John 11:44

And he that was dead came forth.

The earth had never beheld. more wonderful or startling sight. At once the sleeper arose, came forth from the dark and cold bed where he had lain for four days, bound with his grave clothes, with the napkin still upon his face that had been bound under his jaw to keep it from falling. The lookers on, astonished, dazed, were only recalled to themselves, when the Lord bade them "Loose him and let him go." The winding sheet would interfere with his motion.. being with whom to will is to do, is divine. God said, Let there be light, and there was light. Christ said to the buried Lazarus, Come forth! and he came. There was not. moment's delay. So in all his miracles. Nature heard his voice at once. He spoke and it was done.

This miracle, the climax of the wonderful works of Christ, and the immediate cause of final plans for the arrest and crucifixion, is related only by John. The other Gospels describe the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, and of the daughter of Jairus, but are silent concerning the resurrection at Bethany. Much wonder has been expressed at this silence and. can find no better explanation than that, during the intense hostility that existed in Judea during the earlier years of Christianity, to have pointed out Lazarus by name would have endangered his life, but when John wrote the power of Judaism had been forever broken.

The significance of this miracle, as an evidence that Christ is. divine being, has always been acknowledged, and those who dispute this have attempted various rationalistic explanations. There are three of these:

1. The mythical, of which Strauss is the author, which holds that the story is. myth which grew up out of some slight foundation, assumed its present shape in the second or third century, and was interpolated in this Gospel by some forger, who used John's name to give sanction to the story. This theory, in substance, is that John did not write the account. The positive evidence that John wrote the Fourth Gospel (see Introduction) refutes this hypothesis.

2. The second theory is that the story was created to illustrate the truth that Christ is the resurrection and the life. The simplicity of the narrative, giving life-like details without the slightest air of fiction, or any attempt whatever to give. coloring or draw conclusions, is. refutation of this speculation.

3. Renan suggests that the miracle was. pious fraud, contrived by the Bethany family and the friends of Jesus to give eclat to his anticipated entry into Jerusalem, and that he lent himself to this fraud in. moment of intense fanatical enthusiasm. The folly of such an explanation is shown by its utter inconsistency with the character of Christ as portrayed by Renan himself, and as acknowledged by other skeptical writers, such as Rousseau and John Stuart Mill.

The account recorded by John is plain, matter of fact, crowded with minute and natural details, exhibits no marks of painting and draws no conclusions. It is told as an eye witness would tell the story who had no opinions of his own upon the subject. He does not even say that. miracle was wrought, or the dead raised, but tells what he saw and leaves the reader to draw his own conclusions. Even. scientific commission could not report the facts with more absolute impartiality. Had the writer invented the story for the sake of glorifying his Master there would have been indications of his purpose in pointing out the power and glory of him at whose word, Lazarus come forth! the dead came forth wrapped in the robes of the tomb. Had he invented it in order to prove some doctrine, there would have been an indication of this in the application. Instead, it is just such. story as might be expected from an intelligent, honest, impartial eye-witness, and almost all readers, both friends and foes, have come to the only reasonable conclusion,--that it is. genuine and faithful account of. real resurrection from the dead.

PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

1. In our troubles we should send. message for Christ, as did the sisters of Bethany.

2. Even if Christ delays his response we should not doubt that our troubles are for the glory of God and our own good. "All things work for good," etc.

3. We should look upon Christ always as an all-sufficient helper. If present he can always deliver. "If thou hadst been here my brother had not died."

4. We should always be assured of the tender sympathy of the Lord. "He can be touched with. feeling of our infirmities." He weeps with those who weep and rejoices with those who rejoice.

5. We should never forget that He is the Fountain of Life; the Resurrection and the Life. If we have eaten the Bread of Life, drunk the Water of Life, have Christ the hope of glory formed in us, we have eternal life. It is begun. We are immortal. We shall never die. What is called death

"Is only. narrow sea That divides the heavenly land from ours."
6. We have been told that there is inscribed on the monument over the clay of the infidel Hume, at Edinburg, Scotland,. AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. In that grand truth is the hope of mankind.

7. As he cried to Lazarus, Come forth, so shall he speak with the voice of an archangel to all that are in their graves and they shall come forth and live.

8. ". go, that. may awake him out of sleep. " There seems to me to be contained in these few words one of the most powerful charms in the world to lull the bitterness of death, and to make us anxious to become such that we may humbly apply them to ourselves.-- Thomas Arnold.