Jn 11:19-27 [or Lk 10:38-42]
I am the resurrection: One who believes and follows Jesus confronts many paradoxes. Foremost of these is the interplay of death and resurrection, persecution and glory, sadness and joy, despair and hope. Jesus tells his followers that anyone who submits oneself totally to God passes from death to life (Jn 5:24), and because of this, will never die (v 26). Here, Lazarus (in Hebrew, Eleazar, which means “God has helped”), the brother of Martha and Mary, personifies a person who dies but is restored to life by Jesus. Note that for the Jews, any form of illness is thought to be the result of sin. Lazarus, who is dead because of sin, rises to new life. This miracle is performed to announce true resurrection, which transforms one’s body and soul—one’s very being. It presents the common destiny of all Christians, which is to be dead with Christ and alive with him in his resurrection (Gal 2:19-20).
I am the resurrection: One who believes and follows Jesus confronts many paradoxes. Foremost of these is the interplay of death and resurrection, persecution and glory, sadness and joy, despair and hope. Jesus tells his followers that anyone who submits oneself totally to God passes from death to life (Jn 5:24), and because of this, will never die (v 26). Here, Lazarus (in Hebrew, Eleazar, which means “God has helped”), the brother of Martha and Mary, personifies a person who dies but is restored to life by Jesus. Note that for the Jews, any form of illness is thought to be the result of sin. Lazarus, who is dead because of sin, rises to new life. This miracle is performed to announce true resurrection, which transforms one’s body and soul—one’s very being. It presents the common destiny of all Christians, which is to be dead with Christ and alive with him in his resurrection (Gal 2:19-20).
For the evangelist John the resurrection is not only an event but also a “sign.” It is a part of his presentation of Jesus as life, which Jesus gives even after all hope is gone. The lapse of time between Lazarus’ burial and his resurrection is in anticipation of the resurrection of Jesus himself.