so, who is Lazarus, whose name gave the name to the feast of Lazarus Saturday? The story of Lazarus of Bethany, of the village about three kilometers from Jerusalem, is told in the gospel of John, and narrated with such psychological precision, all items shown visibly and clearly, they understand that the Evangelist John was inside the event, was a witness of the miracle. The miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus. Usually clarify: “the four day Lazarus,” which means that Lazarus died four days ago. Yes, the event marked the beginning of the holiday called “Lazarus Saturday” – the resurrection of Lazarus, dead four days before, and, honestly konkretisiert the gospel, “already filthy”. We are talking about the resurrection of the dead – that the resurrection, not the resurrection, what’s the difference, we will see later.
But who was this Lazarus, who on the fourth day after his death, Jesus Christ returned to life, ordinary life in his physical, however, already healthy body? I note parenthetically that, according to Church tradition, Lazarus at the resurrection, he lived another 30 years and then, like all people, died in a dignity of Bishop of Kition, now the island of Cyprus. Well, at the moment of death Lazarus was, most likely, non-poor and definitely revered by the Jews of Bethany. Friend of Jesus Christ knows that Jesus repeatedly visited the home of Lazarus, had dinner there with His disciples. Were Lazarus’s two sisters Martha and Mary also knew of Christ.
now let us turn to the gospel of John, but we read it together with the Holy fathers – the source of any paraphrase more interesting. We only recall that the pronoun “He” and all its derivatives are written with a capital letter, used in reference to the Son of God, the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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“[At that time] was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, of the village, where lived Mary and Martha, her sister. Mary was she who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was sick. Sent sisters to Him, saying, “o my Lord! Behold, he whom You love is sick.” On hearing this, Jesus said, “this Sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God that was glorified through it the Son of God.” Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And when he heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where he was”.
Stop reading and think: why did Jesus slack when it comes to fatal illness of his friend, the friend whom He loved? The same question was asked by myself and all the witnesses of this story two thousand years ago. The answer is simple. The delay of the son of God, the Holy fathers explain the desire to resurrect this dead and stinking chetverodnevnogo – miracle, either before or after the mankind to the unknown and the repetition. “For he Jesus that Lazarus died and was buried, so nobody could say that He raised him then, as he was still not dead, that it was only a deep sleep, or relaxation, or deprivation of the senses, but not death. For this reason He stayed on so long that there was even the corruption so that said stinks,” explains St. John Chrysostom.
Read on: “then He said to his disciples, “let us Go again into Judea.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi! While ago the Jews tried to stone You, and are You going there again?” Jesus answered, “are there Not twelve hours in the day? Who walks by day will not stumble, because he seeth the light of this world, but he who walks by night that he stumbles, because there is no light in him.” Having said that, then tells them: “Lazarus our friend has fallen asleep; but I go to awaken him”. His disciples said, “Lord! If he sleeps, he will recover.” Jesus spoke of his death: but they thought that He was talking about ordinary sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead; and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you I am sureAli; but go to him.” Then Thomas, called Didymus, said to his disciples: “let us Go that we may die with Him.”
We like to see disciples of Jesus, cautionary of the son of God: “do Not go to Judea! You wanted there to be stoned, and are You going there again? Well, please, at least don’t go during the day – dangerous!” But Jesus answers them with a phrase that has not only literal meaning, but theological: “he Who walks by day will not stumble, because he seeth the light of this world, but he who walks by night that he stumbles, because there is no light in him.” And now one of His disciples – Thomas strikes us readiness unconditionally, despite the dangers, to follow Christ wherever He went. By the way, this is the unbelieving Thomas, which we will talk through the week after Easter so remember today his resolve!
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But back to the gospel text: “Jesus came, he found that he (Lazarus) had been four days in the tomb. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs, and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them in their grief of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him: but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus: “Lord! If You were here would not have died my brother. But I now know that whatever You ask God will give it Thee”. Jesus said to her, “thy brother shall Rise again”. He tells Martha: “I Know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her: “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Do you believe it?” She tells Him, “Yes, Lord! I believe that You are the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God, that Cometh into the world”. Having said this, she went and called Mary her sister, itsYu, saying secretly: “the Master is here and calleth for thee.” She once heard, she arose quickly and went to Him. Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house and consoling her, seeing that Mary rose up in haste and went out, followed her, supposing that she goes to the tomb to cry there. But Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, fell at His feet and said to Him: “o my Lord! If You were here would not have died my brother.”
the dialogues between the sisters of the deceased Lazarus and Jesus Christ are extremely important. On the one hand it’s kind of a test of Lord, can the Martha and Mary believe in the miracle of the resurrection, and, therefore, to believe that standing in front of them Jesus the Son of God. Sister seems to believe, they say: “If You, Jesus, so loving our brother, was there when he was sick, or just died, You wouldn’t have let him die, You would have raised him up!”
But now it is too late, they believe, corruption, death, destroyed our brother, death has already won. Yes, as religious Jews, they know that someday their brother would rise from the dead, but now it has no life, only decay and death.
And here Jesus again speaks the words not quite clear to the two grief-stricken women, words, with profound meaning: “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Do you believe it?” And, needless to say that these words are addressed not only to the grieving Martha and Mary, but to all of us?
And then something amazing happens. “When Jesus saw her (Mary) weeping, and who came with her weeping Jews, He groaned in the spirit and came to the excitement, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They Say To Him: “O My Lord! Come and see.” Jesus Wept. Said then the Jews: “See how He loved him”. And some of them said, “could Not He who opened the eyes of the blind, to make this not dead?””
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Why did Jesus weep? Knowing that Lazarus would be resurrected? God is crying! Knowing that He is subject to death, crying over the dead! Why? Why weep we? When we weep? When starting out different! God is crying because He sympathizes with His friend Lazarus! This point the gospel is no less important than the fact of resurrection! He explains why God Jesus Christ then made his own Sufferings and Death. He did it out of compassion for us humans. Of love.
But Reno tears. If we are accurate, we will see: the gospel says about Christ, not sobbing, not even crying, it said, “Jesus Wept”. It is also important. St. Basil the Great explains: Christ “entered into the necessary passionate movement in some measure and limits, preventing nesostoiatelnosti because it veronauno, and not allowing to grieve and shed many tears because it is cowardly”.
Again, back to the gospel of John. “Jesus, again indignant in Himself, cometh to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus says: “Take the stone”. The sister of the deceased, Martha, says to Him: “o my Lord! Already stinks; for four days already.” Jesus said to her: “said I Not unto thee, that, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Then took the stone and Jesus raised his eyes heavenward and said: “father! Thank You that You heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but he said it’s because of the people standing around to believe that You sent Me.”
having Said this, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” Then many of the Jews, sewDSI to Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.”
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this imperious call of Christ: “Lazarus, come forth!”, sounding today in the churches, addressed not only to Lazarus. Lazarus, a four-day denizen of the dark land of the dead – the image of the soul, buried under the bushel of sins, as one Holy soul, “from our sins stinking”. This appeal, heard even in the realm of the dead, not for us, still alive, just words.
“Lazarus, come forth!” – flies through the millennia to us today. “Lazarus, come forth!” – and an empty tomb, a dungeon of our death. And lying powerless by the grave cloths rags – the bonds of our sin. “Untie him and let him go…” this scene is depicted on the icon of the feast of Lazarus Saturday.
But I promised to explain the difference between resurrection and resurrection from the dead. The raising of Lazarus is the return of the deceased, who “already stinks”, to life on earth. And the resurrection of the dead, that this has been mentioned by Martha, is the restoration of physical bodies of people is in new condition. Christianity teaches that everything has to happen at the second coming of Jesus Christ. In the words of the Apostle Paul, the resurrection of the dead will occur “suddenly, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye”. The pledge of this future resurrection of the dead is the Resurrection of Christ at Easter. His godfather feat and death, and then resurrection, Jesus Christ transformed human nature and opened the way of the resurrection we, the people.
Jesus Christ has conquered death, and so, as a reminder to us that death has no power over the son of God that He is stronger than death, the Church andhas become a holiday called “Lazarus Saturday”, set it before the Holy week. On the day of Lazarus Saturday is canceled even post our ancestors on this day be sure to put on the table the fish product in the past century more accessible than it is now. Guess why? How much depth and meaning, because the egg is the germ of a new life, its Bud. Please note as a complex theology into the everyday life of believers, illuminated her. With a holiday!
