The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, 'Take off the grave clothes and let him go' — Lazarus emerges from the tomb still bound in his burial wrappings (othonia, linen strips; and soudarion, the face cloth), which must be removed for him to be fully alive and mobile. Jesus commands the onlookers to remove the grave clothes, involving them in the process of restoration and suggesting that the community must cooperate in facilitating the new life Jesus has given. The command to 'let him go' (apoluō) means to release him to normal life.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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