JOHN 11:7–16
“Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up”
(John 11:11).
This passage teaches that believers have no need to fear death. Those who are a friend of Christ are a friend of life, and though they will die to this life, they will live for the life to come. Though easily understood, this truth is not easily believed.
Notice how gently Jesus handles this subject when discussing it with His disciples. First, He says that “Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go in order to wake him.” The death of believers is often compared to sleep: “but let me lie with my fathers …” (Gen. 47:30); “Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matt. 27:52); and, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thess. 4:13). The analogy is very appropriate because believers expect a glorious awakening on the other side. In the case of Lazarus, the figure is still more striking, for as a man rises from sleep so Lazarus was about to rise from death for all to see.
In this connection, it is instructive to observe the beautiful and comforting manner in which Scripture speaks about the death of believers. If you are a Christian, your death is “precious in the sight of the Lord” (Ps. 116:15); you will be “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22); you will “be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). We are “having a desire to depart” (Phil. 1:23) in order to be with Christ and to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8), knowing that the place we go to is “far better” (Phil. 1:23) for we will be resting in the Lord.
This sleep to which Jesus refers is not an “intermediate state” of unconscious repose. You are asleep to this world but awake to the presence of Christ (2 Cor. 5:8; Rev. 7:15–17). Like the thief on the cross, the day you die you will be in paradise with Jesus worshipping Him with a joy we cannot now comprehend.
The glorious nature of the passage before us was manifested by the power of Christ over the grave. Just as you would shake someone from their slumber, so Christ awakened Lazarus from the grave. Death has no victory over those whom Christ loves. Therefore, we need not fear it, but rejoice in the resurrection that comes through faith in Christ.
CORAM DEO
Job 26–28
Acts 11
Look at each of the scriptures for today and read them aloud. As you read each, answer the question “How does this bring me comfort concerning death?” Also note “sleep” has a temporary sense to it. Why is this term appropriate when used to describe the death of Christians?
For further study: Luke 16:19–31 • 1 Cor. 15:20–28, 50–58
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july