John 11: 43-44 NIV
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.”
Autoresuscitation is also known as Lazarus Syndrome or Phenomenon. According to WebMD, “The Lazarus phenomenon is a rare, possibly under-reported condition that happens when someone who seems to be dead shows signs of life again, typically several minutes after health workers stop giving them CPR.” First officially reported in 1982, there have been around 60-70 cases of people being pronounced dead and coming back to life after minutes and sometimes hours. Yes, hours. The auspicious record holder belongs to Velma Thomas, who in 2008, returned to life 17 hours after being pronounced dead following a heart attack. In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, her son, Tim, stated, “Her skin had already started hardening, her hands and toes were curling up. There was no life there.” But there was…. She woke up and asked for Tim. Tim had left the hospital to begin making funeral arrangements, but instead rushed back to his mother. The article continued by saying, “Thomas’ experience can only be described as a ‘miracle,’ Dr. Kevin Eggleston, who treated Thomas at the time, told ABC News in 2008.”
But don’t you find it interesting that medical authorities say the first report of this syndrome is in 1982, when the very person they borrowed the name from lived, died, and lived again about 1,978 years earlier? Lazarus had been dead around 96 hours when Jesus told him to come out of the grave! The Bible recounts many times that people were brought back to life both in the Old and New Testaments. The prophet Elisha in the Old Testament brought the Shunammite woman’s son back to life, but simply touching Elisha’s bones in the grave brought a man back life too! Besides Lazarus, the New Testament also tells of Tabitha, Eutychus, Jairus’ daughter, the widow’s son in Nain, and of course the greatest resurrection of all is Jesus Christ!
God’s omnipotent power creates life, takes life, and has the incredible miraculous power to restore life. All of these examples serve as a reminder of what Jesus can do for us. Not only does He offer us eternal life where our earthly bodies cease, but we never do, He also tells us, “Come Out!” while we are still living. When I was baptized, I felt like Lazarus encased in smothering grave clothes, but my wrappings were sin, shame, disappointment, and earthly life. Under the water, the grave clothes were washed off, and I could hear Jesus say, “Mary! Come Out! You are free.” If the grave clothes of earthly living are weighing you down like the heaviest of chains, it doesn’t have to be that way! Jesus offered me the chance to step out of the water and walk away into the freedom of new life with Him. He is waiting for you too. Can you hear him calling? “Come Out! Walk away from the grave and don’t look back.”
