Westside Church of Christ

Opposition to the Savior developed very quickly. Odd, isn’t it? The world was sinking into the quicksand of sin, taking God’s people down with it, and they rejected their only hope. He was one of their own but didn’t fit with their preconceived notions of the Messiah. King Herod slaughtered infants and toddlers in his attempt to eliminate this new born king. Competition was not welcome. Some things never change.

Satan wields a big stick around this globe, and he does not take the Lord’s intrusion into his playground lightly. His fingers were in civil affairs and religious circles. The rich and poor, important and obscure, the Jews and Gentiles joined forces to oppose Jesus. Yet, their violent hostility, which culminated in a brutal crucifixion, was carrying out God’s plan (Acts 4:27-28). Eyewitnesses could not possibly have perceived the invisible hands behind that scene.

Martha and Mary were in distress. Their brother was deathly ill, and they sent word to Jesus with expectations that He would come quickly. He didn’t. Days passed before He moved. The sisters did not know and could not understand what was happening. All of this would not terminate in Lazarus’s death but in God’s glory and that of His Son (John 11). Could Martha and Mary see that? God’s ways are not like ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).

They surely did not understand the fullness of that statement. All that they experienced was the declining health and eventual death of their brother. They believed that the Lord could have done something to stop it. He didn’t. He had been a no-show at their hardest moment. They were heartbroken. Big pictures elude the perception of finite people. Those unseen hands were acting again in a surprising way. Jesus shouted, and the dead man rose. The grave was empty. They never expected that.

Expectations often lead us into disappointment and disillusionment. The Jews anticipated a Messiah who was nothing like the One who came to deliver them and attempted to destroy Him. Martha and Mary looked for a dramatic act from their Lord to cure Lazarus. Both stories ended in an empty tomb. The evil one is still active in the world with his bag of deceptive tricks, and the end result is just like always. He fools us, stirs up our lust which drags us into sin. We act and die. It is always that way, but that doesn’t have to be the last word.

Jesus rose to life. Lazarus did, too. God does that. There is evidence from those two that there is a power greater than death, whether we’re talking physically or spiritually. Both are scary realities, but our Creator is greater than either. He offers life and tells us how to have it, even after our heart stops beating. Read His book, follow His Son, and we will live forever.

Call to Praise: Romans 1:8-12

His word on it: Acts 23:11

Sermon: “Paul’s Answered Prayer”