One Week To The Resurrection

This powerful message takes us into one of the most dramatic moments in Scripture: the raising of Lazarus from the dead and the religious leaders' shocking response. We witness something profound here—when Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb after four days, some believed and worshiped, while others ran to plot his death. This reveals a critical truth about faith: belief is not merely intellectual agreement that God exists or that Jesus performed miracles. Even the Pharisees and Sadducees saw the evidence with their own eyes—the blind seeing, the lame walking, the dead rising—yet they refused to submit to Jesus as Lord. The archaeological discovery of Caiaphas's bones in a stone box, contrasted with Jesus's empty tomb, powerfully illustrates the ultimate outcome of these two choices. We're confronted with the same decision they faced: will we simply acknowledge the facts about Jesus, or will we surrender our lives to his lordship? The demons believe and tremble, but that's not saving faith. True belief means laying down our claim to the throne of our own lives and allowing Jesus to reign. This isn't just ancient history—it's the daily choice we all face between choosing life in Christ or death under our own authority.