A Terrible Smell

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you put him?” he asked them.

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Then Jesus wept. ³⁶ The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him.” ³⁷ But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. ³⁹ “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

⁴⁰ Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” ⁴¹ So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. ⁴² You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” ⁴³ Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out.” ⁴⁴ And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go.” (John 11:33-44, NLT)

What astonishes me most about the above story is not this dead man coming back to life. As a man, I am amazed Jesus cried in public. In today’s society, it is considered a sign of weakness for a man to cry. I say that if the Son of God did it than it ought to be alright for me to express emotions when it’s appropriate. I simply adore the song, “Rise Up (Lazarus)” by the Cain siblings.

Just like Jesus called a dead Lazarus back to life from a tomb, He is asking us to step out from our comfort zone, a place of false security, to service for Him in the great unknown. The journey may be scary, but your partner in this adventure knows how to get you safely to the other side. Read the lyrics below. Do you feel something stirring inside? Is it finally time to rise up, and give control of everything to your heavenly Father? He is listening for your prayer.

In the dark and all alone, growing comfortable
Are you too scared to move, and walk out of this tomb?
Buried underneath, the lies that you believed
Safe and sound, stuck in the ground
Too lost to be found

You're just asleep, and it's time to leave

 

Come on and rise up, take a breath, you're alive now
Can't you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
You're brand new, the power of death couldn't hold you
Can't you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
Rise up, rise up, rise up
Out from the grave like Lazarus

 

When He said your name, the thing that filled your veins
Was more than blood, it's the kind of love that washes sin away
Now the door is open wide, the stones been rolled aside
The old is gone, the Light has come so

 

Come on and rise up, take a breath, you're alive now
Can't you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
You're brand new, the power of death couldn't hold you
Can't you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
Rise up, rise up, rise up
Out from the grave like Lazarus

 

He's calling us to walk out of the dark
He's giving us new resurrected hearts
He's calling us to walk out of the dark
He's giving us new resurrected hearts

 

Come on and rise up, take a breath, you're alive now
Can't you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
You're brand new, the power of death couldn't hold you
Can't you hear the voice of Jesus calling us
Out from the grave like Lazarus
Rise up, rise up
Out from the grave like Lazarus
Rise up, rise up, rise up
Out from the grave like Lazarus