Have you ever wondered what it would’ve been like to be Lazarus? You’ve suffered a fatal illness, you wake up in Paradise, you see the glory of God, and then suddenly you find yourself back in the tomb. You’re bound with burial cloths, and you smell horrible. We don’t really hear much about Lazarus after his resurrection.However, we do understand that it was the event spurring the religious leaders to plot and kill Jesus. Now that Jesus had proved His ability to raise the dead, the Scribes and Sadducees began actively looking for ways to permanently eliminate Him. Jesus was aware of this, restoring the life of Lazarus at the expense of His own. We all were dead in sin, and we all deserve death. However, in Christ, we are raised to new life.As Lazarus was released from his foul smelling burial cloths, we are released from the cords of death. The odor of death is no longer on us; we have been redeemed. In Christ there is no second death, for we have died to sin. “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them” (Revelation 20:6 NIV). Rejoice! New life is ours.