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NT Characters: Lazarus
Douglas Jacoby Podcast
English - November 17, 2020 03:42 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MB - ★★★★★ - 64 ratingsChristianity Religion & Spirituality Education Courses bible education society bible teaching history spirituality characters jesus teaching christianity Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: NT Characters: Mary & Martha
Next Episode: NT Characters: Apollos
For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
Background
If you haven't listened to the podcast on Mary & Martha, it might be good to listen to that one before this lesson on Lazarus, as they're integrally related.He lives in Bethany (2 miles from Jerusalem), with his sisters; apparently there are no parents or children living in the home, but this surmise can never be proven.His name, Greek, comes from the Hebrew Eleazar, which means something like "God is my help." (The help the rich man in Luke 16 would not give to Lazarus was lavished on him by the Lord, while the rich man's fortunes were completely reversed. Parable inspiration?)As for Lazarus' character, nothing is known for sure. Yet we can rightly expect that, in terms of personality, there would have been a family resemblance. His sisters were faithful, devoted, giving, and "real." It isn't hard to imagine that Lazarus was a winsome individual; and as a fellow male, Jesus would easily have connected with him.Scriptures read in this podcast:
John 11:1,3-4,5-6,11-15,17,33-37,38-41,43-44,45-46John 12:1-2, 9-11, 17-19John 13:23Ephesians 2:1-6Five facts about Lazarus' life
An intriguing possibility
About the disciple Jesus loved, see John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7,20.Note: The Twelve are referred to in chapters 6 and 20, though the apostle John is never designated by name. The closest we come is "son of Zebedee" (21:2)."The disciple whom Jesus loved" makes his appearance at the very point that Lazarus "disappears." Consider the suggestion of N.T. scholar Ben Witherington III. Click here.Application
John 11:6 -- God loves us, yet still he allows tough things to happen to us. We should never doubt his love, or the relief that will eventually come.When God does great things through us, there will be some who are acutely uncomfortable. (Those among whom the Lord is not doing great things? Those whose influence or reputations is diminished.)We were dead in our sins before we knew Christ (Ephesians 2:1-6). We could no more have raised ourselves up than Lazarus could have brought himself back to life. We are wholly dependent on Christ.God's love for us isn't just platonic, or abstract. The Bible gives every appearance that God feels--that he cares.We should pay attention even to the minor characters in the Bible. Although there may be no character development, still there may be things to learn about God (theology).