Lenten Meditation: March 22, 2026
John 11:1-45
I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25)
Jesus used his earthly ministry to teach us how to build his kingdom of God here on earth, and the raising of Lazarus is one such lesson. So, does Jesus want us to pull people who had been dead for four days out of their graves? Not necessarily. Rather, he is showing us that we can overcome death in all its disguises, the myriad forces that can destroy our lives spiritually, emotionally, mentally, even economically, as well as physically.
To understand this, we must know in the Bible spiritual death is more to be feared than physical death, and that the commandment “thou shalt not kill” is understood to extend to other deadly harms beyond the physical, such as: any means of unjustly ruining someone’s reputation (slander, unjust accusations), and the destruction of a person’s livelihood (through robbery or a hostile takeover). These all can result in someone’s “death.”
To be a citizen of Jesus’ kingdom means to restore life to people who have been unjustly harmed by the death-dealing forces in our world. This is our daily work, our way of raising Lazarus to life, until Jesus returns and creation is redeemed. It may seem impossible, but then again, so did the raising of Lazarus. Nothing is impossible with God.