John 11:11 “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”
Here, Our Lord plainly reveals God’s view of death versus man’s view. In nature, man views death as an irreversible and permanent departure, a loss that cannot be found, a catastrophic problem that cannot be solved, a pain that cannot be eased, and a sorrow that cannot be soothed. But as typified in the case of “Lazarus”, God sees the problem of death as simple as sleep. We call out and wake those in our homes to begin each new day; just as easily, the Lord has the power to call the dead to life again. The Lord said, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep”. “Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.”; that is, then there is no reason for us to be concerned. But, John explains for our clear understanding that “Jesus spake of his death”. “Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”; that is, He made it clear that He was going to “awake” “Lazarus” from “death” with the same ease that we would “awake” someone from a restful “sleep”. Herein, is our greatest peace and comfort; for in this life, we do “not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” (II Corinthians 1:9) and our sure hope is set on that great and blessed day in which “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice” (John 5:28)!