By Mark Wilmoth

The request came twice in less than one week: “Please, lay hands on them and pray and ask God to send them back.” Both requests came from family members who had just lost a child. That’s the worst kind of loss. Most of us grow up knowing that we will probably lose our parents one day. When we marry, it’s for “as long as we both shall live.” One of us will probably say “goodbye” to the other. But parents shouldn’t have to bury their children. “Please, lay hands on them and pray and ask God to send them back” they pleaded. One person even added, “I know Jesus can do anything.”

He can.

A widow was on the way to Nain’s cemetery with her son’s body when Jesus stopped the procession with the words, “Don’t cry.” “Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother” (Luke 7:14-15, NIV). A 12-year-old little girl passed away, leaving her parents in emotional agony. Jesus “took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old)” (Mark 5:41-42).

Lazarus was four days dead. Jesus didn’t come in time and by the time Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. When Jesus asked for Lazarus’ tomb to be opened, Martha responded with a practical truth: “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” But Jesus insisted and the grave was opened, and “Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11:43-44).

Jesus can do anything. As far as the Bible records, Jesus turned every funeral he attended into a celebration. Every time Jesus was in the presence of death, death lost. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory,” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54. Then Paul continues, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus’ empty tomb counters our fear of death and the unknown and reminds us that He is the Author of Life (Acts 3:15). In the presence of Jesus, death is a spineless, powerless enemy. Jesus can raise the dead.

But I can’t.

In my more egotistical moments, I wish I could. I’d be the hero of the Emergency Department, the healer of broken bodies and hearts. The church I serve would grow exponentially; people would attend just to guarantee their own future welfare. If I could raise the dead, I’d never again have to trudge home with the helpless feeling of having watched another young life end too soon and I’d never have to search for words of comfort or feel my own heart break at the sight of a grieving parent or spouse.

But in my saner moments, I’m so glad I don’t have that power. Should a mere human determine whose life should go on and whose should end? What does their future hold? Would I bring them back to a joyful and productive life or return them to a broken body wracked by pain and disability? Would they cause trouble for others or become someone’s greatest blessing? Who knows these things? Jesus does. I don’t.

The empty tomb in Jerusalem tells the story of One who defeated death once and for all. Jesus knows and holds the future. Only Jesus can offer hope even in the worst of circumstances. Jesus promised His followers that they will one day share eternity with him in a place where “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” When life on earth ends, that’s truth to grip tightly.

Mark Wilmoth is with Pinehurst Christian Church in Marietta and can be reached at Minister@PinehurstChristianChurch.org