The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
From Background Notes [BN] for August 18th & 19th
written by Pastor Bob Brown:
Readers familiar with burial practices in Israel would hardly miss the difficulty posed by Lazarus’ grave clothes, and that is why the writer engenders the image of a bound man trying to leave his tomb. Though alive, he struggles yet with the remnants of the past, the marks of death, and the reminders of his mortality.
Readers familiar with burial practices in Israel would hardly miss the difficulty posed by Lazarus’ grave clothes, and that is why the writer engenders the image of a bound man trying to leave his tomb. Though alive, he struggles yet with the remnants of the past, the marks of death, and the reminders of his mortality.
Scholars see a theological meaning here, namely, that those who undergo conversion still grapple with the afflictions of their former way of life. They, too, are bound from head to toe by the effects of sin that clings to their soul like grave clothes, thereby restricting their walk with the Lord. But this condition need only be temporary. Grace is available for those so bound, and they hear the liberating words of Jesus: “Take off the grave clothes and let him go!”
Curiously, the text instructs others
to unfetter Lazarus. He cannot untie himself. Could it be that the writer wants
us to hear a further message from the experience of Lazarus? Just as others rolled
the stone over the tomb, so also others bound the dead man at his
burial. To what extent do others — do we — keep our neighbors wrapped in
their grave clothes and imprisoned in their tombs? Is it not possible that we
keep them there through prejudice and ignorance? Might we not say of them, “Can
such persons really change, after all?” Or worse, “Perhaps they are not
among the chosen.” It is with such shrouds that we may well keep others in their
tombs and deprived of the freedom that Jesus’ life offers them. What sorts of
communities do we foster in our churches? Are there certain kinds of people that
will not find welcome there? Is it possible that the scent of death hangs so
heavily on them that we cannot imagine them ever set free? (see John 8:32-36;
Romans 6:18-22; 8:1-2; Galatians 5:1, 13). [BN, 5]
Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:
* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am, 5:30pm
Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:
* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am, 5:30pm
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