Take away the stone
So often Jesus is demur and deferential. He is not assertive when he has every right to command any and everyone. He lets fools have their day and he eschews public displays of power or authority. But there is a sense here and now that the king has come and no foolishness is to be tolerated. He doesn’t ask. He commands. Remove the stone. Only a madman or a king would make such a demand. The people on the spot must decide which one he is and act. Martha, practical to a fault, tries to take a middle path. The natural world has asserted itself here, Lord. Decay rules here. Stench. Death. Four days of it.
Nobody hears the command and snaps to obedience. All present, the mockers and scoffers and semi-believers and mourners all pull up short and consider what to do. Is Jesus off his nut? Is there going to be an awkward scene? The best outcome is a terrible, smelly awful, trek into the mouth of the tomb ending at the feet of a corpse wrapped in linen.
The Spirit brings us to these places. He confronts us. Is Jesus king? Or is divorce? Or failure? Or disease? Or loss? He won’t move the stone. He tells us to move it. We can. Will we look again into the throat of the thing we want to keep buried? The thing that stinks? Is Jesus the king? Can he command me to do the worst thing even with no promise he will resolve it? Never forget that all these people, friend and foes alike have no context for what’s about to happen. Martha speaks for everyone. Did anyone think Lazarus was moments from walking out? Did hope stir at all in any heart? Could it? Was there the tiniest heartbeat of faith for this? Have you ever been to a graveside of a man taken too young? Looked into the face of his wife? Has it been you? Could anyone have talked you into returning there four days later to dig up the coffin and pry it open? No. No one stirred. The fact that anyone obeyed this command tells me something. Who moved first? Was it Martha or Mary giving a nod? You’ll never really know who Jesus is if you don’t obey this command.
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