Pondering

John 11:43-44

“Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”

The raising of Lazarus from the dead is a symbol of salvation, of being “born again” as Jesus called it (John 3:3). At that point of transformation, we become new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), dead to sin and alive in Christ (Romans 6:1-11), and completely within God’s eternal grasp (Revelation 3:5).

But what about those pesky grave clothes?

They are also symbolic. On the one hand they represent the old person, the one left in the grave and now raised to new life. In theological terms we call this “primary sanctification”—the initial setting apart of our souls to God (1 Corinthians 6:11). The grave clothes also represent our ongoing humanity—the continuing sojourn in the flesh with all its faults and failures yet accompanied by God’s grace and mercy. This is referred to as “secondary sanctification”—our ongoing conformity to Christ (Romans 8:29).

Both are sovereign works of God. Yet there’s something interesting in the passage regarding “secondary sanctification.” Jesus turns to the disciples marveling at Lazarus’ resurrection and says, “[You] take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

In other words, we play a role in helping fellow believers grow in Christ.

The original Greek word for “take off” (Λύσατε) is the image of a prisoner being set free yet needing help to remove his/her chains. These “chains” in our lives vary but ultimately represent things that hinder us from walking freely—fear, lust, bad habits, pride, unforgiveness—the list goes on. The “taking off” of such grave clothes can come in the form of loving instruction, encouragement, accountability, mercy, forgiveness, and even rebuke. In this life all of God’s people struggle with grave clothes, and those who biblically care about others will help free them to live a life pleasing to God (Philippians 2:4; Hebrews 13:6; Galatians 6:2; Acts 20:35, et al)

Thus, working to remove grave clothes from ourselves and others is an affirmation of our new life in Christ and love for one another!