by Tim Hall

"Take away the stone," said Jesus as He stood before the tomb. His friend Lazarus had been buried in that tomb four days earlier. It's understandable that Martha, Lazarus' sister, objected to Jesus' request. "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days" (John 11:39, New King James Version).

Have you ever wondered why Jesus asked for help in moving the stone? If Jesus could raise the dead (something He would shortly accomplish), why could He not also levitate the stone out of the way? How impressive would that be? Instead, He called on others to assist Him with this chore.

My friend Jim Bob, a farmer, had the best answer I've heard to that question: "He wanted them to smell death," Jim Bob suggested. And I believe he's exactly right. Jesus wanted all those present to know that Lazarus had indeed been dead for four days. No one would be able to argue later that the man had simply been in a coma. The smell would be convincing. Yet out of this state of undeniable death, the Son of God called for life to return. And the work of Jesus Christ would be all the more glorious now that all had smelled the repulsive smell of death.

Could this be the reason why Jesus calls upon us to "move the stone"? Sisyphus was a legendary figure in Greek mythology who had been condemned to repeatedly roll a large stone to the top of a hill. Every time the job was almost finished, his grip would slip and the stone would roll all the way down again. Some find in that image a picture of their lot in life. "Why would God consign us to such a hard life?" they wonder. Could He not simply create us as angels, and immediately place us in heaven?

I suspect that's the advantage we will have over the angels. They've never had to roll the stone up the hill, nor have they had the smell of death linger in their nostrils. And for such reasons, they cannot appreciate as we will the glorious power of God through Jesus Christ.

Paul used roughly the same imagery in 2 Corinthians 2. In describing a scene of a victorious army returning to their homeland, he wrote, "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death to death, and to the other the aroma of life to life. And who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Cor. 2:15,16).

Some will not believe in Jesus as the Son of God. To them, Christianity is merely a stench of death. "Give up my pleasures? Deny myself and take up my cross? You've got to be kidding me!" But those who see the wisdom of God revealed through His Son smell more than the smell of death; they can already sense a more wonderful aroma -- life!

"Take away the stone." All of our lives that will be our task. It is often unpleasant as we are confronted with the smell of death. But that smell will not remain. The Son of God who called forth Lazarus out of the tomb will bring life to our mortal frames. We just have to be patient until that day.