Two men died

Two men died and their deaths didn't occur very far apart, at most only a couple of years. While they did have in common the end of their physical lives, there was so much of a difference in the events surrounding their deaths, we should look at the contrast. 

The first of these deaths is recorded in John 11. A man names Lazarus was sick and his family sent someone to bring Jesus to his bedside. Jesus was busy elsewhere, so it took a while for him to arrive and before he reached the destination Lazarus died. The first part of Luke 11 tells of Jesus visiting the two sisters of the dead man, and the promise of Jesus, "Your brother will rise again."  The reality of that promise was nearing as Jesus went to the sealed tomb and gave the command, "Roll away the stone." One of the sisters, Martha, was concerned about the odor of death because Lazarus had been dead four days.  Jesus reminded her of her faith and promised that she would see the glory of God.  He prayed to his Father as an example to those standing near, that he really was the Son of God. Then he spoke. "Lazarus, come forth!"  The Bible then  tells about Lazarus coming out of the tomb, still bound in his graveclothes and his face wrapped in a headcloth. He was alive!

The second of the two deaths is the death of Jesus on the cross, a death at the hands of Roman soldiers who had administered numerous techniques of torture while mocking him and spitting on him.  He was buried in a tomb that belonged to someone else, as permission was given for them to take down the body of Jesus and prepare it for burial.  Early on Sunday morning, the third day after the burial, Mary Magdalene went to visit the tomb and found the stone sealing the tomb had been rolled away. She ran to tell the followers of Jesus and a couple of them ran to the tomb and looked inside. Jesus was gone. The only thing they saw in the tomb were his graveclothes that had been folded and set to one side. Jesus was alive!

There are some similarities to these two deaths, but there is a striking contrast in something as simple as the linens used in wrapping the dead bodies for burial. Lazarus came out of his tomb, still wrapped in his graveclothes.  We can imagine his frustrations. Alive, but still bound tightly by the cloths of burial. Remember Jesus had to give the instructions to some of those standing near Lazarus' tomb, to unwrap him and let him go.  The leftovers of his deadness still had him bound. 

In the case of Jesus death, his burial garments were found inside the tomb, neatly folded and sitting nearby. When Jesus was raised to live again, he made sure the leftovers of his deadness stayed in the tomb. They were a contradiction to his risen life. 

For us, new life in Jesus is such a blessing. We are told, "we are a new creation" in him. Far too many times we continue to struggle with the remnants of our lives before we became Christians, and they prevent us from experiencing all that the new life offers. We remain trapped by the relics of our deadness. Like Jesus, when we experience the newness of life, we have the opportunity to leave the old things behind us. Enjoy the freedom of your new life in Jesus. That freedom is a gift from God who makes us new. 

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