Return to Jesus Christ

Removing Stones and Unbinding

In the John 11 Bible account of the raising of Lazarus Jesus does a great miracle. He raises from the dead a man that has been dead four days.

Noteworthy in the account is what Jesus had the people do. He had them remove the stone and (after Lazarus came out) he had them unbind the strips of cloth to let him go.

Here are a few ways various versions of the Bible render it:

John 11:39a John 11:44b
NIV 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
ESV 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Holman (HCSB) 39 “Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.”

 

This is very noteworthy and symbolic for us.

  • For Jesus to do a miracle we may need to do something prior. (Give someone a ride to church, serve a meal to the hungry, build a home.)
  • After the miracle has been done, we may need to further facilitate the process of setting someone free.
  • The miracle might be someone being saved or someone cured of cancer or a relationship being rebuilt or someone getting their life back together.
  • Jesus chooses to involve us. (He could have removed the stone himself.) F B Meyer, in Abide in Christ, claims that we are dependent on Christ and Christ is dependent on us to do his work.
  • We are partners with Jesus.
  • Jesus chooses to not do the flashy miracles of moving rocks, as he chose when tempted by Satan in the desert.
  • More….

My Prayer: Jesus, help me remove stones and unbind people of hindrances. In your name, I pray. Amen

Save