Pastor Jeff Strite heard a great story about Lazarus. It told of a time in Lazarus’ life when he’d grown old. All through his life Lazarus had told and retold the story of his resurrection. The Roman Emperor at that time was the cruel and evil Caligula. He ruled with an iron fist, relying on executions to keep himself in power. “They do not have to love me,” Caligula said, “as long as they fear me.” He kept the people in fear of their deaths by his hand.
But there was a new faith in Rome, a faith that Caligula grew to hate. These Christians had a faith in a God that caused them to not be afraid of death. And one of the most powerful preachers of this faith was Lazarus. Soon, Lazarus’ stories reached Caligula’s throne and he decided to make an example of him.
He brought Lazarus before him in chains and demanded: “Renounce your faith in this Christ!” But Lazarus refused. In anger, Caligula shouted, “If you don’t renounce your faith, I’ll have you put to death.” For a moment Lazarus said nothing … then he began to laugh.
Caligula became even more angry and shouted, “Don’t you realize I have the power of life and death! I have the power to put you to death!” But Lazarus only laughed longer and louder.
Then finally he looked at the emperor and said, “You cannot hold me in fear, Caligula – death is dead!”
That’s a great story! Unfortunately, it’s not true. It’s a fictional account of Lazarus’ life found in a play by Eugene O’Neill called, “Lazarus Laughed.”
Pastor Strite was bummed out when he found it was fiction. But then he realized that the truth about this story of Lazarus was even more powerful than he had realized at first. Eugene O’Neill, one of the leading playwrights of the 20th century, was an unbeliever, a humanist who refused to accept the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
But even this atheist was struck by the power of the Biblical story of Lazarus. He said of his play, “Certainly it contains the highest writing I have done. Certainly, I know of no play like ‘Lazarus’ at all, and I know of no one who can play ‘Lazarus’ at all – the lead, I mean. Who can we get to laugh as one would laugh who had completely lost, even from the depths of the unconscious, all traces of the Fear of Death?” [1]
Think about it. Even in this atheist, there was an understanding of the power of Lazarus being raised from dead. Even though he rejected Christ, O’Neill understood the central message of this story.
Death had been defeated. Christ has offered us the promise of life and the hope of resurrection. It was an atheist who wrote Lazarus’ defiant cry: “You cannot hold me in fear – death is dead!”
The sad thing is, even as powerful a statement as that didn’t sway O’Neill from his atheism. He was “almost persuaded” of the promises of Christ. But almost wasn’t enough. Eugene O’Neill went to his grave without ever laying hold of the promise that Jesus offered, the promise of life from the dead.
“Almost” persuaded is not enough.
As the old invitation hymns says:
‘Almost’ cannot avail;
‘Almost’ is but to fail!
Sad, sad, that bitter wail –
‘Almost,’ but lost!
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1. http://www.eoneill.com/library/contour/triumvirate2/lazarus.htm
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #12789]