Grave Clothes – John 11:38-57

The Jewish Virtual Library asserts that “one thing expressed most clearly by Israelite burial practices is the common human desire to maintain some contact with the community even after death, through burial in one’s native land at least, and if possible with one’s ancestors. “Bury me with my fathers,” Jacob’s request (Gen. 49:29), was the wish of every ancient Israelite….In harmony with this desire, the tomb most typical of the Israelite period is a natural cave or a chamber cut into soft rock, near the city. Bodies would be laid on rock shelves provided on three sides of the chamber, or on the floor, and as generations of the same family used the tomb, skeletons and grave goods might be heaped up along the sides or put into a side chamber to make room for new burials. This practice of family burial, though not universal if only because not all could afford it…was common enough to give rise to the Hebrew expressions “to sleep with one’s fathers” (e.g., I Kings 11:23) and “to be gathered to one’s kin” (Gen. 25:8; et al.) as synonyms for “to die.”  They add further that “the New Testament sheds some light on Jewish burial practices of the first century C.E. Jesus’ disciples took his body, bought a great quantity of myrrh and aloes, “and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury” (John 19:40).”

This is certainly true of Lazarus’ burial.  How tightly was his body wrapped?  Did the use of spices create a kind of resin after four days buried? Whatever the case, as he came out of the tomb alive he needed help getting free.

Jesus therefore again, deeply moved, came to the tomb.  It was a cave with a stone over it.  Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”  Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, it already is putrid because it has been four days.”  Jesus told her, “Did I not say to you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”  So they removed the stone.  Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that You hear me.  And I know that you always hear me, but for the sake of this crowd standing here I have spoken so that they might believe that You sent me.”  And when he had said this he called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”  The dead man came out bound feet and hands with linen strips and his face was bound with a cloth.  Jesus told them, “Take these off and set him free.”

For this reason, many of the Jews who had come with Mary and who saw what he did, believed in him.  Some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.  So the chief priests and the Pharisees brought together the council and said, “What shall we do since this man has performed many great signs?  If we just let him go, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both this place and this nation.”  But one of them, Caiaphas, who was the chief priest that year, said, “You know nothing.  Don’t you realize that it is better that one man dies for the people rather than that the whole nation perishes?”  But he didn’t say this on his own, but since he was chief priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also that he might gather into one congregation all the children of God scattered abroad.  So from that day on they made plans to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but left there for the region near the wilderness, to the city called Ephraim, and he remained there with his disciples.

And the Passover of the Jews drew near, and many went up to Jerusalem from their regions before the Passover that they might purify themselves.  They were looking for Jesus and discussing with one another where they stood in the temple, “What do you think?  Will he not come to the feast?”  The chief priests and the Pharisees commanded that any who knew where he was to report it, so they might arrest him.  (John 11:38-57)

Can you imagine being there in Bethany outside the tomb where Lazarus is buried and wondering what Jesus is going to do?  He prays out loud for God to hear his request and then commands Lazarus to come out.  Would you have thought, “This guy has lost it”?  But Lazarus comes out, still bound in his grave wrappings!

The incredible demonstration of God’s power through this miracle led to the belief of many of those there that day.  But in the depravity of the human heart there were some who saw this miracle as a threat.  The leaders of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, met to discuss this and were initially desperate thinking Jesus’ action would lead to a revolt against Rome, and a Roman clamp down on their role in the nation and even their nation.  Caiaphas ruthlessly used this to justify killing Jesus for the sake of the nation.  Caiaphas meant that Jesus’ death would prevent a revolt, but as high priest God used his words as a kind of prophecy that Jesus’ would be the sacrificial lamb that would redeem the nation.

Jesus now had to minister outside of Jerusalem once again but as Passover drew near and people were going up to Jerusalem to prepare for the festival, they were alive with anticipation of Jesus coming to the feast.  Jesus did go, of course, because his time had come.  He had to die at Passover like the lamb of God John the Baptist said he was, the one who takes away the sin of the world.  John makes it clear that Jesus was not only dying for the nation of Israel but for all the children God was adopting from every part of the world, what Jesus calls in chapter 10 his other flock.  We are now one flock, Jews and Gentiles, in the Body of Christ.

Discussion Questions

1. How do you handle funerals?
2. What do you think Martha’s attitude was when Jesus told them to open the tomb?
3. Jesus explains in his prayer to his Father why he is asking this out loud?  What, if anything, does this teach you about how Jesus prayed?
4. What is the stated fear of the Pharisees and chief priests and the council about Jesus?
5. How do you explain Caiaphas’ unwitting/unwilling prophecy?  Was he speaking or was God, or is their some third way to explain this?
6. How are you personally connected with the worldwide, multi-ethnic flock of God?