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You Are The Testimony
by: Janine Scott-Lowe, MD
"YOU are the Testimony."
I pray all is well!
YOU are the Testimony
John 11:41-44: So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank You that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
John 12:9-11: Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him, many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.
Here we read about the story of Lazarus. Lazarus was a friend of Jesus, and the brother of Mary and Martha. He became sick, and Jesus was contacted to come and heal him. However, He did not go at the time and Lazarus subsequently died. But Lazarus did not stay dead. As Jesus said in John 11:4, Lazarus' sickness (and subsequent death) was not actually about Lazarus, but was about showing God's power and glorifying God's Son, Jesus. So, after 4 days in the grave, Jesus finally arrives, calls Lazarus forth, and he rises from the dead, alive once again.
What a miracle! I couldn't even imagine how the people who were witness to this must have felt. A man was sick, died, and then brought back to life by Jesus. They must have been amazed. They must have been in awe. They may have been scared, as this was so impossible and was something that noone had ever seen or done before.
Word of this miracle must have spread like a wildfire. You would figure that people would be talking about what Jesus did, but, you know, I never really considered what they must have been saying or thinking about Lazarus. Perhaps people were afraid of him? I mean, he was dead and is now alive. Maybe he was some freak of nature or something? Yes, he experienced a miracle, but you know how people can be when they experience or see something that is different than what they are used to. Instead of embracing it, they confront or reject it. What cannot be explained cannot be real, and therefore must be denied or suppressed. It can be difficult when the super meets the natural. Instead of acceptance, one can be met with criticism, anger, or rejection because the situation cannot be explained in human terms.
This is what we see in the second Scripture. When Jesus returned back to visit Lazarus and his family, the people came to not only see Jesus, but they wanted to see Lazarus as well (I love the word picture of Lazarus reclining/chilling at the table by this time). People wanted to see not only the healer, but the one who was healed. The miracle-worker and the miracle. The Word (Jesus) and the Testimony (Lazarus). This should have been a momentous occasion. Wow, Lazarus was raised from the dead by Christ! You would think that everyone would be excited, but they were not. As we can see in John 12:10, the chief priests were not only NOT excited, they were actually MAD; mad enough to want to KILL, BOTH Jesus AND Lazarus. They also went after the TESTIMONY And why? Because he was walking evidence of the power of Christ; his life was a LIVING TESTIMONY for Jesus. By seeing Lazarus, people came to believe in Christ, which, as the chief priests thought, would take away their authority over the people. John 11:48 says that [the chief priests] thought people would believe in Jesus because of Lazarus, causing the Romans to come and take away their place and their nation. So, the chief priests did not see Lazarus' resurrection for what it could have meant to them, a way to believing in Christ as the Son of God, but rather saw it as a THREAT to themselves and their livelihood.
So it is with us. As Lazarus' life was a testimony to the miracle-working power of God, so is OURS as well. The people who knew us before we were saved witnessed us "dead" in our sins. But, when we accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, He called us out of that darkness/spiritual death, and we became alive again in Him. (Galatians 2:20) Now, OUR lives serve as TESTIMONIES to what Jesus can do in a person. You would think that everyone would be happy because of this change. To see us changing from where we were, to where we are now, to who we are going to become is TRULY like witnessing a MIRACLE. As the people did to Lazarus, so they will react to us as well. Some will be excited and amazed at our change, and will begin to believe in Jesus because of what He was able to do in us. However, some, because they cannot understand our change, or our change may be threatening to them because our "new" lives may bring conviction to their "old" ways; to these people, the miracle of salvation is not cause for celebration or joy, but for condemnation, jealousy or hatred.
Either way, we cannot control how people will react to or accept our miracle of conversion. It is not up to us to try to convince or persuade them. All we have to do is SIMPLY LIVE our new lives for Christ, and pray that, because of what is seen in how we live, many people will put their faith in Jesus.
Yes, WE ARE THE TESTIMONY.
Truly, let our lights so shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father Who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16).
God Bless!
Janine
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