Unwrapped and Set Free | A SOAP Devotional, By Pastor Jamie

Read John 11 John 11 NLT - The Raising of Lazarus - A man named - Bible Gateway   John 11:43-44- Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

When Jesus urged the people to roll away the stone to the tomb, Martha lifted up her concern about the smell after being in the tomb for four days. In the KJV she says bluntly, "He stinketh," meaning he's really, really dead and done. As Jesus called forth new life in Lazarus, we can easily imagine a mummy-like figure standing before the people, and then Jesus giving those who had just witnessed the miracle a role in the process. Jesus, in essence, said, "You all go stand with Lazarus in his new life, and help him out of the old grave clothes." This is all, of course, a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from His death on the cross and a lesson in what we get to do with and for one another as the Body of Christ.

Jesus didn't need help from the people, but He wanted their cooperation in freeing Lazarus into the new life. To illustrate this when I was in youth ministry 40+ years ago I had a volunteer get wrapped up in roll of toilet paper by a group of kids. Then I told the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. We talked about just as Lazarus needed to be released from his grave clothes by the community of faith, we need others to help us be released from the hurts, habits, and hang ups that have held us for so long in the old life. We talked about God calling us to "draw close to the stink" in others' lives without standing in judgment of them, so that we could participate in unbinding them and setting them free. We talked about our own grave clothes and the need for help in our own unbinding. How unpleasant do you imagine it was 2000 years ago to stand next to Lazarus in this moment and not only smell but touch the grave clothes? But that's exactly what Jesus asked the people around to do. "Unwrap him and let him go" was an imperative command. It still is in 2025 for the Body of Christ. You and I are like Lazarus making our own journey from death to new life in Christ. We need help, and we get to offer help to others. Who has helped unbind you? Who have you helped unbind and let go? Who else can you come alongside?

Dear God, thank You for guiding us to move from death to new life in Jesus. We need You by our side to touch us, heal us, and help us. As we go through life, send folks to remove the stinking grave clothes I carry around with us. Clean us up! Then give us the strength to stand with others who are in the process of receiving the new life Christ has for them. Help us unbind and let people go from what has held them for so long. Amen.

Scripture memory verse (this is really easy!): "Jesus wept." (John 11:35),   Pastor Jamie