A Death Experience

But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. John 12:10-11

There are several testimonies floating about of what we call near-death experiences, and we are fascinated to read them and gain some clues about Heaven. However, those stories are often 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or even 90 minutes in actual dead time as measured by the clocks we have in this world. Lazarus has a story that is something else entirely - four days! Jesus even waited some distance off so that no one would have reason to doubt that Lazarus was kaput; he was no more; stone dead. We're about to launch into a dead parrot sketch here. We get the point, Lazarus was dead. Lazarus did not have a near-death experience; he had a clearly dead experience. They even buried him in the usual way for the time. 

You and I have often wondered why we do not have a testimony from Lazarus in the scriptures. Such a story would be fascinating indeed with four days in Heaven to tell. Perhaps though, the story became so convincing to the divinity of Jesus that it was suppressed and no copy survived. The chief priests wanted to give Lazarus a twice dead experience, as his testimony of Jesus had caused many to believe in the Lord and to go away from the Jewish religion. Their corrupt living was threatened by Jesus clearing the temple and by the testimonies of those who believed in Messiah. Of course, just getting rid of Lazarus in this way would not have stopped the motivator of their faith, Jesus. And that is why there is that little word 'also' in the verses for today. Jesus was on the hit list of the chief priests too. 

The chief priests were successful in their plot, but on the third day He rose again!

Bucky