Lazarus had been dead for four long days. When he became ill, Mary and Martha sent for Jesus, asking if He would come and heal their brother. He did show up, but He was late. Way too late. And now Jesus was suggesting the unthinkable. He wanted to raise him from the dead. Martha protested. She thought rolling back the stone from the grave of a dead person was not a good idea. So she spoke her mind. But she had no idea that what she was going to say privately about her brother’s body odor would go public. It would be broadcast across the centuries—and across the nations of the world in the biggest-selling book of all time. But more than that, her words would be read by millions, preached from a thousand pulpits, and shouted from the housetops for the next two thousand years. Here is what she discreetly said to Jesus:
“Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.” John 11:39
Jesus didn’t even acknowledge what she had said. But there would be a horrible stench, and that wouldn’t be how Lazarus would want to be remembered. Her concern did make sense.
And there is a lesson for us. We should be careful when we listen to advice, because sometimes what is said does make sense. A friend, a boss, or a family member may discreetly say, “A word to the wise. No one wants to be bothered by talk about sin. People have their faults. They believe in God, and that’s all that matters. If you talk about Jesus, you are going to cause problems. Be respectful. Keep your mouth shut.” In other words, keep the stone over the mouth of the grave.
“Despite discouragement from this world, we will lift our voice like a trumpet and call out to those in the dark tomb of this world: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Ephesians 5:14”
But Jesus ignored her stinking advice. He went ahead and spoke to a decomposed body that had been dead for four days, and it came alive. The only stink came from the religious leaders. When they heard what He had done, they held an emergency meeting:
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” John 11:47-48
Jesus had spoken to a dead person. And that is what you and I do every time we share the gospel with an unbeliever. They are dead men walking. Scripture reminds us of our state before we heard His voice:
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,” Ephesians 2:1
Despite discouragement from this world, we will lift our voice like a trumpet and call out to those in the dark tomb of this world:
“Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Ephesians 5:14
The Bible speaks of death as a sleep. Jesus told His disciples that He was going to awaken Lazarus from his sleep. And there is more to come:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.” John 5:25
When we’re discouraged, have failures, or feel a sense of hopelessness, or when depression settles on us like a black cloud, we must remember what Jesus did—not just for Lazarus, but for us. He called us from the grave to be living testimonies to His power.
From the moment I came to Christ in 1972 to this day, I have been frustrated by my inability to express the depth of the incredibly good news we have in Christ. Every adjective has been weaker than insipid. Every attempt falls woefully short… and despite what I am saying now, I have failed once again. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord! How can we not scream it from the rooftops?
Many years ago, an atheist wrote to me, saying, “If you believe one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unreachable fate, you should be running the streets, mad with rage at their blindness.” I responded: “I have been ‘running the streets, mad with rage at their blindness’ for over 40 years.” That should be the testimony of every Christian—if the love of God dwells in us.
Jesus called Lazarus by name because he was an individual. He was a brother, a son, a friend. He was a precious individual among the multitudes. And that is something we should remember every time we share the gospel. This is a person. An individual. A potential friend. Someone with the same loves and fears that each of us has. Such thoughts should shape the tone of our voice.
One thing that brings me to tears is that I very rarely have tears in my eyes when I pray or preach. I will cry at a sad television advertisement, when a dog dies, and at tragedies in movies. I will cry when I see suffering on the news or read about it online. But when my eyes should be a river, they are a desert. My prayer is that if they can’t see tears in my eyes, they can hear them in my voice.
