The Stench and the Shout Text: John 11:38-44
Introduction: The Offense of Death and the Offense of Life
We have arrived at the tomb of Lazarus, and it is a place that reeks of two things. The first is the biological reality of death. Martha, ever the pragmatist, warns Jesus, "Lord, by this time he smells." This is not a polite, greeting card sentiment. This is the raw, ugly, physical consequence of sin. Death is not a natural part of a cycle; it is an enemy invasion. It is a corruption, a decomposition, a stench in the nostrils of the Creator who made all things very good. And our modern sensibilities, which try to hide death away in sterile hospitals and funeral homes, are simply trying to put a stone over a reality we cannot face. The world is a graveyard, and every human heart apart from Christ is a sealed tomb, rotting from the inside.
But there is a second smell here, a second offense. It is the offense of resurrection life. Jesus comes to this place of finality not to offer condolences, but to issue a declaration of war. He is about to do something that is profoundly rude to the established order of things. He is going to defy the laws of biology, mock the power of the grave, and trample on the authority of the last enemy. And this is why the world hates Him. The world can tolerate a religious teacher who helps us cope with death. It cannot and will not tolerate a King who has conquered it and who commands the dead to live. The command to roll away the stone is a command to confront the decay, and the command for Lazarus to come forth is an assault on the very foundations of a world that has made its peace with death.
This scene, then, is the gospel in miniature. It is the story of our salvation. We were dead. Not sick, not struggling, not in a bad way. We were four days dead, and the stench of our sin and rebellion was an offense to a holy God. And into our hopeless situation, Christ comes. He does not negotiate with our death; He commands it to yield. He does not ask for our cooperation; He gives us life. And He calls His church to the task of unbinding those He has raised.
The Text
So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the crowd standing around I said this, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 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.”
(John 11:38-44 LSB)
The Indignant King (v. 38)
We begin with Jesus' arrival at the tomb.
"So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it." (John 11:38)
The phrase "deeply moved" does not capture the force of the Greek. It signifies a groaning of indignation, a snorting of anger like a warhorse. This is the second time John uses this word to describe Jesus' reaction. Jesus is not simply sad that His friend has died. He is enraged. He is the Lord of Life, the Creator of Adam from the dust, and He is standing before the ruin that His enemy, Satan, has wrought through sin. He is angry at death itself. Death is the great usurper, the final tyrant in a rebellious world, and Jesus has come to crush its head.
The tomb is a cave with a stone against it. This is the world's answer to mortality. Seal it up. Put a rock in front of it. Try not to think about it. The stone represents the finality of death in the mind of man. It is the period at the end of the sentence. But for Jesus, this stone is not a barrier; it is a stage prop. He has come to demonstrate that the world's finality is no match for His authority.
Sensible Unbelief (v. 39-41a)
Jesus issues a command that seems utterly irrational.
"Jesus said, 'Remove the stone.' Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, 'Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead four days.'" (John 11:39)
The command to remove the stone is the command for creaturely participation. Jesus could have moved the stone with a word, but He commands men to do what they can do. This is a pattern. We are to preach the gospel, to evangelize, to disciple. We cannot give life, but we are commanded to roll away the stones of ignorance and unbelief by proclaiming the truth. We do the possible, and we trust God to do the impossible.
Martha's objection is the voice of all sensible, pragmatic unbelief. She calls Him "Lord," but her faith is bounded by her senses. Her nose is telling her that this is a bad idea. "He smells." The four days is significant; Jewish superstition held that the soul hovered near the body for three days, but on the fourth day, when decomposition was evident, all hope was gone. Martha is saying, "It's too late. The corruption is total." This is precisely the point. The gospel is not for people who are mostly alive. It is for the hopelessly, certifiably, four-days-dead.
"Jesus said to her, 'Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?' So they removed the stone." (John 11:40-41a)
Jesus gently rebukes her by calling her back to His word. Faith is not a feeling. It is not a denial of the facts. The fact was, Lazarus was dead and he smelled. Faith is trusting the Word of God over and above the facts of your situation. The condition for seeing God's glory is not a pleasant circumstance, but a rugged faith that takes God at His word, even when it seems absurd. And in response to His word, they obey. They roll the stone away, letting all the evidence of death out into the open air. God is not afraid of our mess. In fact, He commands us to expose it so that His glory can be seen in overcoming it.
The Prayer of the Son (v. 41b-42)
With the tomb now open, Jesus addresses His Father.
"Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, 'Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the crowd standing around I said this, so that they may believe that You sent Me.'" (John 11:41b-42)
This is one of the most astonishing prayers in Scripture. It is not a petition. It is not a desperate plea. It is a statement of fact, a thanksgiving offered before the miracle occurs. Jesus is operating in perfect, unbroken communion with the Father. He is not trying to convince the Father to act; He is acting in perfect concert with the Father's will. There is no daylight between the will of the Father and the will of the Son.
He says this prayer aloud for the benefit of the crowd. This entire event is a sign, a public demonstration of His identity. He is making it unequivocally clear that the life-giving power He is about to unleash is not some magician's trick, but flows directly from His relationship with the Father. He is the one "sent" from God. To believe in the miracle is to believe in the mission. To see Him as the resurrection and the life is to see Him as the Son of God.
The Authoritative Summons (v. 43-44)
Now comes the climax of the scene.
"And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth.'" (John 11:43)
The "loud voice" is the voice of sovereign command. This is the voice of the Creator. It is the same voice that said, "Let there be light." It is the voice of a king issuing an irrevocable decree. He does not suggest, He does not invite, He commands. And notice, He calls him by name. Theologians have often noted that if He had simply shouted "Come forth," every grave on earth would have given up its dead. The call of God unto salvation is an effectual call. It is personal, specific, and irresistible. When God calls a dead sinner by name, that sinner comes to life.
The response is immediate and absolute.
"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.'" (John 11:44)
Lazarus obeys. Death cannot hold him. He comes out of the tomb, alive. But he is not yet free. He is bound in his grave clothes. This is a perfect picture of a new Christian. You have been made alive by the sovereign call of Jesus Christ. You have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. You have a new heart. But you are still entangled in the habits and patterns of your old, dead life. You still have grave clothes clinging to you, the remnants of sin, fear, shame, and worldly ways of thinking.
And what is Jesus' command? "Unbind him, and let him go." He gives this command to the community, to the crowd standing there. This is the ministry of the church. Our job is to help one another get free from the grave clothes. This is what discipleship is. It is the process of helping a new believer, who has been made alive by Christ, to shed the old self and walk in the freedom of the new self. We do this through the preaching of the Word, through fellowship, through accountability, and through loving correction. God gives life unilaterally, but He uses His people to help work out that new life in practical freedom.
Conclusion: The Unbinding Community
Every true Christian in this room is a Lazarus. You were dead. You were rotting. You were sealed in a tomb of your own sin and rebellion. And the Lord of Life, in sheer mercy, came to your tomb, shouted your name, and commanded you to live. You did not cooperate with your resurrection any more than Lazarus did. It was a pure gift of sovereign grace.
But the story doesn't end there. You came out of the tomb, alive but bound. And you came into a community of faith, the church. The command of Christ to us, His people, is clear. Look around you. There are brothers and sisters here who are alive in Christ but are still hobbled by their grave clothes. They are bound by fear, by a secret sin, by a bitter root, by a false doctrine. Our task is not to stand back and marvel at their new life. Our task is to obey the Lord's command. "Unbind him, and let him go."
Through the faithful application of God's Word, through loving fellowship, and through courageous discipleship, we are to be a community that helps one another walk in the full freedom that Christ purchased for us. He gives the life. He gives us the job of helping each other get untangled so we can walk in it. Let us be a church that is not afraid of the stench of death, because we serve the one who shouts into it, and brings forth glorious, unbound life.