Jesus Approaches

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Jesus Approaches

Rev. Luke Powell

Last week we took a rather depressing look at how Lazarus's death in John's Gospel is a picture of our own spiritual death through sin. Nazarene preacher of old Uncle Bud Robinson wrote a lovely little book called The Story of Lazarus, and his words painted a picture of how we are all sick in sin, and eventually dead and bound and entombed in sin, and decaying.

But this week we get to the good news! Because let us remember, dear friends, that Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life! There is hope for Lazarus lying dead in a tomb of sin. There is resurrection and life, through Jesus.

Jesus Inquires About the Dead Man

Now, as Jesus prepares to go to the gravesite, He asks a simple question: "Where have you laid him?" (John 11:34)

Uncle Bud finds this very moving. He writes on page 55: "Oh reader, if I could have felt that Christ was inquiring about me, it would have almost tickled me to death. Today there are not less than 500,000 men and women in the United States who, if they could just feel that Christ loved them well enough to inquire about them, would get saved in the next forty-eight hours."

What a picture! Jesus inquires about each lost soul - including yours, if you are still in that tomb, and including the people you are praying for.

Jesus Seeks the Dead Man

But Jesus does more than inquire. He goes looking for Lazarus. Uncle Bud writes on page 59: "We have Christ in the town of Bethany, seeking a dead Lazarus. If we will lift up our eyes and behold we will not only see Him seeking a Lazarus, but we will see Him seeking a lost world. He is seeking the sinner, the wanderer, the lost, the homeless, the friendless, the tempest-tossed, sin-sick soul."

Yes, the same Jesus who stopped for the blind man, who healed the woman who touched the hem of His garment, who spoke to Zacchaeus up a sycamore tree - that same Jesus is seeking the dead man in the tomb of Bethany. And He is seeking every person in every tomb of sin now.

Jesus Weeps at the Grave

And He’s doing so, with tears. Jesus arrives at the tomb, sees the broken-hearted sisters, sees the mourning crowd, sees the sealed stone – and Scripture records its shortest verse which simply says: “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35 NIV11)

He weeps today, at the sight of beautiful people entombed by their own sin. Uncle Bud write on page 69: "Just as truly as the blessed Son of God wept over Lazarus, He is weeping over every sinner on earth today."

Prevenient Grace

Now, in theological terms, we call this prevenient grace. Though we essentially reject God and embrace our own tombs of sin, Jesus doesn’t give up on us. He inquires of us! He seeks us out! And he weeps at our sinful state, longing to set us free.

If you’re still in that tomb of sin – still living your own way, doing your own thing, rejecting God’s way and refusing to repent, Jesus is not done with you! He weeps as He sees you there, but He comes to your tomb to offer you life and resurrection.

How gracious is our God – not leaving us bound and entombed, but coming to us in our lost state, to offer us His hope and mercy.

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