In these chapters, we have the record of Lazarus being raised from the dead and then seated in a circle of fellowship with others of like faith whose object was the Lord. He passed out of the sphere of death into a sphere of "what is really life" (1 Tim. 6:19). It illustrates another aspect of the transition from Judaism to Christianity.
The condition of death in which Lazarus was is a picture of the state of the nation of Israel under the Law, morally and spiritually. The whole system of the Law is a "ministration of death" and a "ministration of condemnation" (2 Cor. 3:7). All under the legal conditions of that system, who did not meet its terms, were slain by it. The raising of Lazarus is a picture of the Lord's work of taking a remnant of believers out of that legal system. Mary and Martha are a picture of the two parts of the believing remnant at that time. Mary had the full assurance of faith and waited in expectation for the Lord to come (vs. 20). She speaks of the Simeons and the Annas, etc., who were waiting in faith for "redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:25-38). Martha expressed a weakness in faith that was also seen among many of the Jewish believers at that time. She owned the Lord's power, but questioned His timing and ways—and even blamed Him for being late (vs. 21). Many such believers at that time were full of doubt (Matt. 28:17; Luke 24:13-33; John 20:24-31).
The gospel received not only brings life to the believer's soul ("life eternal"), but it also brings the believer into a sphere of life in the community of saints. The Apostle Paul refers to this latter aspect of life as "eternal life"—to which the saints will be brought when they are glorified in heaven (Rom. 5:21; 6:22-23; 1 Tim.6:11; Titus 1:2; 3:7). This is illustrated in the scene in which Lazarus was found after the Lord raised him from the dead (chap. 12:1-3). He enjoyed happy fellowship at the supper with Mary and Martha and the disciples, with the Lord in their midst. He not only received life in his soul, but he was brought into a sphere of life among believers, which is a picture of Christian fellowship (1 John 1:3).
However, Lazarus did not step from the grave to the supper-scene in Bethany immediately. When he came out of the tomb, he was "bound" ("hand," "foot," and "face") and needed to be freed. This speaks of the bondage of the legal principles in Judaism (Acts 15:10; Gal. 4:24-25). Oftentimes, those who have been saved out of that system are hindered by those legal principles that have formed their consciences. They will often bring the "graveclothes" of Judaism (legal principles and practises) with them into the Christian circle of fellowship and it can be troubling to the saints. (Acts 10:9-16; Rom. 14:1-6; Gal 2:11-14). The Lord said, "Loose him and let him go" (vs. 44). This speaks of the work that the Lord gave His servants (particularly the Apostles) in the early days of Christianity. Their ministry to those who were saved in Judaism was to set them free from the trappings of that earthly religion. The Jewish/Christian epistles (Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter) are an example of this work. Those New Testament writers laboured to set Jewish believers free from "graveclothes" of Judaism and establish them in Christian liberty (Gal. 5:1).
Between these events concerning Lazarus being raised and him being at the supper, Caiaphas the high priest, prophesied (unwittingly) that "Jesus should die for that nation" (vss. 47-54). He had wicked and selfish intentions in what he said to the council (the Sanhedrin). To paraphrase it, he said, “If this keeps up (that is, people flocking after the Lord Jesus) there is going to be a revolution in the land, and the Romans are going to come and kill us all.” He suggested that they should kill Christ and scatter His followers and put an end to this new movement, and thus save the nation from being destroyed. He reasoned that it would be better that “one man should die for the people” than have “the whole nation” perish. Thus, Caiaphas had no compunction to murdering an innocent Man if it would preserve the nation’s place in the land. But God overruled in what he said and he prophesied unwittingly of exactly what would happen in the death of Christ. The Lord would not just die for the nation, but He would also “gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.” This points us to the present work of God, in this Christian dispensation, of bringing Gentile believers into the flock of God with Jewish believers (John 10:16).
Being freed from the graveclothes of Judaism, Lazarus was found in fellowship with his sisters and the apostles at the supper where the Lord was in the midst (chap. 12:1-3). It is a scene that depicts Christian fellowship and worship. We see Mary exercising the liberty that marks Christian worship. She had no official authority to act as a priest (as was required in the Jew's religion), yet she freely approached the Lord with her "ointment of spikenard"—which speaks of worship. Sad to say, those like Mary, who act in the liberty of the Spirit in Christian worship, will be criticized by those whose minds have been formed by the Jewish order (chap. 12:4-8). Moreover, the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus to death after he had been raised from the dead (chap. 12:10). This shows that there will be persecution against those who have been delivered from the bondage of Judaism and walk in the liberty of Christianity.