Лекция седьмая. Воскресение Лазаря

Freethinkers suggest that “Lazarus really did not die, but was only in a state of fainting. He was ill - mildly at first, but then he had a severe seizure, so that he lay completely unconscious, without breathing. His two sisters (Martha and Mary) considered him dead and buried him. From the first news of Lazarus’ illness, Jesus Christ concluded that it was not dangerous; That’s why I hesitated in one place. Then, from another messenger, He learned that Lazarus had died. This surprise amazed Him. Having realized the circumstances of the illness, which was presented to Him as so harmless, He had the idea that this was almost a severe fainting spell. In such hope, He hurried to Bethany. Here, by His order, the coffin is opened. Fresh air entering the cave causes Lazarus to awaken. Jesus Christ is the first to notice signs of life in him, and thanks God.” This is the essence of the freethinkers' explanation. What evidence is there that this was so? – The evidence, they say, is in the gospel story itself. John 11, 1–4: “There was a certain pain, Lazarus, from Bethany, from the weight of her sister Mary. Mary, who anointed the Lord with myrrh, and wiped His hair from his nose, even as brother Lazarus fell ill. He sent his sister to Him, saying: Lord! Whatever you love, it hurts. Jesus heard him say: “This disease does not lead to death, but about the word of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified for its sake.” “When the sisters of Lazarus sent to Jesus with news of their brother’s illness, Jesus, hearing this, said: this illness is not unto death, that is, not mortal. Thus He did not at all think that Lazarus would die; but he showed that with the help of the medical art he would become healthy. The words: “this illness is not for death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified for its sake” - do not contain anything contrary to the previous thought: “it will be glorified” (they say) not by awakening Lazarus from death, but by the advice he gives, and by decisively guessing the disease. Or maybe the words: “about the glory of God” and so on. added by the Evangelist himself, as he often does.” What can I say to this? – If Jesus Christ really claimed that Lazarus’ illness was not fatal, then such a tone would be completely indecent for Him: a) how did He know that this illness was “not leading to death”? b) how could one say decisively that Lazarus would not die? And if he had died (as actually happened), would the honor of Jesus Christ not have suffered from it? In this way the entire Lazarev family could have been deceived. Moreover, c) the words: “may the Son of God be glorified for her sake” clearly show that Jesus Christ had in mind the resurrection of Lazarus: for what kind of glorification is there in two or three pieces of advice given to the sick? If He meant only this glorification, then it would be necessary to admit that His language was too arrogant, which is only fitting for some boastful rabbi. John 11:6: “When you heard that it hurt, then you stayed in that place for two days.” Having heard about Lazarus' illness, Jesus Christ hesitates. Again, indecision is unworthy of Jesus, if it is not explained from the inner confidence of Jesus Christ that He, in any case, even if Lazarus died, could save him: otherwise such slowness would show the lack of His love for humanity, and even more - disdain for the people who love Him. -They will say: the seizure was not fatal. However, delay would be foolish: He could imagine that the sisters, not understanding the patient’s condition, could easily bury him (as indeed happened). John 11:11: “Lazarus our friend succeeded: but I go, that I may stir him up.” “New proof that Jesus Christ did not consider Lazarus dead, but only in a severe faint.” But how did He know that Lazarus had fainted? “Another ambassador came to him and informed Him about this.” By what right is another ambassador expected? to fill the void? Moreover, the disciples really thought that He was talking about a non-fatal dream: “His disciples decided; God! If he succeeds, he will be saved. Jesus spoke about his death: but they are deceitful, as if he spoke about the dormition of sleep” (John 11:12, 13). He told them directly: “Lazarus is dead” (John 11:14). John 11:15: “And I rejoice for your sake, that you may believe, for we were not there, but we are going to him.” “Rejoice that I was not there: otherwise your faith would have fallen. But now let's go and try some means to save him. If the means to save him succeed, good; and if not, then there will be no guilt on us: we were not there.” Again a forced image of interpretation! “I rejoice for your sake”: Jesus Christ rejoices for his disciples that he was not with Lazarus during his illness; for if he had been there, he would have freed him from his illness and would not have allowed him to die, thereby depriving himself of the opportunity to perform the most remarkable miracle, which was very necessary to strengthen the spirit of faith: I rejoice for your sake, that you may believe. - They will say: “He could have allowed him to die under Lazarus in order to resurrect him later.” But this act would be cruel in relation to Lazarus and not typical in relation to Himself. John 11:20–24: “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, ye shall smear Him; Maria is sitting at home. Martha said to Jesus: Lord! If I had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now we know that if you ask for anything from God, God will give it to you. Jesus said to her: Your brother will rise again. Martha said to Him: We know that He will rise again on the Resurrection, on the last day.” “Jesus Christ does not explicitly promise the Resurrection, but speaks in the language of doubt: - maybe it will be possible to free Lazarus from death, but maybe not; or the words of Jesus Christ refer more to the future resurrection, as Martha understood them.” There is indeed some darkness in the words of Jesus Christ; but it does not at all come from the fact that He was not confident in the possibility of saving Lazarus: for afterward, in response to Martha’s bewilderment: “Lord, it already stinks,” He says decisively: “Have you not decided that if you believe, you will see the glory of God” (John 11:39, 40)? The secrecy at the beginning of the conversation stemmed more from the prudence befitting Him - to arouse great faith with small hints, in order to thus give more room to moral merit... but how could Martha, who had faith and expected a miracle (John 11:22), and suddenly abandoned this faith and turned to a future resurrection, make a mistake? – Such hesitation in Martha’s language was very natural: she expected that whatever He asked of God, God would give Him; but suddenly she remembered that her brother had been dead for four days! This thought eclipsed all her faith. She knew that Jesus Christ works miracles; but He had never done anything like this before; she lacked the courage to ask Jesus Christ to perform the greatest of miracles for her. John 11:33–35. “Jesus, when he saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her weeping, rebuked the spirit and became indignant himself. And he said: where will you put it? Saying to Him: Lord! come and see. Shed a tear Jesus." “Sadness and tears would be inappropriate if His hope for the Resurrection of Lazarus were not weak.” This reason is one of the plausible ones, but it is not strong. The Greek word ενεβρψητατο means indignation both from sadness and also from displeasure. Many sad and unpleasant feelings could be born in Jesus Christ, although He was confident in His power. Sad, for His friend was dead; his sisters weep inconsolably; the Jews accompanying them also cry; At such a sight, a sensitive person cannot help but shed a tear: in this case, tears flow involuntarily, out of natural sympathy. Unpleasant, because among people who should have believed him undoubtedly, He finds believers who cry inconsolably. Even the secret joy in Jesus Christ that he would soon wipe away the tears of the sad sisters, mixed with sad feelings, could produce tears. John 11:39: “The dead man’s sister Martha said to him (Jesus): Lord! It already stinks because it’s four days old.” This exclamation of Martha strongly stands for the authenticity of the Resurrection of Lazarus. In refutation they say that “Martha said this not from experience, but from a suggestion that since the dead man is already four days old, there must certainly be a smell from him.” On the contrary, Martha often visited the tomb, therefore she speaks from experience; and if a sister, who dearly loves her brother, says that his corpse stinks: is there still any reason to doubt? - There are more four-day ones. “In medical records they find that people fainted for at least four days.” But doctors note that long-term fainting cannot be so strong that it cannot be considered death. For such a faint it is required that all vital functions cease: but such a cessation of vital functions, if it is long-term, would in itself end in death. John 11:41–42: “Then he took up the stone where the dead man lay; Jesus lifted up his eyes to the mountain and said: Father! I give you praise because you heard me. I knew that you always listen to me: but for the sake of the people standing around, I killed them, so that they may have faith, because you sent me.” “Now, when they opened the tomb, Jesus Christ, still not losing hope, leaned over there, and was the first to see that there were signs of life in Lazarus. Here He raises his grateful eyes to heaven and says: “Father! I give you praise, because you heard me, you heard me” - thanks for the past, while Lazarus has not yet been resurrected; This means that He thanks God that Lazarus is alive, that His expectations came true: otherwise He would not have said: He heard.” But for Jesus Christ, firmly confident in the miracle that was about to happen, without a doubt, it was possible to express the future in the past. Moreover, the Greek aorist ηκονσξ, by the nature of the language, can mean more than one past; but also present and future tense. John 11:43: “I cried with a great voice: Lazarus! get out." “Why a great voice if Lazarus was dead? for a dead man it makes no difference, no matter how you cry; for strength is not in the voice, but in power. But naturally, it was necessary to use a loud voice to awaken a person who was in a severe faint and force him to come out.” How can one determine how to express oneself when calling a dead person from another world? Is it really possible to speak in such a way that no one can hear? If Jesus Christ had spoken in a whisper, he would have said that He supposedly casts a spell; By doing this, He would have given his opponents an opportunity to claim that evil spirits were helping him to work miracles. Here is an explanation of the greatest miracle and the greatest explanation. It was composed by three people; one gave it away in his interpretation of the Gospel; another added something to it in a magazine, a third also published it in a periodical with new additions and embellishments. You can judge the strength of the evidence for yourself. In general, it must be said about such explanations that when they appear in the world, they are read more by the news, by the spirit of the irreligiousness contained in them, with which the spirit of the time is similar, and also by the embellishments with which a skillful pen generously endows them. Now they have all been revised and have begun to lose their value. Most of the most learned theologians turned to a simple method, namely, to historical faith. Very well, one refuter of these theories noticed the strangeness of the present century, that now, instead of the miracles of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul, they believe in the miracles of some other Paul, and that along with unbelief, the greatest gullibility now reigns: unbelief in the Gospel miracles, and gullibility in natural miracles. You might be interested in: