April 28th, 2014
I was listening to RC Sproul’s sermon series on John 11 and he states the following:
“The significance of this is rooted in some beliefs that were common in antiquity among the rabbis. Among the rabbinic teachings was the idea that when a person died, the person’s spirit hovered over the body for three days and that it was possible at any time during that three day period that the body could somehow could be resuscitated if the spirit returned to it. But according to the rabbinic tradition, four days made it absolutely certain that the person had moved beyond all hope of resuscitation and Jesus is aware that his enemies will do anything to negate the impact of the testimony of his miracles. And so he doesn’t rush down to Bethany and raise Lazarus shortly after he expires, so that people could say that all he did was resuscitate him. He lets enough time pass to make it absolutely certain that what Jesus is about to do is completely contra naturam, completely against nature, by raising him from the dead.”