The Adventures of Jesus Christ
Episodes from the Life of Jesus for Young Readers
by Vincent Cheung
[ Contents ]

Chapter 22. Jesus Restored Life to Lazarus
I AM THE RESURRECTION. RIGHT NOW.

A man named Lazarus was sick. He was a good friend of Jesus, and he lived in the village of Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. Of course, they knew that Jesus could heal him. They sent a message to Jesus that said, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not end in death. It is for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from it.” He did not mean the sickness itself would bring glory to God. The sickness was already there. If the sickness itself could bring glory to God, Jesus only had to let Lazarus suffer it. He would not have to do anything.

Jesus meant that this situation would end in victory over sickness, and this victory would result in the glory of God. As we have seen many times, miracle healing brings glory to God, and Jesus was about to perform one of the most powerful miracles that people had ever seen from him. God was glorified when the miracle happened, not when the sickness happened.

Although Jesus loved Lazarus and the sisters, he did not go to them right away. He stayed where he was for two more days. After that, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

However, the disciples were worried because the people in that area had tried to hurt Jesus before. But Jesus was not afraid. He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, and I am going there to wake him up.” The disciples thought he meant that Lazarus was only resting. They said, “If Lazarus is sleeping, he should be fine. He will recover.”

But Jesus explained, “Lazarus is dead. For your benefit, I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. Now let us go to him.” By the Holy Spirit, he had knowledge of things that happened far away. He knew that by this time Lazarus was dead, but for Jesus, bringing back Lazarus from the dead was as simple as waking up someone from his sleep.

When Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Many people had come to comfort the sisters, Mary and Martha. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus answered, “Your brother will live again.”

Martha said, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” She was talking about the fact that, at the end of human history, God will bring back to life all the people who have died. Those who have known God will come back from the dead with a new body to enjoy life with God forever. Those who have not known God will come back from the dead to be punished forever. When Jesus said, “Your brother will live again,” Martha could only believe that he was talking about that day.

Then Jesus answered, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, he will live. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Remember this. This is one of the most important things you can ever learn.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection.” He did not say that he was the resurrection. He did not say that he will be the resurrection. Resurrection is not just a day. Resurrection is a person. The day itself is not going to resurrect anybody. It is the person who will resurrect everybody on that day. Jesus is the resurrection, and he is here now. You can know him now.

Think about what Martha said. At first, she said, “Jesus, my brother would have lived if you had been here in the past.” And after that, she said, “My brother will live at the last day in the future.” She thought that the miracle could have happened in the past, and the miracle will happen in the future.

But Jesus told her, “But I am the resurrection, and I am here now.” God is the one who performs miracles, but God is not in the past or in the future. God is here now.

Most people never learn this, especially those who call themselves leaders and scholars. They think of themselves as the best followers of Jesus, but they are the worst. They might know the books and sermons by other faithless leaders and scholars, but they do not know Jesus in the here and now. If they will throw away their pride and only listen, just stop and listen.

Jesus was not healing only in the past. Jesus will not be healing only in the future. The day itself is not going to heal anyone. Jesus himself is healing, and he can bring healing to anyone. And Jesus is here now. For Jesus, it is always a good time for a miracle. It is not a matter of time, but a matter of faith. You can have healing now. You can have miracles now.

Jesus answered Martha, “I am the resurrection. Whoever believes in me will live even if he dies. Do you believe this?” And Martha replied, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.” He was the one God promised to send, and the one the prophets predicted, the one who would come into the world.

After this, Martha went to her sister Mary and said, “Jesus is here. He is calling for you.” When Mary heard this, she immediately got up. She rushed to Jesus and fell at his feet, saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She believed that Jesus would have healed Lazarus in the past.

Many people are stuck in that place, even though they have the entire Bible and all these stories about Jesus. They believe that Jesus would have done this or that in the past, but not now. They think that God has ceased doing these things, but the truth is that they have ceased to believe in God.

When Jesus saw Mary weeping and all the other people weeping with her, he was deeply moved. Jesus asked, “Where have you put him?” They answered, “Lord, come and see.” Then, Jesus also wept.

Together, they came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. It was a large and heavy stone, and it would have taken multiple people to move it.

Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” This worried Martha, and she said, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The body is decaying by now, and it will smell terrible.

Jesus answered, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Faith believes before it sees. Faith believes before it feels. If you believe in miracles, you will see miracles. You have faith for healing miracles before you see healing miracles. You have faith God answers your prayers before he answers your prayers.

Faithless religious people sometimes challenge the followers of Jesus, demanding that they prove he is still performing miracles and healing people by showing them these miracles. Jesus can indeed show them miracles, but that is not the way people who claim to follow him should talk. If they are true followers of Jesus, they should join those who have faith in him for miracles. Instead of fighting us, they should help us heal the sick and pray for people.

They took away the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. You always hear me, but I said it for the benefit of these people here, so that they will believe you sent me.”

Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”

The dead man came out. His hands and feet were wrapped in pieces of cloth, and a cloth covered his face. Jesus said to them, “Remove the grave clothes and let him go.” After that, many of the people there believed in him.

Jesus answers prayers and performs miracles, not just in the past, and not just in the future. He is always ready, but the question is whether we have faith for miracles today. Never let anyone tell you that if you had lived in the past, you would have seen his miracles, but we are in a different time now. That is a lie. The past did not perform those miracles. Jesus was the one who did those miracles, and he is here now. And he said that if we will believe, then we will see the glory of God.