Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  2024  Day 282

October 7;      John 11:44;       79/260(III);      ‘Loose Him’

John 11:44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go." 

The account is literal.  Jesus’ good friend Lazarus had died.  Our Lord goes to his tomb.  Jesus thanks His Father that the Father always hears Him when He prays.  Just a side note.  You can walk this close to the Lord by the Word and prayer, so that you know that the Father always hears you when you pray as well.  We have to decide that we want to have very close fellowship with the Lord and then spend the time necessary to make it happen.  The stone covering the opening to the tomb was removed and Jesus commanded Lazarus to come forth, out of the tomb (verse 43).  Lazarus was raised form the dead and Jesus told His disciples to loose Lazarus from his grave clothes and let him go.  This verse does not just apply to Lazarus.  All of us were dead spiritually.  One day we heard Jesus call us and we came forth to Him out of the darkness of this world into His marvelous light.  We had been bound hand and foot with grave clothes, the various sinful ways that bound all of us until we became born again.  Even our face was bound.  We spoke the things that the world without the Lord says.  Jesus saves us, the Holy Spirit recreates our spirit, making it alive unto the Lord and the He comes to live in our spirit.  Jesus commands His disciples (us) to loose the new believers and let them go.  We encourage them to read the Word, learn how to pray and begin to worship the Lord.  We encourage them to go to a good local church to be discipled.  We befriend them, doing all we can to help them get strong, now that they are alive in Jesus.