Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room January 8, 2024
John 11:32-44
32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to cry. 36 The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” 38 Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.” 40 Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” 41 So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” 43 Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
Good Morning! Oh, How I love Jesus!
The raising of Lazarus from the dead is one of Jesus’ great miracles. When we consider Martha and Mary, we empathize with their pain. They knew that their brother was very ill. They sent for Jesus because they believed that he could save their brother. Jesus was delayed, so before he arrived, Lazarus died. Within their sadness was an underlying thought that if Jesus had come sooner, their brother wouldn’t be dead. End of story!
Then came Jesus. They were happy to see him, but . . . perhaps a little annoyed that he arrived too late to change what had happened. Then came Jesus. What could they say to him? Lazarus was dead. Then Jesus changed everything! Jesus went to the tomb and showed the world he had power over life and death. Lazarus was alive! Only the Messiah could do this! The disciples and all who were present now knew that Jesus was the Messiah!
With the raising of Lazarus, Jesus told the world, “I am he, the one for whom you have been waiting.” The last verse of our passage just spoke to me this morning. Untie him and let him go.
When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, he loosens our bindings and chains to earthly burdens and frees us to follow him. Jesus, our Savior, unties us and lets us go!
Gracious God, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. Open our eyes and let us see what is before us. Jesus saves us! In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Hidden blessings can be found in heavy burdens.
Our chains are gone! We’ve been made free! Pastor Liz