Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jn 8:31-32)

“Lazarus! Come forth!”

Imagine you are dead in a tomb of sin and this voice calls out to you, “Come forth!” It’s Jesus – the Word and the Truth waking you into life. Similarly, Jesus is calling out to the Pharisees to understand that He is here, sent from the Father, to set them free them from the death of sin. Yet they persist in their hardness of heart and refuse to hear the voice that wants to free them.

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me.” (Jn 8:42) The gentle compassion of our Savior was met with hostility and anger. Anger that eventually crucified Jesus and put him in a tomb – the same tomb of sin and death that holds us all.

But we know that the tomb of sin will be empty because death cannot hold Him. And death cannot hold us because we love Him and are called out to join Him with His Father in heaven for all of eternity. Praise to our Lord Jesus who calls us out of sin and darkness and makes us alive in Him!

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