Lazarus died.  Lazarus was a friend of Jesus', brother of Mary and Martha.  After his death, Jesus went to Bethany (just outside of Jerusalem) to see the family.  Martha choked out, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21).  Jesus said, "Your brother will rise again" (11:23), knowing full well He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.  Martha expressed faith in Lazarus rising on the last day, but Jesus wanted her to understand and believe HE was the resurrection and the life. 

Then came Mary.  Mary said exactly the same thing as Martha, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (11:32).  She must have been grieving harder than Martha, because it is ... Read More »

It's just not fair that we don't have miracles today.  If I could just see a miracle, THEN I would have strong faith!  All those people during the time of Jesus had it easy, didn't they?  They got to SEE the power of God with their own two eyes.  I mean, who WOULDN'T believe after seeing Jesus raise someone from the dead?

Well...

In John 11:43-46 we read of the resurrection of Lazarus.

 43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth."
 44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
 45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, bel ... Read More »

Have you ever wondered at the time Jesus healed the blind man in two stages? 

Mark 8:22-25
 22 And they *came to Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *implored Him to touch him.
 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?"
 24 And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around."
 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.

I have often wondered about this.  Where else did it take Jesus TWO TRIES to fix someone?  I know of no other place.  Questions might arise, such as, "Was Jesus not ... Read More »

These words were written of Judas Iscariot in Matthew 26:16, "From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus."  I wonder what a "good opportunity" looked like to Judas? 

It must have been a time when he thought he could get away with it.  I am convinced Judas never meant for things to go as far as they did.  I think he was a small-time crook looking for a little money.  So a "good opportunity" would have been one in which he saw little risk of repercussion.

Do we ever look for "good opportunities" to betray Jesus?  How shocking to even suggest such a thing, Nathan!  It is shocking to think about.  Judas might have been shocked about his own conduct had he taken time to really ponder on it.  Have we ever b ... Read More »