Take Off the Grave Clothes

At the end of my son’s last year of secondary school, it was decided that for the celebration party everyone should wear fancy dress. While many opted for expensive hired costumes, Andrew and two of his friends decided to economise and dress up as Egyptian mummies with the help of several toilet rolls!

They were very pleased with themselves, until they tried to get into the car to take them to school. They realised they were so tightly bound that they were not able to move their limbs in order to bend down or sit. Grave clothes are not meant for the living, but the dead!

In John 11, we read about a man named Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, who died and was buried in grave clothes, tightly bound as he was never expected to move again. His two sisters were upset that Jesus came too late to heal their brother (v.21, 32), but Jesus showed His power over not only illness but death as He called the dead man out of the tomb.

The mourners at the graveside were astounded! What were they thinking as this mummy emerged from the opening? Jesus was to show this power even more clearly when He himself rose to life after a cruel death and three days in the tomb.

Getting rid of the grave clothes

The Bible teaches that when we decide to trust in Jesus, we leave behind our old life of sin and separation from God. In Ephesians 2:1, Paul tells us that our old life before Jesus was just as if we were dead. When we accept Him and trust Him as our Saviour, we are given a completely new life (2 Corinthians 5:17).

When Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb, new life was instant, but removing the grave clothes took time. Salvation may be instant, but becoming holy, as God is holy, is the work of a lifetime.

It takes time to get rid of old habits and things that pull us back or stop us from knowing complete freedom in our new life with Christ. It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit over a lifetime that we can be made holy – a state only to be finally achieved when we reach the presence of God.

Having restored Lazarus to life, what was the next thing Jesus did? He did not go to Lazarus and unwind the restricting clothes, but asked others to free him from the bindings. Jesus had given Lazarus his life, but He called to the family and friends who seemed paralysed by the wonder of what they had seen.

Help in a community of believers

“Take off the grave clothes and let him go!” said Jesus (John 11:44). Lazarus was unable to take the grave clothes off by himself. As the late Selwyn Hughes pointed out, he needed help from others.

This is why God puts us in a community of believers. We are to help one another cast off the old clothes, whatever they may be. Maybe we lack courage to act on what we know God wants us to do. Maybe we are not good at listening to others. Maybe we harbour resentment towards a fellow believer or a colleague, or maybe we have difficulty sorting out our priorities with regard to work, church, and family.

For each one of us, these grave clothes are different, and often they are not recognised by us. But by the power of the Holy Spirit and the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we can put off our old selves (Ephesians 4:22-24) and enter fully into the new life Jesus has given to us.

About the Author

Dorothy Cameron is a retired family therapist and an accredited Methodist local preacher. Since 2010, she and her husband have been serving God in Malaysia, first with Serving in Mission and currently with Our Daily Bread Ministries. They have two sons and two grandsons—one family is in South Korea, and the other on Vancouver Island, Canada. They both enjoy travelling, meeting people, and experiencing the richness and diversity of different cultures.

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