The raising of Lazarus is one of the most powerful and hopeful of all the miracles recorded in scripture. It also led directly to the Jewish leaders holding a council where they decided "from that day on they planned to put Jesus to death." (John 11:53) With this miracle, Christ's journey to the cross intensifies.
This miracle clearly foreshadows Jesus' resurrection- and our own. As Lazarus had died (he had been in the tomb four days), so also Jesus dies and is in the tomb 3 days. Both tombs are sealed by a stone. As Lazarus emerges from the tomb by God's power in Jesus, so will Jesus be raised up by God's power. For Lazarus, it was a new lease on life. He was given a second chance at life, though he would, of course, one day again die. For Jesus, it was resurrection, the defeat of sin and death, and receiving a new, glorified body. Jesus would not die again, but would return to heaven in glory.
It is to this resurrection that believers look and await in hope. John 11:25 is one of my favorite verses and the words to a song I learned as a young teenager. "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me shall never die." By raising Lazarus, the power of God is revealed. By raising Jesus, that power is revealed to us.
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