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John 12:10-11 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.
Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling absolutely invincible, like nothing can stop you? Yeah, me either. Unfortunately, that's not a feeling that I frequently wake up with, but I cannot help but wonder if that's not a little bit of the way Lazarus felt after Jesus raised him from the dead.
The Bible tells us that after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, people were attracted to Christ because of Lazarus. Lazarus had been raised from the dead. It didn't matter what the Pharisees said or how they objected, they weren't going to sway Lazarus from what he knew to be true.
Shortly before this, when Jesus had healed a man that was blind from birth, the religious leaders were indignant and said, "This man is a sinner." The man who had been blind said, "I don't know whether Jesus is a sinner or not, but here is what I know: I was blind, but now I see." Here's Lazarus who could say, "Well, maybe nothing good can come out of Nazareth, but here's what I know: I was dead, but now I'm standing before you." It was incontrovertible evidence to Who Jesus was, and it was driving the religious, Christ-rejecters crazy.
Verse 10 says, "But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus." They wanted to kill Lazarus because people were coming to Christ through Lazarus.
Now here's the very essence of futility: Lazarus was dead, then was raised again by Jesus, which brought people to Jesus, which angered the Pharisees, and the only answer they had to this problem of theirs was to kill Lazarus again. Well, if they killed Lazarus again what would Jesus have been able to do a second time if He had chosen? Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead again! In other words, those who rejected Christ could not win, and there is a sense in which Lazarus could not loose.
A man or woman aligned with the purposes of God cannot fail. That does not mean that they can't make a mistake. But sometimes we define success by how flawlessly we execute a task instead of how closely we're aligned to God's purpose. I should always do my best, but true success comes from aligning myself with the purposes of God. Jesus will not lose, and when I'm aligned with His purpose, no matter what happens in the small battles of the day, I will emerge the victor because Christ is in me.
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