In Jesus, There Is Life

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟐𝟐. 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐄𝐳𝐞 𝟑𝟕:𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟒

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟑𝟎:𝟏-𝟖 “𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐: 𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟖:𝟖-𝟏𝟏

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏𝟏:𝟏-𝟒𝟓

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟓) 

         On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we are brought to a very beautiful Gospel passage which in some way is related to what every Christian disciple goes through in our journey of faith. For all intents and purposes, the raising back to life of Lazarus is one of 10 events depicted in the Scriptures.

         We can find three of these events in the Old Testament primarily in 𝟏 𝐊𝐠𝐬 𝟏𝟕:𝟏𝟕-𝟐𝟒 where the son of a widow was also raised back to life. In 𝟐 𝐊𝐠𝐬 𝟒:𝟖-𝟑𝟕 we read of the son of a Shunammite woman who died and was raised to life by Elisha. Still in 𝟐 𝐊𝐠𝐬 𝟏𝟑:𝟐𝟎-𝟐𝟏, we read of a dead man who was thrown into Elisha’s tomb and when the body of the dead man touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man immediately came back to life and stood on his feet.

         In the New Testament, there are at least seven instances where the dead were brought back to life. Let’s start with the daughter of Jairus in the Synoptic gospels (𝐌𝐤 𝟓, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟗, 𝐋𝐤 𝟖), the son of the widow in Nain whom Jesus also raised to life (𝐋𝐤 𝟕:𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟕). Tabitha in 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟗:𝟑𝟔-𝟒𝟐, Eutychus in 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟐𝟎:𝟕-𝟏𝟐, the Saints who whose tombs were opened at the time of the Crucifixion of Jesus in 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐𝟕:𝟓𝟑-𝟓𝟑 and certainly the Resurrection of Jesus in 𝐉𝐧 𝟐𝟎:𝟏-𝟏𝟖.

         Why do we need to know of these events? Simply because the Bible is a narrative of the power of God from which we can draw our own strength as we go through our own resurrection from the dead, albeit not physically, but from the darkened world we find ourselves in until Jesus gave life to the Lazarus in each one of us.

         Of the numerous miracles that Jesus did, the raising of Lazarus from death will probably rank as the most awesome among the miraculous events that the people witnessed at the time. Why? Because Lazarus was already dead for four days and technically and based on the Jewish tradition, the soul of a person hovers with the mortal remains for three days.

        The Jews believed that the soul leaves the body of the dead person permanently after three days from this day forward and there would be stench because corruption of the body will begin from this day onwards. 

        This was why Martha objected when Jesus said: “𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞,” (𝐯.𝟑𝟗) Martha, however, has no way of knowing that Jesus may have intentionally delayed his coming so that he will have the opportunity to turn what to many seem to be a hopeless situation which was also the reason he said: “𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐍𝐨, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟒)       

         We cannot second guess what Jesus really had in mind but you will note that this event happened in Bethany which is just two miles from Jerusalem and this was the reason why the chief priests and the Pharisees have finally decided put the capstone to their plot to kill Jesus for they feared the kind of publicity related to the miracles and healings attributed to Jesus will provide undeniable proof to the claim that he was indeed the Son of God.

         And the situation may have reached its turning point when Jesus addressed Martha: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟓) and statements such as these became a cause of worry for the Pharisees because these are not empty words since these were accompanied by a factual deed when Lazarus rose when Jesus commanded him to come out even if he had been dead for four days.

        This event certainly will have serious political repercussions, and the Pharisees used this to finally muster the courage to plan and bring Jesus before the Roman on a charge of rebellion.

        The chief priests succeeded in their plot as we saw what happened to Jesus but what Caiaphas failed to comprehend was, they may have done Jesus a favor because by his death Jesus finally proved once and for all that he spoke the truth when he said: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟓)

        The rest is history and his death and resurrection led a multitude to finally believe and have faith in him which eventually led to the downfall of the Roman empire and the spread of Christianity throughout the world.

        But when we look deeper into the Gospel of John, we will find that these manifestations of healings and miraculous events have also been happening in our lives and are still taking place in the lives of many believers and converts both now and those that are yet to come.

        In each one of us there is a Lazarus that is waiting to be resurrected. There is also a Martha in us who is always on the move. And there is also a Mary in some of us who have found “the one thing that is necessary.”

        That Lazarus had been laid out in a tomb for four days was in keeping with the tradition in those days that the dead need to be buried within 24 hours since they yet do not have an advanced embalming process at that time. For all intents and purposes, there was no way that Lazarus could rise and live. At least to Martha and Mary the people who were there.

        But what this event is telling us is that for us who are already dead to sin can still be resurrected and brought out of darkness and into a marvelous light if we will only believe in Jesus. Belief in Jesus is the key to being resurrected from the depth of our sinfulness.

        We suffer spiritual death when we ignore the needs of others and or when we become insensitive to the feelings of others. We put to death our honor and integrity when we engage in a dishonest pursuit of livelihood especially when we take advantage of our positions in the public sector or corporate world. Similarly, we could be experiencing spiritual death when we disrespect and ignore the flow of pastoral authority in our Church.

       We are dead when we refuse to use our hands for the building of God’s Kingdom on earth by our refusal to serve in the mission field or when we don’t evangelize. We are dead when we allow pride to rule our lives thinking highly of ourselves instead of embracing the humility and obedience that Christ has set as a standard. We can be dead by our endless pursuit of fame, power and honor in both our temporal lives and even inside the Church.

       There is something significant in today’s Gospel passage that we can relate to. When Jesus commanded the men to roll out the stone, it is akin to our hearts of stone that we must roll out so that our bodies that have been deprived of the glory of God can be raised back to life.

       And just as when Jesus ordered the men to remove the burial cloths, these burial cloths that represent every kind of sin that we have committed must also be removed with the help of the saints around us (meaning with the help of our shepherds and, pastoral leaders in the Community) so that Jesus can bring back to life the Lazarus – which means “God is my help” – in each one of us.   

       And like Lazarus, Jesus Christ can resurrect our bodies that are dead to sin and bring us into a renewed relationship with God and with life itself for life begins the moment a person accepts Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. We begin to enjoy life because the fear of death is removed from our midst as we begin to believe in Jesus who is the source of life.

       We are also ushered into a relationship with life itself by our resurrection because believing in Jesus means not only observing but following his commands of which there are only two – “𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.” And the second is more like it “𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.” On these two commandments depend on all the law and the prophets.

       This means that we are resurrected to a new life in Jesus and through Jesus when we find joy in the company of fellow believers and finding joy in bringing the Good News to others as we have been commanded to do.

      To evangelize is to be like Martha who is a woman of action. Some of us may be hard and unkind to Martha for the way she acted towards Mary (𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟎:𝟑𝟖-𝟒𝟐) but impatient though she may be there was no doubt she has the faith bigger than a mustard seed when she told Jesus: “𝐘𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟕)      

         This was also what Mary found when instead of helping Martha she chose to stay with Jesus’ kneeling in front of him and listening to him. And when Martha protested and complained of Mary’s childish behavior Jesus only said: “𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝.” (𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟎:𝟒𝟐)

        At this very moment, Mary became like the man who found the treasure and the merchant who found the pearl of great price when she found joy in the Word of God while listening to Jesus – the one thing that is necessary.

       And it is the same with us. When we believe in Jesus and accept everything that he says to be true and if we stake everything we have in our possession to gain the truth that Jesus brings then we are resurrected for we are released from the fear that punctuates the godless life that we lived in the past.

       What happens is that when we are raised to a new life in Jesus, our lives become so fulfilled that death has no more power over us and it is also through Jesus and with the Holy Spirit working in us that we are being transported to our place in the Kingdom of Heaven. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 22, 2026)