July 4, 2023

Can We Make It Out Alive?

“So Jesus then said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.’ Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.’” John 11:14-16 (NASB)

            In Army Basic Training, every soldier is required to go through the gas chamber. This is designed to strengthen the soldier’s confidence in his equipment (the gas mask). That day, we all lined up, eight at a time (my squad), and entered the gas chamber. We were wearing our masks at the time. When we walked in, I didn’t feel anything. It was smokey. As we entered the chamber the drill sergeant told us to remove our masks. We started choking badly, with several bodily functions reacting to the gas (CS). Our eyes immediately shut. The drill sergeant (who had no mask on) told us to recite our name, rank, and serial number. No one could leave before all in the room had done so. So, being the last one in the file, I naturally had a hard time completing the task, but I did. As we got ready to head out of the chamber room, each man grabbed the tactical vest of the man beside him. Since we could not see, we knew the only chance of survival was to follow the man closest to the door. Otherwise we would have never made it out...  

            “So Jesus then said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead...’”  Making sure the disciples understood Him clearly, Jesus said it plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Lenski explains this well, “Only two words. The brevity heightens the effect. The aorist simply states the fact. When did he die? The answer is: just now. How did Jesus know? The answer is: by the use of his omniscience in this important part of his mission. Both announcements, that in verse 11 and now that in this verse, read as though Lazarus had just died and as though this is the signal for Jesus to proceed to Bethany.”[1] Perhaps this was one reason Jesus waited as well. He wanted no one to misunderstand the difference between someone being in a coma, and one who was really dead, not just appearing so. It is strange how still to this day, that some will claim Jesus never physically died on the cross. They use what is called “Swoon Theory.” This claim was an early heresy. It claimed Christ did not actually die on the cross. He swooned (or fainted to the point it looked like He died). This theory says Jesus was revived, once He made it to the tomb. This gave argument to their saying Jesus never really died, and gave way to the rejection His deity. In all this however Jesus used this opportunity to strengthen His disciples faith in Him as the Son of God. It also revealed Thomas’s faith that he too would go to his death with Christ if needed, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.” He showed his loyalty to Christ, but also revealed a negative view of what was going to happen. They were going to die with Christ. He missed the teachings of the True Shepherd, and the Shepherd who would give His life for His sheep.

            That day in the gas chamber, I was willing to follow the other end of our line to help us escape the chamber. I placed my trust and faith in someone I didn’t know well, but I knew he saw the light at the doorway. Sometimes, we look to others for leadership when we don’t know what to do. We have even believed in a leader who we might have been willing to lay our lives down for as well. Thomas showed his lack of faith in surviving the trip to see Lazarus, but was willing to die for Jesus. The thing he missed was Jesus was not ready to die yet...

[1] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The interpretation of St. John’s gospel (p. 790). Augsburg Publishing House.