O Lord, wishing to give to your disciples an assurance of your resurrection, you came to the tomb of Lazarus and called to him by name. Then was Sheol despoiled, and released the one that had been four days dead, as he called upon you: ‘O blessed Lord, glory be to you’.
– stichera, vespers

Parallel and foreshadowing are two features of sacramental theology, which emerged very early on. The writings of the Apostle describe Christ as the Second Adam (x), the second century apologists understood Mary as the Second Eve, both working together to restore the fullness of humanity, and our relationship with God. The thinkers of our tradition have historically perceived in the Old Testament images which point to, or foreshadow persons and events that are fulfilled in the Gospels; the burning bush foreshadows the incarnation; the golden serpent, the crucifixion; the closed temple gates through which God alone enters and exits the Temple – the Virgin birth.

Today, we see both foreshadowing and parallelism in the raising of Lazarus; but not between the Old and the New Testaments, rather within, and among the witnesses of the events of the Gospels. The resurrection of Lazarus is a sign of things to come, a token of reassurance for the time when Christ himself would die and be resurrected – a metaphor of hope.

Lazarus fell ill, and died. His sisters were in mourning when Jesus arrived. He and Martha have the following exchange:

Martha – ‘Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.’

Jesus – ‘Your brother will rise.’

Martha – ‘I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.’

Jesus – ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’

Martha – ‘Yes Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.’

What follows is Jesus astonishing order to open the tomb, and his calling Lazarus forth by name. The story then, is not just about Jesus death and resurrection, but our own. Just as with the resurrection of Lazarus we find a token of hope for Christ’s imminent victory over Death, so too we find a token of hope and expectation for our own resurrection because we have come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that because of his teaching we understand that we too will rise on the last day. We are Lazarus, his experience foreshadows our own, which is yet to be fulfilled.