A Story of Hope for our Present Moment
We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you who supports the work of Renewed Heart Ministries. Your generosity makes it possible for us to continue our mission of love, justice, and compassion, even in a time when ministries like ours are being called to do more with less.
Your support means the world to us. Whether we’re speaking into the broader society, engaging within our faith communities, or working one on one alongside others endeavoring to follow Jesus’ teachings of love and justice, we remain committed to advocating for a world that is inclusive, just, and safe for all. Your partnership helps keep our work alive.
To all of our supporters, from all of us at Renewed Heart Ministries, thank you. We are so deeply grateful for you, and we couldn’t do this work without you.
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A Story of Hope for our Present Moment
Herb Montgomery | March 20, 2026
If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:
Our reading this week is from the gospel of John.
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up . . . ” (John 11:1-45)
Let’s begin this week with the overall context of our story. In the Gospel of John, the narrative reason for Jesus’ crucifixion differs drastically from the reasons in the Synoptic Gospels. This shift has significant implications for how justice themes are framed today. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus’ protest in the Jerusalem Temple is an embodied, public confrontation with economic exploitation and political-religious power and it’s the decisive catalyst for his arrest and execution. The cross is imperial pushback for Jesus’ Temple protest. John, however, relocates the Temple protest to the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry (John 2) and strips it of immediate political consequences. By doing so, the Gospel of John removes a concrete act of economic and social disruption as the closest cause of Jesus’ death.
In John’s narrative, the final trigger for the authorities’ decision to kill Jesus is not a protest against unjust systems but Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. After Lazarus is restored to life, the political leaders gather and conclude that Jesus must die to prevent Roman intervention and protect the nation. The logic is explicit: the miracle is what makes Jesus too dangerous to live, not his challenge to Temple economics or priestly, political authority.. This narrative move reframes the threat Jesus poses. He is not primarily a prophet exposing exploitation; he is a life-giving revealer whose power destabilizes even the cosmic order.
This shift dulls the Gospel’s social edge in at least two ways. First, by disconnecting Jesus’ death from a public act of resistance to economic injustice, John deemphasizes the political cost of confronting oppressive systems. When the Temple protest is placed at the center of the passion narrative, as in the Synoptic Gospels, it makes clear that Jesus is executed because he threatens entrenched interests that profit from inequality. But in John, that causal link is weakened. The Temple scene becomes symbolic. It is about Jesus “replacing” the Temple as a metaphysical space for accessing the Divine, not Jesus as a flashpoint of social conflict that demands a response from the status quo with the temple serving as the capital of the Temple State.
Second, the raising of Lazarus introduces a more gnostic dynamic to the story, in the sense that salvation is framed primarily as private, personal, individual access to divine life and revealed knowledge rather than liberation from unjust structures. Eternal life in John is something encountered through belief and recognition of who Jesus is, not through participating with Jesus in the social implications of “the kingdom” on earth as it is in heaven. While John’s theology is profound, it can be abstracted from our material, concrete, socially lived experience. The danger is that injustice becomes secondary, a backdrop to metaphysical revelation rather than a central arena of God’s saving work.
This is not to say that the Gospel of John lacks ethical concern. Its emphasis on love, mutual service, and truth has deep moral and ethical implications. But narratively, the reason Jesus is killed matters. When cosmic, metaphysical reasons for Jesus execution replace the political and economic protest as the decisive cause, the cross risks being interpreted primarily as merely spiritual matter rather than as the predictable outcome of confronting systems that harm the vulnerable and the marginalized.
For Jesus followers committed to justice today, this Johannine reframing invites both caution and critique. John offers a rich theology of life, but by relocating the Temple protest and centering Lazarus, it softens the Gospel’s confrontation with structural injustice. Recovering that sharper and much older edge of the gospel stories requires reading John alongside the Synoptics, allowing the Temple protest to reclaim its place as a warning: challenging unjust systems is not safe, but it is central to following the way of Jesus.
The story of Lazarus of Bethany in the Gospel of John has often been read primarily as a miracle story demonstrating the power of Jesus of Nazareth over death. Yet when read carefully, it could be interpreted with implications for Christian social justice work today.
Lazarus’ death occurs in a community bound together by friendship, grief, and solidarity. When Jesus arrives, he does not stand apart from the suffering of those around him. Instead, he weeps alongside them. This moment reveals a profound truth: divine compassion is not distant from human pain. This gospel’s words ring out, “Jesus wept.” For Christian communities engaged in social justice work, this suggests that faithful action begins with genuine solidarity. Before transforming suffering, one must be willing to feel it and stand with those who experience it.
The command Jesus gives at the tomb in our reading is also significant. Although Jesus calls Lazarus out of the grave, he then tells the surrounding community, “Unbind him, and let him go.” In our reading this week, Lazarus emerges alive, but still wrapped in the burial cloths. It is the community’s task to remove them. The miracle is therefore not completed by Jesus alone but requires communal participation. I can’t help but think of Moses’ words in the Exodus story to Pharaoh: “Let my people go!” These stories, Exodus and John 11, both show we have a work to do of participating in our liberation.
For Christian social justice movements, our story also offers a powerful lesson for this moment of U.S. imperialism. Systems of injustice built on poverty, racism, exclusion, and violence can function like burial wrappings that keep people bound even after life has returned. Liberation requires more than individual transformation; it calls communities to participate actively in our unbinding.
We can interpret this story of resurrection as as about something much more relevant today than life after death later. In the story of Lazarus, resurrection interrupts grief and despair in the present. It doesn’t ask us to wait for hope in the future. It offers us hope for today. It restores a person to community, relationship, and dignity today, not only as Martha says, “in the resurrection.” Christian social justice work can be understood in similar terms. Ours is the work of participating in life-giving transformation here and now.
Seen this way, the resurrection of Lazarus becomes not only a miracle story but a call. Communities that follow Jesus are invited to help roll away the stones of injustice and participate in the unbinding of those whom death-dealing systems have harmed and wrapped in despair now.
Lastly Lazarus’ resurrection points forward in John’s narrative to Jesus’ resurrection. First, Jesus’ death on the cross can be better understood, not as a divine requirement for atonement, but as the tragic outcome of imperial state violence. In the first century, the Roman Empire used crucifixion was a punishment to publicly terrorize those it considered threats to its political and social order. It was meant to humiliate, silence, and erase dissent. Jesus’ execution fits within this pattern. His message of God’s reign, a vision of justice, shared abundance, and solidarity with the marginalized challenged both imperial power and the systems that benefited from it. The cross, therefore, reveals what oppressive systems often do to those who embody liberating truth telling: they attempt to destroy them.
Seen in this light, the cross is not salvific suffering that redeems the world or because God required a sacrifice. Instead, it exposes the injustice of the powers that killed Jesus. It is the moment when violence, fear, and domination appear to have the final word. The resurrection decisively reverse their apparent victory. By raising Jesus, God vindicates the life and message that empire attempted to extinguish: the resurrection declares that the violence of the cross does not stand as the ultimate reality. The empire’s verdict of death, shame, and defeat is overturned. Life, justice, and truth endure.
In this way, the resurrection undoes what the cross attempted to accomplish. The cross tried to silence Jesus’ vision of a just world, but the resurrection amplifies it. The cross sought to erase him, but the resurrection restores Jesus as a living witness to God’s solidarity with the oppressed. The cross represents the worst that systems of domination can inflict; the resurrection reveals that such violence cannot ultimately triumph.
Coupled with the previous event in John’s Gospel, Lazarus’ resurrection, it is the opinion of many today, myself included, that Christian hope does not rest in the cross as a mechanism of salvation, but in the resurrection as God’s refusal to allow injustice and death to have the final word. And that is a message much needed at the moment.
Discussion Group Questions
1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s podcast episode with your discussion group.
2. How are you choosing to hold on to hope at this present moment? Share and discuss with your group.
3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?
Thanks for checking in with us, today.
I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate.
My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.
As always, you can find Renewed Heart Ministries each week on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Meta’s Threads. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts.
If you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.
Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.
I love each of you dearly,
I’ll see you next week.
New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast
A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice.
This week:
Season 3 Episode 13: A Story of Hope for our Present Moment
John 11:1-45
The command Jesus gives at the tomb in our reading is also significant. Although Jesus calls Lazarus out of the grave, he then tells the surrounding community, “Unbind him, and let him go.” In our reading this week, Lazarus emerges alive, but still wrapped in the burial cloths. It is the community’s task to remove them. Seen this way, the resurrection of Lazarus becomes not only a miracle story but a call. Communities that follow Jesus are invited to help roll away the stones of injustice and participate in the unbinding of those whom death-dealing systems have harmed and wrapped in despair now. In the story of Lazarus, resurrection interrupts grief and despair in the present, today, not later. It doesn’t ask us to wait for hope in the future. It offers us hope for today. It restores a person to community, relationship, and dignity today, not only as Martha says, “in the resurrection.” Christian social justice work can be understood in similar terms. Ours is the work of participating in life-giving transformation here and now.
Available on all major podcast carriers and at:
https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/a-story-of-hope-for-our-present-moment
Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.
by Herb Montgomery
Available now on Amazon!
In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.
Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.
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The Rich Man, Lazarus and Justice
We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you who supports the work of Renewed Heart Ministries. Your generosity makes it possible for us to continue our mission of love, justice, and compassion—even in a time when ministries like ours are being called to do more with less.
Your support means the world to us. Whether we’re speaking into the broader society or engaging within our faith communities, we remain committed to advocating for a world that is inclusive, just, and safe for all. Your partnership helps keep that vision alive.
From all of us at Renewed Heart Ministries, thank you. We are so deeply grateful for you—and we couldn’t do this work without you.
If you’d like to join them in supporting our work, please go to renewedheartministries.com and click on “Donate.”
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The Rich Man, Lazarus and Justice
Herb Montgomery | September 26, 2025
If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:
Our reading this week is from the gospel of Luke:
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)
There are three narrative elements that are inescapable about Jesus in this week’s reading. First, the Jesus of Luke’s gospel was a theist, not an atheist. While I believe atheists can follow Jesus’ ethics and values (see here), the Jesus of the story believed in and taught the existence of God. Second, the Jesus of this story often refers to an afterlife. Humanists who do not believe in another life beyond this one can still embrace and promote the ethics in the Jesus story such as the golden rule, nonviolence, and economic justice. The Jesus in the story spoke of things such as laying up “treasure in heaven,” being rewarded at the “resurrection of the righteous,” and the meek “inheriting the earth.” After all, Jesus was a 1st Century Jewish man who lived in a world where these ideas and beliefs were overwhelmingly prevalent. This was the prevalent metaphysical worldview, the water that they swam in. And third, the Jesus of these stories spoke of being rewarded in that afterlife for following his “kingdom” teachings on how we relate to one another now. He spoke of both an intrinsic reward in the present life for the choices we make and another reward in the “age to come” for those who followed his teachings. This week touches on one of those occurrences: the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
This story uses the then-popular belief that the afterlife would include a great reversal. Many teachers used the great reversal trope to value spiritual pursuits in the present, like contrasting the poor scholar of the Torah and rich publican (see J. Jeremias, Parables p. 183). Luke’s Jesus makes his story less a contrast between a scholar and a tax collector and more a universal story of the poor and the rich. The poor don’t have to be Torah scholars to be deserving or for Jesus to critique the economic injustice of Luke’s time.
There are so many little details in this story that have literary importance. In a world where people would have known the names of rich people while poor people would have only been the nameless masses, Luke’s Jesus leaves his rich man nameless but humanizes the poor man by naming him Lazarus. Lazarus is immortalized in the story, and that would have cut across the grain of expectations of the time.
Some details of this story also offer a powerful message about economic justice, critiquing wealth inequality and wealthy people’s immoral disregard of the poor. In the story, the rich man lives in luxury, ignoring Lazarus, a poor man who suffers at his gate. When they die, their fortunes are reversed: Lazarus is comforted in “Abraham’s bosom,” while the rich man is tormented in Hades, another popular Hellenistic idea of what the afterlife might be like when this story was written.
The reversal of Lazarus and the rich man underscores the rich man’s moral failure and indifference. Lazarus wasn’t far away; he was at the rich man’s doorstep. Yet the rich man did nothing to ease his suffering. Over and over again, Jesus’ kingdom teachings taught that when his listeners had more than they needed, their call was to share that surplus with those whose daily needs were going unmet. The parable highlights the grave tragedy of having the ability to ease others’ suffering and instead choosing to ignoring the needs of others. Imagine that the five richest people on the planet could end world hunger forever, and each night they go to bed not doing it.
The story is a call for economic justice. For Jesus, inherently instrinsic to wealth was the responsibility of making sure that very wealth was redistributed more equitably. “Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33). Our reading this week challenges a worldview where people see prosperity as a sign of divine favor, and reminds readers that material comfort can blind them to the suffering around them. The parable also posits that posthumous regret in whatever afterlife there may be comes too late. That regret won’t undo the harm caused by economic apathy. The time to act is today.
In today’s world, where extreme poverty and wealth coexist, this story remains deeply relevant. It calls on individuals and societies to recognize the humanity of the poor, act with compassion, and build systems that reduce inequality—not just out of charity, but out of justice.
Future reversals of reward or punishment in an afterlife can be a strong motivation. I would rather live by a different motivation though. We can choose to be motivated to do the right thing by a deep belief in the value, dignity, and potential of every human being. Unlike moral systems based on afterlife consequences, we can consider the consequences of our actions in this life and choose to ground our ethics in reason, empathy, and a commitment to human welfare. We can choose to improve the conditions of those around us whose needs are not yet being met.
One of the strongest motivations beyond self-concern and afterlife threats is empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. When we see suffering, we can choose to allow ourselves to be moved not by religious obligation or fear of post mortem punishment, but by a genuine desire to alleviate pain and promote the well-being of those who are suffering now. If we let it, this emotional connection to others can drive us to act with kindness and integrity in this life.
Reason and critical thinking also play a part and are not always easy. Ethical decisions have to be based on evidence, and while reason should be rooted in empathy, it also involves carefully considering the consequences of various options. Doing the right thing often means weighing competing interests and making choices that lead to the greatest good for the greatest number of people. An ethical approach rooted in empathy encourages us to be fair to all who are involved and discourages selfish individualism.
We humans are responsible for each other, here, now, in this life. Whether we appeal to a higher power, an afterlife reversal, or post mortem punishments and rewards, the reality that we all can attest to is that we are accountable for the kind of world each of us helps to shape and create. The question is not what do we want to experience in the afterlife. It’s what kind of world do we want to live in, in this life! We can choose to act ethically if we believe that it is up to us to solve problems like poverty, injustice, and discrimination.
And ultimately this is what it means to live meaningful lives in the present. Doing the right thing contributes to a sense of purpose and personal integrity today. Caring for others and taking responsibility for making sure those around us also have what they need to thrive helps to build a society where we can all flourish through cooperation and a sense of our shared humanity. We are all connected. We are all part of one another.
Lastly, we can choose to do the right thing simply because we care. That is the question: not do we care about whether we will experience reward or punishment in an afterlife, but what kind of human do we want to be now. Do we care about others? Do we care about this world we share together, our home? Is only making sure that we are okay but not being concerned about whether others are too the kind of humans we want to be? How we answer these questions makes all the difference, not for a post mortem reversal, but right now, today.
Discussion Group Questions
1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s podcast episode with your discussion group.
2. In what ways do you wish our present economic system took better care of the poor? Share and discuss with your group.
3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?
Thanks for checking in with us, today.
I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.wpcomstaging.com/ and clicking donate.
My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.
As always, you can find Renewed Heart Ministries each week on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Meta’s Threads. If you haven’t done so already, please follow us on your chosen social media platforms for our daily posts.
Thank you for listening to The Social Jesus Podcast. If you enjoyed this podcast please take a moment to like and subscribe and if the podcast platform you’re using offers this option, please leave us a positive review. This helps others find our podcast as well.
If you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.
Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.
I love each of you dearly,
I’ll see you next week.
Season 3, Episode 27: Luke 16:19-31, Lectionary C, Proper 21
Just Talking is a weekly conversation centered on the upcoming weekend’s Gospel lectionary reading. Each discussion explores the text through the lenses of love, inclusion, and social justice.
Our hope is that these conversations will be more than just talking—they’ll be just talking, rooted in justice. And maybe, they’ll inspire you to go beyond just talking and into action.
Whether you preach from the lectionary or are simply curious about the Jesus story from a more progressive, justice-oriented perspective, we invite you to join us.
Herb Montgomery is speaker/director of Renewed Heart Ministries.
This week’s special guest is Alicia Johnston.
Watch at:
New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast
A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice.
This week:
Season 2 Episode 39: The Rich Man, Lazarus and Justice
Luke 16:19-31
“Future reversals of reward or punishment in an afterlife can be a strong motivation. I would rather live by a different motivation though. We can choose to be motivated to do the right thing by a deep belief in the value, dignity, and potential of every human being. Unlike moral systems based on afterlife consequences, we can consider the consequences of our actions in this life and choose to ground our ethics in reason, empathy, and a commitment to human welfare. We can choose to improve the conditions of those around us whose needs are not yet being met. One of the strongest motivations beyond self-concern and afterlife threats is empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. When we see suffering, we can choose to allow ourselves to be moved not by religious obligation or fear of post mortem punishment, but by a genuine desire to alleviate pain and promote the well-being of those who are suffering now. If we let it, this emotional connection to others can drive us to act with kindness and integrity in this life.”
Available on all major podcast carriers and at:
https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/the-rich-man-lazarus-and-justice
Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.
by Herb Montgomery
Available now on Amazon!
In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.
Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.
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Lazarus and Choosing Love Over Injustice
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New Episode of Just Talking Available on YouTube
New Episode of “Just Talking” Now Online!
Season 1, Episode 7: John 11.1-45. Lectionary A, Lent Week 5.
Each week, we’ll be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.
If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it.
You can find the latest show on YouTube at https://youtu.be/dnPL7LiWO6E
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Lazarus and Choosing Love Over Injustice
Herb Montgomery | March 24, 2023
To listen to this week’s eSight as a podcast episode click here.
What this story can speak to, though, is the truth that is in this story: love is stronger than hate, justice can triumph over injustice, and when things look their darkest, the dawn may be just around the next bend. This is an ancient story of hope. Today, we still need hope that our best inclinations as human beings can win over our worst inclinations.
Our reading this week is from the gospel of John:
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Rabbi and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Rabbi, the one you love is sick.”
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jewish elites there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Rabbi, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many people of the Jewish community had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Rabbi,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Rabbi,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jewish community who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Rabbi, if you had been here, my brother would never have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jewish community who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Rabbi,” they replied.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jewish community said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Rabbi,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 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.”
Therefore many of the Jewish community who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. (John 11:1-45, Most portions taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.)
The gospel of John is the pre-Gnostic, Johannine version of the Jesus story. It’s the last gospel in our scriptural canon to have been written, and it is strikingly different than all the other versions of the Jesus story in our sacred text.
One the biggest differences in John is why Jesus was arrested and executed. In the synoptic gospels his social justice protest and Temple demonstration strikes at the heart of the Temple State in Jerusalem. But in John’s gospel, this week’s story is the cause of Jesus’ arrest and execution. Here, unlike in the other gospels, it’s not Jesus’ protest against economic injustice that gets him executed, but that the people come too close to the knowledge (gnosis) he has to offer that stops death being the last word: “So from that day on, they plotted to take his life” (John 11:53).
I have a hunch that the oldest versions of this story had a more Jewish apocalyptic flavor because we can see elements of that apocalypticism at some key moments. Jewish apocalyptic teaching included the belief that at some future point, all injustice, violence, and oppression would be conquered even for those who had died. Those who subscribed to this worldview believed that this age would end in liberation and restoration that included bringing life those who had died. (This resurrection teaching is very different than the die-and-go-to-heaven view held by many Christians today.)
One example is from the book of Daniel:
“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:1)
Martha references this belief in our story:
“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’”
I believe that these apocalyptic elements are from an older version of the story that remained in the Johannine community’s redaction or retelling. In this version, one does not have to wait for a future resurrection because Jesus can offer a path through death here and now. Later, Gnosticism would teach that by gaining secret knowledge or gnosis, death can be the moment when your immortal, good soul is liberated from its captivity to material imprisonment and suffering. To that, the Jesus of this story says you don’t have to wait for the resurrection at the end of the age, you can be assured of transitioning into eternal life now, through the knowledge he offers.
The language in this passage points to some of these implications.
“Martha’s statement to Jesus in John 11:21 is stonier than it has often been translated. Not ‘My brother would not have died,’ but ‘my brother would never have died.’ That same ‘never’ is included by Jesus in his response, ‘Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’ That speaks to me of death as portal to eternal life and not a permanent estate.” (Wilda C. Gafney, A Woman’s Lectionary For The Whole Church, Year W, p. 185)
Another possible redaction can be found in the Secret Gospel of Mark:
“And they come into Bethany. And a certain woman whose brother had died was there. And, coming, she prostrated herself before Jesus and says to him, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me.’ But the disciples rebuked her. And Jesus, being angered, went off with her into the garden where the tomb was, and straightway a great cry was heard from the tomb. And going near, Jesus rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. And straightaway, going in where the youth was, he stretched forth his hand and raised him, seizing his hand. But the youth, looking upon him, loved him and began to beseech him that he might be with him. And going out of the tomb, they came into the house of the youth, for he was rich. And after six days Jesus told him what to do, and in the evening the youth comes to him, wearing a linen cloth over his naked body. And he remained with him that night, for Jesus taught him the mystery of the Kingdom of God. And thence, arising, he returned to the other side of the Jordan.” (Secret Mark, translated by Morton Smith)
In The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version by Robert Joseph Miller, Stephen Patterson further writes:
“The story [Secret Mark] bears a striking resemblance to the raising of Lazarus in the Gospel of John (John 11:1-44). However, since it shows none of the typical marks of Johannine redaction which so strongly color the story about Lazarus, it is unlikely that the Secret Mark story is directly dependent upon its Johannine parallel. For its part, the version of the story from Secret Mark has its own peculiarities not found in John, such as the initiation of the young man into the ‘mystery of God’s domain.’ The basic story, however, probably derives from the common stock of miracle stories available to both Mark and John, or their sources.” (p. 409)
This story in the gospel of John is lost on many of us today. Many no longer believe in an afterlife at all, and, even among those who still do, precious few believe it’s possible for someone to come back to life after they’ve been dead three days.
What this story can speak to, though, is the truth that is in this story: love is stronger than hate, justice can triumph over injustice, and when things look their darkest, the dawn may be just around the next bend.
This is an ancient story of hope. Today, we still need hope that our best inclinations as human beings can win over our worst inclinations. In simple language, this means that we can embrace inclusion over exclusion and replace bigotry with embrace and celebration. We can choose an egalitarian equality, justice, and fairness over misogyny, patriarchy, racism, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, economic disparities, and privilege. Our differences don’t have to create a hierarchy of value. We can simply celebrate our differences as a testament of our shared and very diverse humanity. Life and those things that are life-giving can conquer and replace those things that are death-dealing. That’s what this story is a reminder for me.
Keep hoping. Don’t give up. Our present world is not fixed in stone. It can give way to something more beautiful. And we can choose those things, today.
HeartGroup Application
1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s eSight/Podcast episode with your HeartGroup.
2. How does the Lazarus story in John’s gospel speak into your justice work, today? Share with your group.
3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone?
Thanks for checking in with us, today.
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Also I want to share that we are partnering in a new weekly YouTube show called “Just Talking.” Each week, Todd Leonard and I will be talking about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and societal justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking.
If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it. You can find JustTalking each week on YouTube at youtube.com/@herbandtoddjusttalking. Please Like, Subscribe, hit the Notification button, and leave us a comment.
And if you’d like to reach us here at Renewed Heart Ministries through email, you can reach us at info@renewedheartministries.com.
My new book, Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels is now also available at renewedheartministries.com
Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.
I love each of you dearly,
I’ll see you next week.
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Herb’s new book Finding Jesus: A story of a fundamentalist preacher who unexpectedly discovered the social, political, and economic teachings of the Gospels, is available at renewedheartministries.com.
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