On Account of Him

The Gospels are amazing......aren't they? I never get tired of new discoveries. Yesterday while reading in John 12, I ran across a section I had never noticed before. A large crowd had gathered outside the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany to not only see Jesus, but to see Lazarus also. Evidently Lazarus had obtained some level of celebrity over being raised from the dead. In fact, John 12 says that people were becoming believers "on account of him". Then came the part I had not noticed before.........because of this, the chief priests and Pharisees "made plans to kill Lazarus as well". I am not sure Lazarus had ever uttered a word. Do we have any proof that he had been out testifying or witnessing? Had he been preaching about his having been raised from the dead? The picture I get is that just his presence was the only sermon they needed. They knew he had died, and now they saw him alive.........and that was enough to believe in the power of Jesus. Yet, it was not enough to convince the religious leaders. Why is that? I know some of them did become believers, but the majority didn't. Later in the chapter they say in disgust and frustration, "See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!"

One question and one observation in application. The question is this: Is it being said of me like it was Lazarus that people are believing "on account of him"? Probably not. I'm certainly not on anybody's "to murder" list because of my life or my witnessing. Just telling it like it is.

The observation is this: Don't tell me that being religious makes you have a good heart. The worst villians, the meanest people, the people with the WORST hearts in the New Testament were the religious people. I'm not sure things have changed all that much in 2,000 years.