The raising of Lazarus is very important for us to understand in Lent. It points to something central - that Jesus is the massive force for life in the face of death; and that in John’s Gospel, this is the turning point in the John's narrative when Jesus’ assailants decide that he is such a threat to their power and control that he must be got rid of. It presents us with the central question of our faith: do we accept that Jesus is in our lives the forceful power of life and light to overcome death and darkness.