Unbind him, and let him go

Last Sunday, Aaron Manning, one of our young adults gave this homily.

John 11:1-45

This is the fifth Sunday of Lent, and the focus is the impending suffering and sacrifice of Jesus. Today’s passage highlights these coming events and also shows us how we can suffer, as well as what we can do when we are suffering. It really is very encouraging.

It starts with Jesus finding out that Lazarus is ill. Lazarus is the brother of Mary and Martha, who are two close followers of Jesus. In the Gospels, one of the common themes is Jesus discovering that someone is ill or has some debilitating issue, and He is on hand to heal them right away. This time, however, He acts differently. He says, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

The passage then goes on to say that after hearing that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

So there is no instant “your faith has made you well” healing. There is a delay. Well, to us there is a delay—we might say, “Oh, it looks like Jesus is running a bit late.” But as the sovereign Lord of the universe, it is impossible for Him to run late. He is actually right on time, and we will see why.

Jesus then decides to go to Judea again, and the disciples point out that the Jews were trying to stone Him, yet He wants to go back. Jesus responds, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.”

These twelve hours are used to describe the time Jesus has left for working on the earth before His death. We know Jesus is the light of the world, so this applies to His disciples. Once that time is up—when Jesus dies—they will be in the dark, for the light of the world will be gone. Spoiler alert: only for a short time, because the light returns on the third day and then dwells within them, and subsequently within us. That is the encouragement. We have the light in us, so when we walk in this dark world, we do not stumble because the light guides our steps. And when other people see the light in us, it brings them to Jesus as well.

Jesus then tells the disciples that Lazarus has died and that He must go and raise him. Then Thomas says to the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

Thomas shows great faith in Jesus here, and it hints at what lies in store for future believers: that we die with Jesus in spirit. We put our old selves—our old lives—to death, and we live a new life as a new self, with the spirit of God dwelling in us. Then, when we physically die, we are raised to life in heaven with the Lord.

When Jesus arrives, He finds that Lazarus has been dead in the tomb for four days. This is why He delayed, because the Jews had a superstition that the soul stayed near the grave for three days, hoping to return to the body. After four days, it was accepted that there was no hope of resuscitation, so no one could dispute what Jesus was about to do.

Jesus then meets Martha, who says, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask of Him.” Jesus says to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha replies, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus then says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She says to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus makes it so clear: when we believe in Him, we will live forever. We will be raised to life again just as He was.

But what about the suffering and the bad times that we endure in this life? It is good to know that heaven awaits, but that doesn’t always help us as much as we would like when times are tough. I think this passage actually provides great encouragement for that.

If we look back a bit, it says, “Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother.” As we can see, Mary and Martha were part of a community. There were people there for them in this absolutely heartbreaking time—people who wept with them. It wasn’t just the Jews, Mary, and Martha who wept; it was Jesus too. It says, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved,” and “Jesus began to weep.”

Our God is a compassionate God who knows what it is like to mourn, to be upset, and to be angry. He has felt our emotions and shared in our sorrow. Those around us—our brothers and sisters in Christ—feel it too, because we have that compassionate spirit dwelling in us.

We can share words of encouragement from the Bible, but that doesn’t always ease the pain someone is feeling in the moment. There are things that happen to people that leave you wondering how anyone could recover from them. I would say community is vital. A God-centered community, like the one we have here, is what helps us through each day. It’s about real, practical things—like cooking a meal, meeting up for a coffee, lending an ear, and reassuring each other that we are not suffering alone.

We have that kind of community here. I look forward to coming every week because it’s my community. I look forward to Nick reading the prayer for the priest search, Pippa with the announcements, Julia leading us so well in worship, Rich making a song with AI, and sharing the peace with everyone. I also love the look of bewilderment on people’s faces when they hear me speak for the first time, because I know they are thinking, “I thought this was an English-speaking church.” This place is so, so good because we have each other’s backs, and Jesus has ours. We rejoice and weep with one another, just as Jesus wept with Mary and Martha.

At the end of the passage, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. He cries with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man comes out. I’m sure that nickname stuck around for a while—“the dead man.” It shows how impossible the situation was. There was no hope of resuscitation after four days. Lazarus was gone.

But nothing is impossible for Christ. This is probably the greatest piece of foreshadowing of all time. Lazarus was not the only person who was going to rise from the dead, Jesus would follow soon after. We can safely assume that Lazarus died again at some point, but we have been shown that death does not hold those who are in Christ.

His hands and feet were bound with strips of cloth, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. Jesus says to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Lazarus’ hands and feet were bound, and Jesus says, “Unbind him and let him go.” Our hands and feet are bound by the chains of death, but Jesus says the same over us, and the chains are released. Our situation is impossible for us, but not for Christ. He has died for us and risen again so that we may do the same if we believe in Him.

When we believe, we find community with other believers. We encourage one another, walk with one another, and find comfort in this world. This world will break your heart at times. Suffering is inevitable.

One thing I am known for is that when someone asks me how I’m doing, I say, “Living the dream.” I could be having the worst day, but I will still say it. It isn’t always a good thing, because if I were honest and said, “Actually, I’m struggling at the moment,” I could have people praying for me. We tend to keep our struggles to ourselves, but when we bring them to our community—when we pray into situations and have people walking alongside us—it can feel like a weight lifted off our shoulders, knowing we are not going through it alone.

Now, bringing things to the community doesn’t mean everyone needs to know your struggle. It could be one or two people, because Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” You have one or two people plus the risen King—that is more than enough. The risen King who has wept and felt our emotions. The risen King who suffered unimaginable pain and death to save us.

And when this life ends and the new one begins, there will be no more weeping, death, or mourning—but rejoicing instead.

So we thank Jesus for giving us community, for giving us freedom from death by giving up His life for us. May He continue to abide in us and in our community, always and forever. Amen.