The Life of Jesus Advent Calendar - Day 15: Jesus Raises Lazarus

Introduction

In my opinion, John 11:1-44 is one of the passages where we see most clearly the dual fully-God and fully-man nature of Christ.

We see his humanity in his earthly relationships and his genuine friendships. Martha and Mary knew they could rely on Jesus, and so they sent for him when Lazarus became unwell. Scripture tells us, "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Jesus did not just minister to people; he lived among them, shared life with them, and truly loved them.

It is perhaps surprising, then, to read that Jesus doesn't immediately head to Bethany to heal Lazarus. Instead, he chooses to stay where he is for two days more. His reason is revealed in verse four:

This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

Here we see God the Son acting with full knowledge of what is about to take place and with complete submission to the Father's purposes. We see a further hint to his delay in verse 14, when he tells the disciples:

Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.

We see his humanity as he gently speaks with Martha as she grieves, and we see his divine authority in his declaration that:

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

When Jesus weeps, we see his mourning for his friend and empathy with the sisters, but we also see his holy, righteous anger at the effect death has on the world, knowing that the only answer is for him to conquer death on the cross.

And finally, we see the glory of God revealed unmistakably when Jesus commands Lazarus to come out of the tomb, demonstrating his absolute authority over life and death.

How is the truth that Christ is both fully God and fully man a comfort to you in your daily life?

Assembling your stocking

You will use the same cave and rock templates for stocking no. 22, Jesus's Resurrection - you might want to use different colours just to make it easier to differentiate between the two scenes. I use a darker shade for the cave, and a light shade for the cave wall and boulder, to try and give the cave some depth. Remember as you use the cave template to flip it over as you draw around it, to avoid your markings showing on the front of the cave.

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I begin this stocking by stitching the top of the cave wall down, making sure the right edge aligns with the right edge of the stocking. I then tuck the cave under the cave wall, and finish stitching the cave wall down, making sure the stitches secure the cave in place too. I don't worry about stitching down the right side too much, as I know once I blanket stitch at the end, it will secure the edge of the cave wall.

I then add Lazarus to the cave, and try and stitch details onto him that show him wearing a shroud, and his hands and feet being bound by the linens.

I then stitch stone to the left of the cave - it will overhang the edge of the stocking, but don't worry about that - see my note below on blanket stitching around this part.

Finally I add Jesus, Martha and Mary, all facing the cave, so there's no need to stitch any faces on.

When it comes to blanket stitching the stocking together, I change to grey for the cave wall - for such a short section I just run the red thread inside the stocking and pick it up where the grey ends. You might find it a little fiddly to blanket stitch behind the boulder, but I just fold it down and try to stick my needle up behind it.

You can watch a brief video of this stocking being assembled on my Facebook or Instagram.

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