Lazarus on the front porch in Bethany. John 12:9-11.
Brought back from the grave after four days of bodily decomposing, the
man of Bethany required no book tour or television crew to attract a crowd. He
sat on the front porch in a rocking chair–that’s how I figure it, at any rate–so
that people arriving in Jerusalem for Passover streamed out the Eastern Gate,
down the Kidron Valley, and over the Mount of Olives for a glimpse of the man
dead four days! No one had ever seen such a thing. The crowds kept
coming.
He was quite the attraction. Lazarus was the talk of the town. And as a
result, Jesus was the Man of the hour.
Many believed on Jesus because a man sat on his porch doing nothing but
smiling. Lazarus was Exhibit A of Jesus’ power over death, hell, and the
grave.
Ya gotta love it. (In some ways–but different, of course–the Lord wants
you and me to be Exhibit A of His power to change lives. See I Peter
2:9-10.)
The enemies of our Lord were infuriated and came to a decision: they had
to do something quick to put a stop to the Man of Galilee.
“Let’s kill Lazarus.” Seriously. That’s what they decided.
What a one-track mind these guys had. Jesus had already demonstrated that
tactic didn’t work any more. But death is the big gun in the enemy’s arsenal.
Rob him of that and he is powerless.
Lazarus laughed. When will the enemy ever get it? (Answer: He still
hasn’t. All over the world, God’s faithful are being martyred for their
faithfulness to Jesus. The archenemy of all that is holy still thinks if he can
kill enough believers, everyone else will be frightened into submission. But
there is an elementary law of physics Satan never has learned: Fire burns
brighter under pressure.)
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more: http://blogs.christianpost.com/guest-views/5-vignettes-we-overlook-in-scripture-25012/#ixzz3T1j0vW1C
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