For this reason, Jesus did not immediately return to Bethany.  

The raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-44) is the halfway point in the Gospel of John, not because of its positioning in the Gospel, but rather for its theological positioning. If this represents the journey from death to new life, then the fact that Bethany is the halfway point between the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized, and Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified, has significance for us all. The Jordan River is the place where the promise of new life begins its fulfillment with the start of Jesus’ public ministry following his baptism. Jerusalem is the place of death at Calvary; Jesus will come into the fullness of his glory on the cross. From the blood of the cross will flow the waters of new life. Lazarus’ own story of death and new life reveals the coming passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the future promise of new life.  

There are many similarities in Lazarus’ own raising from the dead and Jesus’ death and resurrection: the mourning women, the rock-hewn tombs with the stone in front and the burial linens all point to new life, not death. Martha and Mary will have their sadness turned into joy when their brother is raised from the dead. “Jesus told Martha, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ ” (John 11:26)

Jesus’ statement and question to Martha is a reiteration of the promise we hear from the prophet Ezekiel in the First Reading, “Thus says the Lord God: I will open your graves and have you rise from them.” (Ezekiel 37:12) The prophet Ezekiel proclaims God’s promise to the people of Israel. The Apostle Paul proclaims the fulfillment of God’s promise through the suffering, death and resurrection of his Son to the Church in Rome, “If the Spirit of the one who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through the Spirit dwelling in you.” (Romans 8:10-11)