3/22/26, Melrose Community Church, Sunday Service

The miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead stands as one of the most powerful demonstrations of Christ's divine authority over death itself. This seventh and climactic sign in John's Gospel forces us to confront a fundamental question that echoes through the centuries: What will we do with Jesus? The account reveals something profound about faith—that believing is not intellectual weakness but rather the path to true sight. When Jesus tells Martha that believing leads to seeing the glory of God, he turns our worldly wisdom upside down. We often say seeing is believing, but in the Kingdom of God, believing is seeing. This miracle wasn't just about physical resurrection; it beautifully illustrates our spiritual condition. Like Lazarus bound in grave clothes and decaying in darkness, we too were spiritually dead until Christ called us forth into new life. The most striking element of this passage is how the same undeniable miracle produced completely opposite responses. Some believed and began immediately telling others about what God had done. Others witnessed the exact same event and chose to oppose Jesus more intensely. This reminds us that unbelief is not about lack of evidence—it's about the condition of the heart. The question remains deeply personal for each of us: What will we do with Jesus?

Discussion Questions:

• People saw Jesus Christ perform the same miracles, but the responses were very different. How does the phrase “Believing is seeing” explain the responses?

• How much does our selfishness influence what we choose to do or believe?

• Why is Jesus’ power to raise people to life such an important miracle?

• What would it mean if Jesus did not have the ability to raise someone from the dead?

• How does all of this tie into the significance of Easter?