Wednesday, August 24, 2022
“These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep” (John 11:11 KJV).
Behold, he whom God helps!
Keep reading the context of today’s Scripture: “[38] Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. [39] Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. [40] Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? [41] Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. [42] And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. [43] And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. [44] And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”
Lazarus was dead but the Lord called him back to life just four days later. In order to appreciate the importance of this literal, historical event, we will do a word study. The name “Lazarus” is Greek, but derived from the Hebrew language: it is a variant of “Eleazar,” with “El” for “God” and “azar” for “help.” To wit, “Lazarus” literally means “whom God helps.” Let us be absolutely clear in this point: this is not the nonsense in religion that “God helps those who help themselves.” Lazarus was dead, so he could do nothing to “help himself” anyway! “Help” here carries the sense of “save, rescue.” Lazarus needed deliverance from the power of physical death, salvation from the fatal consequences of the curse of sin. His bondage and subsequent release are types or previews of much larger truths….
333 Words of Grace 