The story of Lazarus is one of the greatest examples of the power of Savior’s Atonement and of His empathy for all those who sorrow.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus, their brother, were close friends of Jesus. There is a strong sense that he could relax with them and be comfortable in the midst of all the tumult that his ministry was arousing.
Lazarus became sick and the sisters sent for their beloved friend and Savior, but Christ tarried elsewhere. Even without hearing further news, Christ knew that his friend had died.
“Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.”
His disciples misunderstood what the Savior said, so He spoke more plainly.
“Lazarus is dead.”
When Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. According to Jewish law, a person who died must be buried on the same day he or she died. Some Jews believed that the spirit remained in the vicinity of the body for up to three days, but even by these traditions, Lazarus was well and truly gone.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out of the house to meet him.
“Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
“Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.”
Full of faith, Martha said that she knew that her brother would rise and be resurrected at the last day.
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
“She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”
Martha’s faithful insight was rare, even among Christ’s followers at this time. She recognized that He was the Savior, but did not fully understand the power that He held.
Martha then went ahead of Jesus back to her house to tell Mary that He had arrived. Mary also has great faith in Jesus’ powers and weeps as she speaks to Him.
“Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.”
Jesus here shows the great empathy He has for all who suffer and mourn. He knows His power and knows that in just a few moments, He will raise Lazarus from the dead, but His love for these two women and their friends is so perfect that He feels their pain deeply.
John writes simply, “Jesus wept.”
We see here two aspects of the Atonement that the Savior will perform in just a few days.
1. He will resurrect the physical body of Lazarus from the grave.
2. Even before He suffers the sins, sorrows and disappointments of all men and whom who have ever lived or will ever live on the earth, He experiences the deepest feelings of Mary and Martha. He “mourn[s] with those that mourn . . . and comfort[s] those that stand in need of comfort . . . .” Mosiah 18: 9
Christ comes to the grave of Lazarus, a cave whose entrance is blocked by a large stone. He commands that the stone be taken away.
Martha has a sudden fear of what Christ will find if the grave is unsealed.
Christ calls upon her faith, “Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”
The stone is removed and Christ acknowledges that He is the perfect son of a perfect Heavenly Father and teaches all present of His Father.
“And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”
Christ then calls Lazarus forth from the grave.
“Lazarus, come forth.”
Of course, Lazarus obeys the commandment of the Son of God. He is wrapped with cloth in accordance with Jewish funeral practices.
Christ says, “Loose him, and let him go.”
Each of us is Mary. Each of us is Martha and each of us will be Lazarus.
In like manner, on some future day, Christ will say to each of us, “Come forth,” and, like Lazarus, we will rise from our graves to see our Savior.
Charity, the love of others that motivates us to serve them, is closely connected with the Atonement.
In his great Atonement sermon, King Benjamin addressed the righteous Nephites, who had just received miraculous forgiveness from their sins, telling them what they must do next:
16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
17 Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—
18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
Mosiah 4:16-19
In Amulek’s great Atonement sermon, he makes an explicit connection between our cry for mercy and the imperative for us to help others:
17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.
28 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.
29 Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men.
Alma 34:17-29
The Savior himself made this connection in only a few words:
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
John 13:34
In other words, as I (Christ) have loved you (by sacrificing himself in Gethsemane and Calvary to redeem you), you should, within the limits of your mortal abilities, help and assist others.
When King Benjamin speaks of beggars, he is not referring only to those who lack material means to support themselves, the poor in money. I believe that he is also referring to the poor in spirit. This category includes some who have a great deal of money.
The message that we take to the poor in spirit is to come unto Christ.
3 Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
3 Nephi 12:3
Following is a wonderful example of pure love and how it ministers to the poor in spirit. As some of the comments indicate, the ministry and service traveled in two directions: to the girl who was ill by the cheerleaders and from the girl who was ill to the cheerleaders.
And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.
Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.