Jesus had a way of showing up in the midst of crisis and make what seemed to be the end, just the beginning. One such instance was the death of his friend Lazarus. Jesus had been told Lazarus is sick, so he waited. When Jesus finally arrives, Lazarus has been dead four days. Four days is significant due to the popular Jewish teaching of the day that the soul would hover over and around the body for three days. In waiting four days Jesus removes any doubt that Lazarus is dead. It seemed like the end for everyone, except Jesus. Upon arriving on the scene Jesus tells Martha, the sister of Lazarus that her brother would live again. Martha, knowing her Old Testament, relays that she knows he will on the last day (John 11:24), but Jesus says something that is shocking and turns the end to a beginning. Jesus says in v.25:

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Jesus then shows he has the power to make this statement by calling Lazarus from the tomb. All of Jesus identity hangs in the balance. If Lazarus doesn’t come out, then Jesus is a fake. But, if Lazarus does come out, they are standing in the presence of man who can rightfully claim to be the Messiah sent from God to take away the sins of the world. Lazarus’ end becomes a new beginning for him and legions of others who today realize not only what Jesus did this man, but celebrate the fact that Jesus conquered death in rising from the grave.

Jesus has a way of making what seems to be the end just the beginning. May you meditate on this and find your joy in Him this Easter!