The Word – John 12: 17-18

Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him.

Why do people “spread the word?” People talk all the time, and often the talking is just to pass the time of day. It feels good to talk and have someone listen to us. Yet, spreading the word is different.

“Spreading the word” suggests that whatever “the word” is about is newsworthy. The word is important, it is even urgent. People need to know now. When we spread the word we go out of our way to make sure others we normally wouldn’t talk to get the news.

In this case, “the word” was about Jesus. And not just any person named Jesus. This was the Jesus who had raised Lazarus from the dead. (Not “maybe” dead or “sort of” dead, but dead dead.) That is newsworthy. The earlier things Jesus had done were like a quiet drum roll building up louder and louder until it was time for the crashing cymbals. Raising Lazarus was the exclamation point at the end of three years of ministry. Where people were talking quietly before, now they were shouting in the streets.

Let’s Discuss: Imagine that there is a scale of newsworthiness that runs from “I only talk about it with my friends who already know,” to SHOUT IN THE STREET ‘cause EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW loud. Where do you think Jesus belongs on this scale today?