After Martha had thus confessed her faith in Jesus as the Messiah, and in his ability to restore the dead to life, she returned to her home and asked Mary to go with her to meet Jesus, which she did. Like Martha, Mary said to the Master, “If thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” (vs. 32) Jesus’ heart was touched with this scene of sorrow and great loss, and, together with the others, he also wept. Then he asked to be shown to the tomb where Lazarus was buried.

Standing by the tomb, Jesus asked that the stone in front of the entrance be rolled away. Then Martha protested. She had previously confessed faith that Jesus could restore her brother to life, but now she wondered, and said to Jesus, “Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.” (vs. 39) But to Jesus this did not matter. He was about to demonstrate what would ultimately be accomplished by divine power for all who have died, and where divine power operates it does not make any difference whether a person has been dead four days or for thousands of years; life can be restored. He who created life in the first place is abundantly able to restore life.

Standing before the opened tomb, after an appropriate prayer Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” (vs. 43) It is interesting to note what the account does not say. It does not say concerning Lazarus that he who had gone to heaven returned. Lazarus had not gone to heaven. It does not say that he who had gone to purgatory returned. It does not say that he who had gone to an abyss of eternal torture was released from the torment. There is no abyss of eternal torture.

The record states that when Jesus cried, “Lazarus, come forth . . . he that was dead came forth.” Jesus had said that Lazarus was dead. Now the dead Lazarus had been awakened from the sleep of death. Released from his grave clothes, Lazarus mingled and fellowshipped with his family and friends as he had done before. Restored to life, he was neither a phantom nor a ghost. He was the same Lazarus as before. He was glad to be alive again, and his family was glad to have him restored to them.