John 11:39 Jesus said, Take you away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said to him, Lord, by this time he stinks… When Luther received the Divine call: "Take away the stone!" the body of the Church had already lain more than four hundred years in the Romish grave, and more than one faint-hearted Martha shrank from the smell of corruption which was being wafted by the stone-removing Reformation; but Luther's faith prospered unto the seeing of the glory of God. And we, if we would believe, should then know by real experience that the fragrance of incorruptible life, which goes forth from the Head of the Church, is powerful enough to overcome the corruption which Death is working in her members. Before every Lazarus grave of Jesus' beloved Church the glory of the Lord stands ready to reveal itself. (R. Besser, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. |
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