The Audience John Is Writing To
Everything in John’s Gospel has been building toward this moment.
John has recorded six signs.
Each one revealed another aspect of Christ’s glory.
Now comes the seventh.
The greatest.
The final public sign before the Passion.
Notice that Jesus does not perform this miracle privately.
Nor in a distant village.
Nor before only His disciples.
He performs it before mourners.
Neighbors.
Religious observers.
And people who would soon report what they had seen to Jerusalem.
John understands that this miracle changes everything.
After this moment, the religious leaders no longer debate whether Jesus should die.
They decide that He must die.
Ironically, the miracle that most clearly reveals Jesus as the Author of Life becomes the event that seals the conspiracy to take His life.
John 11:38-44 NASB
So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. But I knew that You always hear Me; nevertheless, because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” Out came the man who had died, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Key Focus of the Passage and Jesus’ Character
The focus is Christ’s absolute authority over death, the glory of God revealed through resurrection, and the seventh climactic sign of John’s Gospel.
Jesus reveals Himself as:
- the Resurrection,
- the Lord of Life,
- the Creator,
- the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision of new life,
- and the sovereign King before whom death itself must obey.
This miracle stands as the greatest public demonstration of Christ’s power before His own death and resurrection.
The People in the Interaction
- Jesus
- Lazarus of Bethany
- Martha of Bethany
- Mary of Bethany
- The mourners
- The disciples
What Happened in the Scene
Deeply moved once again, Jesus approaches the tomb.
It is a cave with a stone lying against its entrance.
Jesus commands: “Remove the stone.”
Martha objects.
Lazarus has been dead four days.
She says: “Lord, by this time there will be a stench.”
Jesus reminds her: “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
The stone is removed.
Jesus lifts His eyes toward heaven and prays aloud.
He thanks the Father for always hearing Him.
He explains that His prayer is spoken for the benefit of the crowd so they may believe the Father sent Him.
Then Jesus cries out with a loud voice: “Lazarus, come forth!”
Immediately the dead man emerges.
His hands and feet remain wrapped with burial cloths.
His face is still covered.
Jesus gives His final command: “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Death has been defeated.
Life stands before the crowd.
The Deep Theology of the Seventh Sign
The Stone
Jesus begins with an unexpected command.
“Remove the stone.”
Could He have removed it Himself?
Certainly.
Yet He chooses to involve others.
This pattern appears throughout Scripture.
God alone accomplishes the miracle.
Yet He graciously invites His people to participate in preparing the way.
The crowd cannot raise Lazarus.
But they can remove the obstacle that hides the tomb.
The Church still serves in that role today.
We cannot regenerate hearts.
Only Christ gives life.
But we remove obstacles through faithful witness, prayer, and proclamation of the Gospel so people may hear the voice of the Savior.
Martha’s Honest Faith
Martha’s objection is wonderfully human.
She believes.
Yet she also knows reality.
Four days have passed.
Decay has begun.
Her statement reminds us that biblical faith never ignores reality.
It simply believes that God’s power is greater than reality as we presently understand it.
Faith does not deny the impossible.
It trusts the God for whom nothing is impossible.
“You Will See the Glory of God”
Notice once again John’s central theme.
The miracle is not ultimately about Lazarus.
It is about God’s glory.
Throughout John’s Gospel:
Water becomes wine… That His glory might be seen.
The blind receive sight… That His glory might be seen.
Now the dead are raised… That His glory might be seen.
God’s glory and humanity’s greatest good always meet in Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:20 NASB
For as many as the promises of God are, in Him they are yes; therefore through Him also is our Amen to the glory of God through us.
Why Does Jesus Pray?
Jesus has never needed to pray publicly before performing miracles.
Why now?
He tells us.
“Because of the people standing around…”
The prayer is not for the Father’s benefit.
Nor for Jesus’.
It is for the crowd.
Jesus allows them to hear His intimate relationship with the Father.
He wants them to understand that everything He does flows from perfect unity with the Father.
The miracle about to occur is not independent power.
It is the Father’s work revealed through the Son.
“Lazarus, Come Forth!”
Many preachers have observed something both beautiful and humorous.
Jesus calls Lazarus by name.
Why? Because had He simply commanded, “Come forth,” every grave might have emptied.
While that observation goes beyond what John explicitly states, it highlights an important theological truth.
The voice calling Lazarus is the same voice that one day will call every believer from the grave.
Jesus is not merely reviving life.
He is exercising the authority He claimed in John 5: “All who are in the tombs will hear His voice.”
Lazarus becomes the first public demonstration of that promise.
Death Obeys Its Creator
Throughout Scripture, only God possesses authority over life and death.
Prophets prayed for resurrection.
Jesus commands it.
Elijah prayed.
Elisha prayed.
Jesus simply speaks.
The difference is profound.
The prophets depended upon God’s power.
Jesus exercises divine authority.
Death itself recognizes the voice of its Creator.
Lazarus Comes Out Bound
John carefully records that Lazarus emerges still wrapped in grave clothes.
Why mention this? Because Lazarus has truly returned from death.
He has not escaped burial.
He has passed through it.
Yet there is another reason.
When Jesus Himself rises, the grave clothes remain behind.
Lazarus returns to ordinary life.
He will one day die again.
Jesus rises into glorified, resurrection life.
Lazarus’ resurrection points forward.
Christ’s resurrection completes the story.
“Unbind Him”
Jesus could have caused the grave clothes to disappear.
Instead He commands: “Unbind him.”
Again Christ involves His people.
Only Jesus gives life.
His followers help others walk in the freedom life brings.
Many have seen a beautiful picture of discipleship here.
Christ saves.
The Church helps believers leave behind the remnants of the old life.
While John does not explicitly make that application, it harmonizes well with the broader teaching of the New Testament.
The Seventh Sign
Why does John record exactly seven major signs?
Throughout Scripture, seven represents completeness.
Perfection.
Fulfillment.
This final sign reveals Christ’s complete authority over creation.
Every previous miracle builds toward this one.
He changes nature.
He heals disease.
And He feeds multitudes.
He restores sight.
Now He conquers death itself.
Nothing remains outside His authority.
Only one sign remains greater.
His own resurrection.
The New Creation
John began his Gospel with creation.
Now he points toward new creation.
The same voice that once said, “Let there be light,” now says, “Lazarus, come forth.”
Creation began with life emerging from nothing.
Redemption reaches its climax as life emerges from death.
John wants readers to see that Jesus is not merely restoring individuals.
He is inaugurating the restoration of all creation.
Mood and Tone
The tone moves from expectation → prayer → authority → triumph → freedom.
The sorrow of Bethany gives way to the glory of resurrection.
What Jesus Reveals
Jesus reveals Himself as:
- the Resurrection,
- the Lord over death,
- the Creator,
- the Son perfectly united with the Father,
- and the giver of life.
The Response of Others
Martha
She continues trusting despite confronting the reality of death.
The Crowd
They witness the greatest public miracle of Jesus’ ministry.
Lazarus
He responds to the voice of Christ with the only possible response.
Life.
The Lesson for Us in 2026
1. Nothing Is Beyond Christ’s Authority
Not even death itself.
2. God’s Glory Is Revealed Through Impossible Situations
The darkest moments often become the greatest displays of His power.
3. Christ’s Voice Gives Life
The same Savior who called Lazarus still calls spiritually dead people today.
4. The Church Serves Those Whom Christ Has Raised
Discipleship helps believers walk in the freedom Christ has already given.
5. Every Resurrection Points to Christ’s Own Resurrection
Lazarus’ miracle prepares us for Easter morning.
Final Reflection
Imagine the silence.
A sealed tomb.
Four days.
The smell of death.
Mourners waiting.
Then one voice breaks the silence.
“Lazarus, come forth!”
Nothing dramatic is described.
John records no struggle.
No delay.
No resistance.
Death simply obeys.
That is the power of the Son of God.
Throughout human history, every grave has spoken the same message.
Death wins.
Bethany speaks a different message.
Jesus wins.
The miracle does not merely comfort grieving sisters.
It announces the beginning of death’s defeat.
Yet notice something important.
Lazarus eventually dies again.
This miracle points beyond itself.
It points toward another tomb.
Another stone.
Another resurrection.
One where the grave clothes remain behind forever.
One where death itself suffers its final defeat.
Every believer now lives between those two resurrections.
We still attend funerals.
We still grieve.
And we still bury those we love.
But we no longer stand beside graves without hope.
The same voice that called Lazarus by name will one day call every one of Christ’s people.
Every cemetery has become temporary.
Every grave has become borrowed ground.
Because the Resurrection has already entered history.
And His name is Jesus.
So the question becomes:
When I face the reality of death, do I see only what every human eye can see, or do I hear, by faith, the voice of the Savior who has already proven that no grave can permanently hold those whom He calls by name?
