By Mike Caton

John 12:17, Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.

Can you imagine this? The crowd that had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead could not stop taking about what they had seen. This was something that they never expected to happen, that they could not anticipate, it was something that was beyond their wildest imagination. And yet Jesus had simply walked to the tomb, had them roll the stone away, and he simply called Lazarus out. And guess what, Lazarus came out! They knew it was him, they knew he had been dead, they knew it had been four days, and they saw him wrapped in the grave clothes that maybe some of them had applied.

Could you stop talking about something like this? Wouldn’t you be like them and continue to spread the word. How simple and how natural it would be to merely spread the word about what you had seen. These folks were talking about what they knew had happened, something that they had experienced. And it was such a great thing they just had to speak about it.

But, didn’t Jesus do a great thing in our life? Really, think about it. We were lost in our sins, bound for hell, without any hope, knowing there was no way we could reverse our direction or save ourselves. And Jesus, who was there all the time, rescued us, he washed our sins away with his blood, he filled us with the Holy Spirit, he empowers us to live every day in connection with him. You know, we were as dead as Lazarus, but Jesus made us alive as well! And we need to be busy telling others about what we have seen, about what we have experienced, about what happened to us.

Father, help me continue to spread the word. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works part time with Hyde County EMS. If you would like to receive daily devotions in your inbox, email mikecaton@centurylink.net.

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