After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth.

John 11:43-44 CSB

The heading for this passage in my Bible is "the seventh sign". John tracks through seven signs that Jesus is who he says he is by exercising power and authority over creation, and here, the final one, over death itself. 

Jesus is who he says he is.

But this bringing Lazarus back to life, as miraculous and powerful as it was, was not enough. Lazarus still needed Jesus to smash into death itself by submitting to it, to bring Lazarus, and us, Life.

Signs point us somewhere, and these signs point us to Jesus. 

Lazarus, like us, had no power over death any more than he could've changed the water into wine in Ch2, the first of the signs. 

The signs are not the thing. Bringing Lazarus back is not the thing.

Jesus is.

Jesus is the hope we have of Life.

Life in him, Life with him, capital L Life in all it was meant to be.

Heavenly Father, may today we get glimpses of that Life, may we see those dead parts of us brought back to life, but most of all, help us to keep our eyes where the signs are pointing, on Jesus, our hope and our redeemer, the One who gave Himself so that we might have Life.

Amen.

#jesusatthecentre

#myhopeisbuiltonnothinglessthanjesusbloodandrightteousness