July 17, 2023
True Testimony
“So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.’” John 11:41-42 (NASB)
When I was in middle school, and through my early high school days I had a best friend. He was like a brother to me. We were inseparable. When we went to school we had many of the same classes. When we were out of school, we spent our days together from early in the morning, to the time we had to be home at night. We knew each other’s thoughts. We could almost complete each other’s sentences. It was incredible, but it wasn’t always healthy. We also got into a lot of trouble too. Both of us one summer got in trouble. We got taken to a military police station. After the hearing, we spent the remainder of the summer working for free for the military (since we were raised on an Army base in Europe). The biggest punishment that summer was not seeing my friend. He worked in a different part of the base. We got separated from each other and didn’t see each other the whole summer, but we got back together after.
“So they removed the stone.” “Tombs of the Hebrews were generally excavated in the solid rock, or were natural caves. Mention is made of such tombs in Judg. 8:32; 2 Sam. 2:32; 2 Kings 9:28; 23:30. They were sometimes made in gardens (2 Kings 21:26; 23:16; Matt. 27:60). They are found in great numbers in and around Jerusalem and all over the land. They were sometimes whitewashed (Matt. 23:27, 29) …. The mouth of such rocky tombs was usually closed by a large stone (Heb. golal), which could only be removed by the united efforts of several men (Matt. 28:2; comp. John 11:39). [1]” These tombs, with a large stone closing it, prevented robbers from stealing from the dead. The stone was normally rolled closed into a groove, carved into the ground. This made the tomb harder to open than to close. The groove closed on a downward angle and uphill to prevent a single person’ access. Tombs also were located outside of the city. They were outside the city so Jews would not become unclean if they came near the place of the dead. The tombs were whitewashed for easy identification for those not familiar with the area. As Jesus stood in front of the tomb He said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me;” Note the words. “Clearly Jesus had prayed to the Father concerning the raising of Lazarus. He has the answer before he acts. “No pomp of incantation, no wrestling in prayer even; but simple words of thanksgiving, as if already Lazarus was restored” (Dods).”[2] Jesus knew His prayer would help those who were there to understand He was sent by the Father, and they would acknowledge Him as sent by the Father.
Despite all Jesus went through here on earth, He never broke communication with His Father. He knew every Word of His Father. This is why He never needed to petition God for what was about to happen. They were in perfect harmony. They could finish each other’s sentences too. His fellowship with God was perfect, unlike mine with my best friend. Mine led to trouble. Jesus’ led Him to victory! I don’t even know where my old best friend lives today. In fact I don’t know much about him. Jesus is still in fellowship with God… and always will!
[1] Easton, M. G. (1893). In Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (p. 672). Harper & Brothers.
[2] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jn 11:41). Broadman Press.