Lazarus, Come Out!

This is the English-translated outline of the sermon preached by Rev. Musubi Tabuchi to the people of Ashiya Christian Church and Unfinished Community on Sunday, March 22, 2026, drawing from John 11:1-45

In the Gospels, among all the many people associated with Jesus, none seem to convey as much of a sense of closeness to Christ quite like Lazarus’s family. Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, appear in the Gospel of Luke immediately following the parable of the Good Samaritan. When Lazarus died, Jesus wept, and upon seeing this people remarked, “How much He must have loved him!” However, Jesus did not arrive in time for his death, and by the time he reached the tomb, the body had already begun to decompose. But at that moment, the words Jesus spoke toward Lazarus’s tomb were, “Lazarus, come out.”

There is another story in the Gospels where Jesus raises a dead girl. It is the story of the twelve-year-old girl to whom Jesus said, “Talitha koum” (Arise) (Mark 6:41). What connects the story of Lazarus with that of this girl is that in both cases, Jesus commands the deceased person to rise up on their own. These individuals were not merely passive recipients; Jesus did not simply resurrect them. Rather, He prompted their own desire and will to “live”—and it is in this that the nature of faith in Jesus seems to be revealed. In other words, this is a confirmation of His words: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

When we face death, feelings of resignation sometimes overwhelm us, and it seems as though even our desire to live is lost. However, we are still living—no, we are being kept alive—by the life that God has given us. That is why it is not entirely accurate to say that we (instinctively) have a desire to live; rather, it means we must continue to hold onto our faith in God’s command to us: “Live.” The moment we face death is precisely when our faith is tested most severely and urgently. At that moment, we are asked how we will respond to Jesus’ words: “Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die.” The question from the Heidelberg Catechism—“What is your only comfort in life and in death?”—is posed in the most real sense: “I am not my own; my body and soul belong to Him in every moment.”