Mary's annointing of Jesus at Bethany reveals to us what true worship looks like. Where others around her saw waste, Jesus saw worship. She had been so shaped/changed by Jesus that she couldn't help but give him what was costly and fitting.

Like the council that formed after Lazuarus's resurrection, we have to options: Bow to Jesus and his Kingdom and face the fallout of the empire/culture or bow to the empire/culture and face the fallout of Jesus and his Kingdom.

If Jesus had come to the earth with the sword of God’s wrath and judgement against evil, none of us would have been left to tell about it. However, he did NOT come with a sword in his hands but nails—NOT to bring judgement BUT to bear it.

The first third of the Lazarus story reveals that Lazarus isn't the only main character–his sisters, Mary and Martha are as well. And what we learn is that the gospel is a story of our God doing all things well, not all things easily.

Christ is the shepherd who loves us, who cares for us, who knows us He is he door to the Kingdom, our protection, our salvation, the source of abundant life. He is kind, he is gentle, he is selfless and in his giving of his life we find our own.

Jesus miraculously heals a blind man. He also brings true spiritual sight to those who believe and respond to Him with faithful allegiance. To those who follow Christ, you will face interpersonal hardships, however, our consolation and reward is Christ himself.

When we encounter suffering, we are faced with a choice: to allow bitterness to consume us or to allow our pain to make us better. Suffering serves as a crucible in which our faith is refined and strengthened.

Like the Jews in John 8, the proclamation that we can be free often offends us because we detect the implication that we are enslaved. But we are—we are slaves to sin (1 Kings 8:46; Romans 3:10–18). Abiding in Christ's truth, however, offers us freedom to truly live into who we were created to be—free from sin and free to live as sons/daughters of God and heirs with Christ.