John 11 is the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus delayed his coming so that Lazarus would be dead and in the grave. It was long enough for everyone to know Lazarus was dead. His delay made it a well known fact.

He knew opening the tomb would cause a stink to rise. Lazarus was dead.

But Jesus came to speak life.

Before the week that would ultimately lead to his own powerful statement of resurrection, Jesus came to another grave to declare life. His statement was not, “I will be the resurrection and the life.” Nor was it, “One day I will be resurrected.”

Jesus stated, “I am the resurrection and the life. Believe in me and live”

Jesus stepped to the tomb of a dead man before Jesus himself would face his own tomb and commanded a very dead man to walk out. He had raised the dead, but not someone in the grave for four days. There was no doubt. No one could say, “Well, maybe he wasn’t dead.”

He IS the resurrection and the life.

Jesus is walking to tombs still today. He walks to our own tombs.

Paul’s declaration in Ephesians is, “You were DEAD in your trespasses and sins.” (Eph. 2:1)

Without Christ… we stink. Being dead, we’re not aware of that fact. But others around us know something is wrong. Death lingers.

And Christ comes to our tombs. He speaks life. He calls out to our dead spirits to be resurrected.

In many ways he is walking to the tomb of the American Church. A church with a form of godliness but denying its power. A valley of dry bones (to sneak in a vision from Ezekiel).

We need resurrection life spoken back into our dead bones. We need a church in America ready to surge forward in resurrection power. A church depending on the power of the Spirit again, and not on our own cleverness, our own ingenuity, our own intelligence, or our own finances.

We need Jesus walking to our tomb and speaking life again.

Maybe the rest of the church does not see the same thing. Maybe it’s simply this: I am the one in need of resurrection. 

So, I ask the Lord to step to my tomb and speak words of resurrection life to me. BEFORE Palm Sunday. BEFORE Easter. BEFORE Pentecost. So that I may speak words of life into people all around me.

I am praying for empty tombs this Easter season.