TRIAL OF BROTHER LAZZIE - Part 1

LESSONS  FROM LAZARUS

I have this idea that I believe is grand.

Please feel very free to take it if you have the means and you are sufficiently inspired. We are all working for one kingdom ultimately, so we should have one vision; one goal.

I have this idea to write Christian fiction. And I want to focus on all the silent characters of the Scriptures. People like the Hebrew maid in Captain Naaman's house. People like the man whose house Jesus and the Twelve used for the Lord's Supper. People like Deborah the nurse that stayed with Jacob's household. Okay so, you get the idea. Those guys who featured like guest stars in the Bible Series. I want to trust God to use sanctified imagination to do volume about their lives. I mean, full scope of their lives. I once wrote a piece about Matthias, the disciple that replaced Judas. I will post that soon. By the way, I would do Christian Film Series too on those characters.

So take note. If you caught the vision and you got the means, please do it! Just make sure your imagination is Spirit filled. Okay.

Today, I want to pick on Lazarus.

That guy's name and life looks like he would have earned himself the nickname 'Lazy'.  For instance see this hint in John 12.

John 12:1-3 KJV
Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.

[2] There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.

[3] Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

Now that is a portrait of this family friends of Jesus Christ. Martha is always catering for Jesus. In fact she does the invitation and makes sure Jesus gets the best of meals. Mary is always at Jesus' feet. Always listening to Jesus. She is one other person's life I should explore in my santified imaginary journey. Anyway, Mary was always at Jesus' feet. So where will you always find Brother Lazzy, sorry, Lazarus? At the table. Laughs. Where the food is, there Bro Lazarus is. I hope my imagination is still sanctified. But you will soon discover I am a serious fan of Brother Lazarus. Okay.

Let us use this account of Dr. Luke to compare or confirm all my assumptions about these siblings above.

Luke 10:38-42 KJV
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

[39] And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

[40] But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

[41] And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

[42] But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Did you see Lazarus here? Did you see food? Laughs. Relax bro. Learn to find some fun and laughter in the Scriptures. Its a Whole Book. Everything is there, including Comedy.

Okay let me stop this Trial of Brother Lazarus. His name is not Lazy. His name is Lazarus. And it is such a beautiful name.

Before we go into Names and Meanings, let me point out that of the 3 people Jesus raised from the dead, only one was named. And that person is Lazarus. Other's were described and not named. Jarius' daughter. Widow's son.

So that Lazarus was named, means there is something to see there. If you have been blessed with the gift of studying Scriptures, you would know the excitement when you get a revelation about a name in the Bible. Not one name in that Book strayed there.

So what does Lazarus means ? Where do we go ? Don't be shy jor. We all know Pastor's secrets. Internet. Yea. But before Internet, we did Strong's. Let's do Strong's today.

G2976

Original: Λάζαρος

Transliteration: Lazaros

Phonetic: lad'-zar-os

Thayer Definition: Lazarus = "whom God helps" (a form of the Hebrew name Eleazar)

an inhabitant of Bethany, beloved by Christ and raised from the dead by hima very poor and wretched person to whom Jesus referred to in Luk 16:20-25

Origin: probably of hebrew originH499

TDNT entry: None

Part(s) of speech: Noun Masculine

Strong's Definition: Probably of Hebrew origin [H499]; Lazarus (that is,Elazar), the name of two Israelites (one imaginary): - Lazarus.

That was Strong.
So Lazarus was not lazy afterall. He was just The Man Whom God Helps. Hmmm.

Eleazar is Hebrew. Lazarus is Greek. Ezer-Li is God.

They all have same root word.

Let's focus on God for a while.

Elohim Ezer-Li. God is my help. Or God our Helper. It is the divine instinct of God to help. He made man complete with all things and then said it was not good for him to be without help. What was it that Adam needed help for? Laughs. Companionship. As complete as Adam was he was alone. Alone. Allone. All one.

It is not good for man (or woman) to be all one. That is the reason for Family. That is the essence of Community. No man is an island. It is the human instinct to need help.

For God to help is divine. 
For man to need help is human.

But why do we do like we don't need God?
We do as if we don't need help.

One of the best songs of this generation is 'My Helper o . . .'. You know it? Sing it please. Thank you.

There is this other old song too. I know the chorus more. 'My help! My help! All of my help cometh from the Lord'. I think that was the story of Lazarus. A man whom God helps. What a way to describe a man! Imagine someone asking about you from another. And the response is 'You mean that man whom God helps?' So beautiful!

Are you the man whom God helps?
Or you are the man who helps God?
Okay, the man who helps himself?

Hear what the Scriptures say about how much God wants to help you and guage yourself how much of this help you get daily - or should I say, microsecond-ly?

Psalm 46:1 KJV
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Deuteronomy 33:26 KJV
There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.

Psalm 54:4 KJV
Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.

Isaiah 41:14 KJV
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord , and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Hebrews 4:16 KJV
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

John 1:16 KJV
And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. (And help for help)

Psalm 121:1-2 KJV
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. [2] My help cometh from the Lord , which made heaven and earth.

Genesis 49:25 KJV
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

Let me just stop here. I was about to leave the flow and go online - no, offline.

But we know God wants to help us, just that we don't want too much of it.

Grace is an integral part of our Faith. But we like the Faith and leave the Grace. So we struggle to even believe, for you need Grace to even have Faith. You were designed to need help. Take it or take it.

Grace is unmerited help. SomeOne wants to help you even when you don't deserve it. No. We want to deserve it. And those who dared to receive all the help from God, we call Lazarus, sorry, we call 'Lazy'.

So we got the first clue into the person of Lazarus.

Secondly, Lazarus was The One Jesus Loves.

Oh! You can't take that now.

Let's break it. 
Watch Out for Part 2.

*Wink*

- Adeolu Olumodeji