Lazarus preached at funeral?

[Artfuldodger]

I went to a funeral recently where the preacher preached the account of Jesus raising Lazarus of Bethany from the grave.
I was trying to see this in a positive light but could only think of the family wanting Jesus to do the same for their loved one.

I'm not talking about in the final resurrection but now. The preacher assured us that to be absent of the body was to be present with the Lord. Lazarus though had not been with the Lord in a spiritual way as the Lord had not been resurrected himself yet.

I do understand Jesus being the resurrection and the life even before his actual resurrection. I'm not sure where Lazarus's spirit went nor was that important to the story of this miracle. It was to show that Jesus could give life.

This resurrection of Lazarus was the miracle that lead to the resurrection of Christ.

The point being Lazarus came back from the dead as a human. Jesus said Lazarus was sleeping. The disciples said they didn't understand. Jesus then said "Lazarus is dead."
Mary and Martha got to see him again then and not have to wait until the final resurrection.

I'm just not sure why this is a good part of the gospel to preach at a funeral.

 

[Artfuldodger]

I see the resurrection of Lazarus as a temporary resurrection as he would see another one after Jesus had his or at the end times. When he died the second time.

When Jesus resurrected he and us will only die once. Man's resurrection will be final and eternal.

So why preach a resurrection where someone was brought back to life before their final resurrection to a grieving family?

Just let the family know that their loved one's temporary death has lead the way to their eternal life through the death of Jesus.

It may be hard for a grieving family to grasp the meaning of Lazarus's resurrection and to compare that to the physical death of their own loved one.

I wanted to add that overall the preacher did an amazing job. He did not know the deceased and therefore had to get to know the family.