最大的神蹟
約翰福音十一1至7節
1有一個患病的人，名叫拉撒路，住在伯大尼，就是馬利亞和她姐姐馬大的村莊。
2這馬利亞就是那用香膏抹主，又用頭髮擦他腳的，患病的拉撒路是她的兄弟。
3她姊妹兩個就打發人去見耶穌說：“主啊，你所愛的人病了。”
4耶穌聽見就說：“這病不至於死，乃是為神的榮耀，叫神的兒子因此得榮耀。”
5耶穌素來愛馬大和她妹子並拉撒路，
6聽見拉撒路病了，就在所居之地仍住了兩天。
7然後對門徒說：“我們再往猶太去吧！”
信息分享
她們姊妹倆相信，只要一個簡單的口信說明需要，耶穌就會立即前來，耶穌深愛這個家庭。但這次，祂要為他們和他們的信心做一件以前從沒有過的事，使他們將榮耀頌讚歸給神。許多時候，神也是基於同一個理由而延遲應允我們的祈求。
耶穌一直等候，直至拉撒路死去──他甚至可能在傳信的人到達之前已死去了。對這兩姊妹來說，這一定是一個非常悲痛的葬禮。她們不住地說：「如果耶穌早些在這裡……」可是，耶穌怎麼形容拉撒路的死呢？祂說他睡了（11節）。有些人便根據這句話得出一個名為「靈睡」的教義。然而，基督並不是這個意思。對信徒來說，死後，靈魂便與基督同在。新約的教導是：「離開身體，與主同在」。
基督終於對門徒說：「我們回到猶大，再到伯大尼。我要你們知道，神要在適當的時間作工，如今時候到了。我們會安然在神的手中。」
我們往往認為門徒中的多馬，總是多疑。但請留意這裡，卻是他對其他門徒說出「我們和祂一同回到耶路撒冷，我們也去和他同死吧」這樣的豪言壯語。多馬後來成為一位偉大的福音宣教士，足蹟遠至亞洲，特別是印度。拉撒路復活的事，也許在他的生命中留下不可磨滅的回憶。顯然，整個故事還充分教導我們認識基督的大能和神的時間。
CHRIST’S GREATEST MIRACLE
John 11: 1-7
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
Message
The two sisters believed that a simple statement of the need would bring Christ to their home immediately. Christ loved this family but now, He wanted to do something for them and for their faith which would make them praise and glorify God as never before. It is often for the same reason that answers to our prayers are delayed today.
Jesus waited and Lazarus died, possibly even before the messenger reached Christ. It would have been a sad funeral for the two sisters. Over and over again they said to each other, “If only Jesus had been here...” But what did Jesus say about death (v.11)? He called it “sleep”. Some groups have made a doctrine out of this called “soul sleep”. But that is not what Christ meant. For the believer, the soul goes into the presence of Christ. “Absent from the body, present with the Lord” is what the New Testament says.
Christ finally said to the disciples, “Let’s go back into Judea and to Bethany. I want you to understand that there is a right time for God to work and that time has come. We will be safe in God’s hands.”
We often think of Thomas, one of the disciples who always doubted. But did you notice here that he was the one who said to the other disciples, “Let’s go with Him back to Jerusalem even if we have to die with Him.” These are brave words and in his later life Thomas became a great missionary for the Gospel, reaching out to Asia and particularly India. It could be that the whole story of Lazarus left an indelible mark on his life. Certainly the story has much to teach us about the power and timing of Christ.