The March - Ain't No Grave
September 13, 2024
https://unsplash.com/photos/T_wkjC-sM94
Edwin Gonzalez @edwingonzalez
“The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.” – John 12:17-18
Among the throngs who joined the procession of those ushering Jesus into Jerusalem were the witnesses of Lazarus’ miracle. On the road to Calvary, Jesus stopped in Bethany to raise His friend from death and to announce that He, Himself, was the resurrection and the life.
The road was well traveled, but He passed it as none had done before, for He was proceeding toward the cross.
It was a march of death that looked so much like a march of life. Out of death would come life – just as it had for Lazarus. Only Jesus’ resurrection would be self-propelled and would be the gateway for all that would find eternal life in Him.
So, the witnesses marched with Jesus in a festive parade. They cried, “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord! (verse 13)” and were unwitting prophets of the meaning of the moment.
Their presence and participation shouted, “Listen to this man; He brings the dead to life! Listen to Him! He is the King!”
Little did they realize that His throne would be a cross and His kingly chambers, a tomb. Nor could they understand that, just as Lazarus had come to life through he gateway of death, so the Lord Jesus must pass that way.
There is a procession today that retraces the path that Jesus trod. He invites us to join Him and follow to life eternal.