The Bible gives us the accounts of three people that the Lord raised from the dead while He was on the earth.

In John 11:1-44, we have the raising of Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary.

In Luke 7:11-15, we have the raising of the widow of Nain’s son.

In Luke 8:41-42 and 49-56, we have the raising of Jairus’ daughter.

There may have been others, but these are the only three that the Bible tells us about. There are so many good lessons in these events.

  • Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old and had been dead only a couple of hours.
  • The widow’s son was called ‘a young man’, so he was probably somewhat older than Jairus’ daughter. The people were on their way to bury him. Traditionally, they buried their dead the same day they died. So this young man had been dead for less than a day.
  • Lazarus was a grown man and had been dead for four days.

One very important lesson is that no matter how old we may be, no matter how long we have been ‘spiritually dead’, the Lord can still give us life. I hope you read the verses I cited above about each one that was raised. Notice that the Lord spoke directly to the dead one in each case. Consider the words of the Lord in John 5:25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when THE DEAD SHALL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD and they that hear shall live.” The Lord speaks directly to those who are spiritually dead. He speaks to them through His Word. Romans 10:17 tells us, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD.”

I used to visit an elderly lady whose daughter and son in law were both Wiccan priests. The elderly lady had no beliefs, but she seemed to enjoy it when I read the Bible to her. She had already had a stroke, so her speech was slow and hard to understand. Each visit she indicated that she wanted me to read to her. I would read passages to her and then explain them to her. On one of my last visits, I read Matthew 16:13-15 to her. That says, “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?” After reading that to her, I asked her, “Do you know who Jesus is?” She responded very weakly but clearly, “He’s my Lord and Savior!” I could barely contain myself when I heard her confession of Christ as her Lord and Savior. With not much time left to live on earth, she ‘heard’ the voice of the Son of God and began to live eternally! Within two weeks’ time, she stood face to face with her newfound Savior!

The Lord told both the widow’s son and Jairus’ daughter to “Arise.” He told Lazarus to “Come Forth.” Have you heard the Lord calling to you through His Word? Have you felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit causing you to regret your life of sin? If you hear Him and respond to the Lord’s loving call, you will live forever! In Matthew 11:28-30 the Lord says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (306.3)