Power of Jesus -2

Power of Jesus -2

John 11:43-44 “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”

                In the above passage we read about the history of Lazarus’s resurrection. We see the power of Lord Jesus was revealed and a supernatural miracle took place in this incident. People who were gathered near the tomb witnessed the mighty hand of the Lord. Like how we used to wake up a person from sleep, Jesus wakes up a dead person. Jesus proved that he is the true son of God and he has the ultimate authority over death. This incident shows how the power of Jesus was manifested. Even today, the power of the Lord will in our lives and it will work out miracles for us. Today, let us discuss on what circumstances the power of God was revealed and the impacts of the miracles.

Power that prevails

John 11:7-8 “Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?”

                Here we see the disciples cautions Jesus not to go to Judaea. There was a resistance against the ministry of Jesus in Judaea. We read in John 8:59 and 10:31 that the Jews sought to stone Jesus. The disciples of Jesus knew about these threats and hence they alerted Jesus to refrain from visiting Judaea. In John 11:9 ‘Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.’ The daytime signifies that we should be the working hours but it was the time when Jesus fulfilled the will of his father. Jesus visits Judaea according to the will of the Lord and works out a big miracle there. The power of the Lord will prevail all forms of oppositions. Even in our lives, we should never lose our faith when we face oppositions. We need to understand that it is during those times, the power of the Lord will be manifested. During tough times, we should not expect any oppositions and not be idle when we should be up and working. We the children of God must never let the oppositions worry us.

Power that grants faith

John 11:15 “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.”

                In order to boost their faith and make them believe that he is able to work out miracles at any given time, Jesus delays his visit for a while. This we read in John 11:6 ‘When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.’ This signifies that Jesus wanted to do something big which will increase their faith on him. Jesus planned to strengthen the faith of his disciples during his time of ministry. He visits a place of opposition for a reason. When Jesus visits the place, we see in John 11:21 ‘Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.’ The death of Lazarus affected the faith of Martha. But they did not know that Jesus can raise Lazarus from the death.

                Martha’s unbelief tried to stop Jesus from performing his miracle. We the children of God must never limit the power of the Lord. We read this in John 11:39-40 ‘Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?’ We see Jesus uttered those words in sheer frustration and anger on their unbelief. The miracle that Jesus worked out had many lives changed. In John 11:45 ‘Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.’ The power of the Lord built up the faith of the Jews who were once opposing Jesus. When we are going through problematic situations, we need to understand that the Lord has purposed to build up our faith. When we believe it, the power of God will increase our faith on the path of temptations.

Power that grants hope

John 11:17 “Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.”

                The above passage states that Lazarus was laid in the grave for four days. It refers to a state of hopelessness. The power of the Lord will work beyond situations and times. During the time when we have lost our hopes already, the Lord’s power will be revealed. In John 11:37 ‘And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?’ The Jews spoke among themselves that Jesus who gave sight to the blind could have saved this man from dying but it is late already. They came to a conclusion that nothing can be done at that time. The hopeless situation was at peak as Martha had lost her hope when Jesus asked them to take away the tomb stone. In John 11:39 ‘Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.’  But the power of the Lord gave them hope in that situation.

Power in the word

John 11:20 “Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.”

                During this crucial situation, Martha went and met Jesus but Mary sat in her house. We read in Luke 10:39-42 ‘And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’  As recorded in these passages, we read that Martha was distracted by many things that brought her anxiety but Mary prioritized on the words of Jesus. As she kept hearing the words of Jesus, it helped and strengthened her to face any situations. When we listen to the words of the Lord, we will never be anxious. The power of the Lord will prepare us to boldly face any kind of situations. As Mary chose the word of God over anything, it comforted her during a death situation. The power in the word of the Lord made her sit inside her place with comfort and prepared her to face this situation. When we make it a point to listen to the word of the Lord, the power of the Lord will be revealed in our lives. Amen.