Word of Life Church Podcast

The raising of Lazarus after four days in the tomb is Jesus’ greatest miracle. But it is also the sign in the Gospel of John with the greatest theological significance: The one who called Lazarus out of death will call us of death as well.

The light has come into the world through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But we have to be willing to leave our darkness and live in the shining light of Christ. If we want to stay asleep in our coffins we can—but the gospel calls us out of our sleep, out of death, out of darkness, and into the light.

Wars, revolutions, and grand political ambitions are often cast as heroic attempts to save the world. But let’s look at saving the world in the light of Christ. Our drama plays out, not on a battlefield, not in a capital city, not in the halls of congress or parliament, but at an ancient well in tiny village.

To be born from above involves a mystery. Unfortunately, taking its cues from the scientism of the Enlightenment, western evangelicalism tried to make the gospel a kind of scientific formula—a pseudo-science of biblical facts, atonement theories, and sinners’ prayers—when it’s more like a song, a symphony, a poem, a painting, a drama, a dance, a mystery.