Old Testament: 37:1-14
New Testament: Romans 8:6-11
Gospel: John 11:1-45
Psalm 130
“I am the Resurrection and the Life”
While the New Testament is quite clear regarding the future resurrection of the body, it is, in point of fact, the Old Testament that lays the ground work for the New Testament teaching. This is, in particular, to be found in Ezekiel 37:1-4.
In this passage, God shows to Ezekiel a vision of the Valley of the Bones, and challenges Ezekiel to tell him if these bones can live. Although somewhat hesitant to answer, nevertheless, Ezekiel knows well that God (Yahweh) is capable of making the bones live. The God of Israel accomplishes this by breathing life into the bones, just as He had breathed life into Adam (Genesis 2:7). Of course, there was one major difference, seeing that Adam was new life, while the bones in Ezekiel were brought back to life, thus resurrected. Here, too, resurrection becomes a metaphor for the return of Israel, and to bring Israel out of captivity, in Babylon, and into the promised land.
In Ezekiel, there is also a hint at future bodily resurrection. But, in the New Testament this is reflected in the story of the raising of Lazarus. Martha reflects this belief in her response to Jesus regarding her brother Lazarus, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24). The doctrine of the resurrection was, therefore, not invented by the Apostles, but found in the teaching of the Old Testament.
In John’s Gospel (11:1-45), the account of the raising of Lazarus, although Jesus had previously raised up others, in none of these occurrences had the power of death fully taken place. And, although Lazarus is brought back to life, Jesus waits for four days to do so, thus not allowing this miracle to overshadow His own three day resurrection.
In fact, Jesus specifically waited for four days before going to Bethany to assure that there could be no question that Lazarus was dead and his body in a state of putrification.
So, why did Jesus act in this manner? He wanted to not only make it perfectly clear that Lazarus was dead, but, also, to use the raising of Lazarus as a perfect prefiguration of His own death and resurrection. It might even be said that it was essential that Lazarus die so that the faith of the disciples might also be raised from the dead.
Finally, the raising of Lazarus is also not just another miracle story of Jesus but, indeed, the beginning of our new life in the risen Christ. Alleluia, Alleluia.
Richard Thames
No comments:
Post a Comment