Do you have any “drop by” friends? People on whom you can just drop by without notice? Do you have people who drop by your home just to “be” for a while? No strings attached; no agenda; no questions asked. 

When Elaine and I were in seminary we befriended a Korean graduate student. He became a “drop by” friend for us in many ways. Both of us still remember vividly the day he finished his oral exams for his Ph.D. thesis. There was a knock on the door. He came in, lay down on the floor, and fell asleep for three hours. 

Mary, Martha and Lazarus were “drop by” friends for Jesus. They were not disciples in the truest sense of that word. They were not followers of Jesus in the usual sense. They did not go with Jesus on his travels. They did know that Jesus was someone special. They knew about his miracles. And they enjoyed his company in their home in Bethany. 

In his new book about Jesus, Walter Wangerin imagines that Mary, Martha and Lazarus were three unmarried siblings living together. Mary and Martha were older; Lazarus was the younger brother. Their parents had died, so Mary and Martha raised Lazarus. They saw his gifts and his enormous potential. They were very proud of their younger brother. They nurtured and loved him into adulthood. They shared that pride and love with Jesus many times when Jesus dropped by. 

Then one day Lazarus got very sick. Mary and Martha sent for Jesus, but before Jesus could come, Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived at their home, Lazarus had been dead for four days.

 That little detail is important because in Jewish tradition the spirit of a person who died stayed around for about three days. On the fourth day the spirit was gone. The message in that detail is this: Lazarus was really dead! 

So we come to the setting for one of the most amazing of Jesus’ miracles. After some shared grief (where Jesus actually wept), and after some preliminary conversations with Mary and Martha (where the meaning for them was uncertain), Jesus goes with them to the tomb. He orders the stone rolled away. The crowd quiets. Jesus calls out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Within moments Lazarus shuffles out of the tomb, still wrapped in his grave clothes—binding and wrapping cloth of some kind from head to toe. 

Remember that this is not a resurrection. (That comes next week!) Rather this is a resuscitation. This is a return to life on earth. This is about a new lease on life. Lazarus comes back to resume his earthly life. 

I still remember one of those long movies many years ago about the story of Jesus. It ran for three and a half hours in the theaters. There was an intermission. Just before the intermission was the story of the raising of Lazarus. As Lazarus walked out of the tomb, the camera focused upon him, then upon Jesus, then upon the crowd, and then panned off into the sky. The sound track played the “Hallelujah” chorus. That whole experience somewhat offended my theology. I said to myself, “No, no, not here. Not yet. This is not resurrection. This is not “King of kings and Lord of Lords, and he shall reign for ever and ever.” This is a return to human, earthbound life. This is a return to hard work, to earning a living, to hardship and disease. And ultimately it’s returning to having to die all over again. 

So what do you think Lazarus thought about as he walked back into life? Did he sing Willie Nelson’s song, “On the Road Again”? Did he sing the late Gene Autry’s song, “Back in the Saddle Again”? Did he say to himself, “Maybe this time around I’ll start my own business”? 

A man celebrated his 100^th birthday. His friends asked him, “How do you feel when you wake up?” He answered, “I feel surprised.” Was Lazarus surprised? 

Or was he confused? That possibility is suggested by Frederick Buechner in one of his books.[i] We learn that when we die we go to be with the Lord. Lazarus walked out and saw Jesus standing there. Was he confused? On which side of the grave was he now standing? 

Or was he angry? No one should have to go through dying twice.

Did he laugh? Did he see the whole situation as humorous? Eugene O’Neill wrote a play many years ago with the title, “Lazarus Laughed.” 

What went through his mind? What was his “take” on this moment—perhaps not right away, but over the next few days or weeks or months? Let’s try to imagine that together. 

NO FEAR OF DEATH 

First, I think he thought to himself, “I need not fear death any more.” In one sense Lazarus could say, “Been there, done that.” But there is much more to the story than just this. 

The Korean graduate student I mentioned earlier told us about his life in North Korea as a young adult. Christians were jailed, persecuted, and then executed for being believers in those years. One day the soldiers/police came to his house. They were looking for him. He hid quietly in the attic, back in a dark corner. The police searched the house. They pushed up the attic door cover and shined a light into the attic, but did not see him. Then they left. Our friend said to us, “From that day on, I knew I would never fear death again.” He was that close. 

In Eugene O’Neill’s play, most characters wear a mask. The rubric for the play says, “Lazarus, who is freed from all death, wears no mask.” One line that Lazarus speaks in that play is this:

Laugh! Laugh with me! Death is dead! Fear is no more! There is only life! There is only laughter! 

John Killinger tells a story out of the summer of 1991. A dermatologist removed some blemishes from his face. They decided that he would need a full body check-up. The doctor also took one small mole off his chest. 

Two days later he got a phone call. “The mole was malignant melanoma. It will require further surgery.” Click! The doctor hung up the phone. That was all. He didn’t tell John it was superficial. He didn’t tell him he’d have no trouble removing it. All he said was, “It’s melanoma. You will need more surgery.” 

He went to bed that night. He woke up in the stillness. He thought about dying. He would leave it all. He would leave his wife and his children and his work—maybe in a very short period of time. And then Killinger wrote these words.

There was only one answer to my situation. God. Whatever happened, whether I lived or died, it was God that mattered. I would die one day anyway. It really didn’t matter whether it was now or fifty years from now. What did matter was God.[ii] 

This experience told Lazarus—and also tells us—that there is no need to fear death. 

A FRESH LOOK AT JESUS 

Secondly, I think Lazarus said to himself, “I need to take a fresh look at Jesus. Lazarus liked Jesus. He enjoyed his friendship. He felt close. But he now thinks Jesus is maybe more than all this. Jesus is more than a “drop by” friend, more than a fascinating teacher, even more than a healer. Lazarus might sing, “What a friend I have in Jesus. Yes. But he’s a whole lot more.” 

Lazarus discovered that Jesus has absolute power over death. Jesus declares war on the power of death. This is echoed later by Paul in one of his letters, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (see I Cor. 15) We need to take a fresh look at Jesus through the eyes of Lazarus. When you do, you will see mystery and power and eternity and life all wrapped up in one. You will see the One who is both  resurrection and life. 

FRESH ENTHUSIASM 

Thirdly I think Lazarus thought to himself, “I can lead my life now with fresh enthusiasm.” His was the ultimate new lease on life! Did Lazarus have a new gratitude for life? I suspect he did. 

Sometimes for my morning devotions I read a little prayer by John Baillie for each day of the month. More frequently than not, the morning prayer begins with something like this: “Thank you, God, for the privilege of another new day.” 

Did Lazarus have a new purpose for life? A new purpose for living? Did he think about what Rick Warren has made so popular in his book The Purpose-Driven Life? 

Listen to this one man’s statement of faith:

As Christians, we now share the power of the resurrection life. Power that can support us through failures, firings, divorces, illnesses, and even death. The story of Jesus shows us that there is always new life beyond the pain of loss, disappointment and death. 

A clergy colleague wrote these words upon the death of his mother:

Her calm and strong faith constantly reassured us that, though death can take much from you, it cannot take from you that which is most important. And in that discovery, you begin to taste the exhilaration of life lived on the edge, the sweetness of life lived for the moment, the joy of a life that comes from God as pure gift.[iii] 

A Roman Catholic priest describes his near encounter with death on an airplane. The landing gears would not lock in place. The plane circled the airport and the pilot finally decided that they had to land anyway. The pilot prepared the passengers for a crash landing. As they approached the runway they saw fire engines lining the runway. The plane landed softly and the gears held. No one was hurt.  

The priest felt led to say something profound to the flight attendant as they exited the plane. He turned to her and said, “The rest of your life is a gift.” She replied, “Father, I thought life was a gift to begin with.” 

One writer says:

We imagine that Lazarus spent the rest of his second life devoted to telling others about the Christ who had given him life and who gave him a new life of purpose as well. 

Did Lazarus see his new life as a gift? Do you? Do I? 

GREATER BOLDNESS 

Finally, I think Lazarus thought to himself, “I can be more bold in this life from now on.” I read about some signs at a convention that became name tags: Profoundly Normal, Moderately Normal, and Mildly Normal. Lazarus was anything but mildly normal from that day on. He knew courage, energy, and a boldness not known before. 

My friend Rod Wilmoth was once a pastor in Lincoln, Nebraska. There was a man in his congregation named Max. Max had terminal cancer. One day Max’s wife called. “Could you come to the hospital? Max has worsened and has become so despondent.” 

As Rod arrived, the hospice nurse was arriving also. She literally bounded into the room. She threw up the shades to bring light into the darkened room. She turned to Max and said, “What are you doing this morning?”  

Max replied, “I’m dying.” 

Said the nurse, “Of course you are. But what about in the meantime? What are you doing in the meantime?” 

Max was not sure what to say. He thought for a while, and then he said, “In the meantime, I’m living.” 

Jesus gives us the power to live with boldness without fear, without doubt, and without misgiving. The Bible does not tell us what happened to Lazarus. My guess is he lived the rest of his life with creative courage. And because of Jesus, so can you. 

ONE FINAL DETAIL 

There’s one more small piece in this story, one detail. It concerns the very last words in the story and the last words in the text for today. Do you remember what they are? Jesus says to the disciples, “Unbind him and let him go.” In other words, “Help him rediscover his life. Set him free to grow.” 

There’s a story from San Francisco in December of 2005. A humpback whale became entangled in a web of crab traps and lines. Yards of line rope wrapped around her body, tail and torso. One line was tugging at her mouth. She was so weighted down; she had to struggle to stay afloat. 

A fisherman spotted her and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours they determined the only way was to work with her under water. That was a very dangerous thing to do. One slap from her tail could kill a would-be rescuer. They worked many hours with special knives. Eventually they set her free. 

They reported that once free, she swam in joyous circles. She came back to each diver—one at a time—and nudged them to “thank” them. Someone said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. One man who cut the mouth rope said, “Her eye followed me the whole time. I will never be the same.”[iv] 

Consider this last detail of our Lazarus story. Who has set you free? Who can you set free? Who can you help unbind so they can go back into life with new courage?