Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in full view of the people to prove He was no fraud. As a result, many believed in Him, but others did not—especially the religious establishment. Instead of believing the astonishing evidence—a man once indisputably dead, now irrefutably alive—they plotted to kill the evidence:
“Meanwhile, a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So, the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him” (John 12:9-11 NIV).
It was a form of demonic jury nullification. No matter what evidence Jesus presented, some were determined not to believe. That’s why Jesus refrained from performing more signs in their presence. They had already attributed His miracles to sorcery and to Satan; more signs would have only strengthened their deception. Their rejection of Jesus wasn’t due to a lack of evidence; it was because of the powers of darkness. They were blinded by their own ambition and pride. They didn’t believe because they thought they had more to lose than to gain by believing in Him. That is the reason many of us were reluctant to turn to Jesus: the cost-benefit ratio was not in His favor.
But grace! I am overflowing with gratitude today that, even without the Lazarus evidence, God opened my eyes to the truth about Jesus. When Jesus became JESUS to me, everything changed, and today, almost 46 years later, He continues to reveal to me the incomparable riches of knowing Him. Believe it or not.
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