John 11:38-44

John 11:38-44 - Daily Devotion - 14 August 2026 St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park 38 Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” Jesus said.“Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”43 After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”44 The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth.“Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them.REFLECTIONSWritten by Helen MitryGrowing up in a Christian family and attending church and Sunday school, I have read and heard this story many times before, but as I read over it this time, one thing stood out to me that I hadn't fully appreciated before. The first half of verse 44 says, “The man who had been dead came out” – or the NIV translation, which is more succinct: “The dead man came out.” Let that sink in a bit.It reminds me of the title of a movie I watched last year. It’s the third film in the “Knives Out” comedy murder mystery trilogy, and it’s called, “Wake Up Dead Man.” The movie also had biblical references – perhaps the producer did some research in John’s Gospel! Because dead people shouldn't be doing anything. The word “dead” should not be paired with any active verb, but God in his power raised Lazarus up from the dead so that he could walk out of his own tomb.Throughout the chapter, Jesus tells us the purpose of this miracle in a few different ways: so that God the Father would be glorified (v 40), so that the Son of God would be glorified (v 4), and so that people will believe God the Father has sent Jesus his Son (v 42). Ultimately, by this miracle Jesus shows us that if we ask him, he will do the greatest miracle of all for us. We were dead in our sins and couldn’t do anything to save ourselves, but Jesus paid the debt of our sins so that we could glorify him and gain eternal life in him. Jesus only asks for our belief. Do you believe? Take a moment to thank him, and also to pray for people you know who don't believe in him yet. ABOUT THE AUTHORHelen is a member of our Fairfield Evening congregation.