Lazarus – Part 1

John 11:1-16

¹Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. ³So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” ¹²The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Now we come to one of the most dramatic events in the ministry of Jesus. He has healed people, fed people, controlled the weather, cast out demons, and raised people from the dead. The Pharisees have had it. They want Him gone. At this point he is remaining in Galilee to stay out of the limelight. Word comes to Jesus and the disciples that a close personal friend is gravely ill. Of course his sisters turn to Jesus for help. The problem is that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus live in Bethany which is just two miles from Jerusalem – enemy territory. But, Jesus time has almost come and so He agrees to go and help but oddly, He waits for a few days before He answers their call.

And there it is. Jesus waits a few days to answer their call. My mind automatically goes to the numerous times I have cried out for help only to have God wait “a few days” (or months, or years!) to help me out of the problem. As I have mentioned before – I hate to wait. If you know someone who likes to wait I would like to meet them for I clearly have a few things to learn about that. Jesus is working His perfect plan and a part of that plan is that Lazarus should die. He waits just long enough for that death to occur and for Lazarus to be buried. Then the timing is right for Jesus to enter into the drama.

Once again, just as with the man born blind, Jesus declares that there is a divine purpose for this tragedy to take place.

It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

When we are following Jesus our lives are designed to bring glory to God. Lazarus’ death brings an opportunity for Jesus to receive the glory due His name because He alone has power over death, which He will prove again a few weeks later with His own resurrection. Thomas, who has observed the troubles that Jesus is having with the Pharisees, knows what’s in store for the whole group if they return to Jerusalem. The Pharisees aren’t going to give up. So he voices what the rest of the disciples are probably thinking, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Thomas doesn’t know how the story will end but he has serious concerns about the future. He still doesn’t understand the glorification of God through the struggles of God’s people. Frankly, sometimes I don’t either. What we do have is trust that God has all things well in hand (back to living in the palm of God’s hand again!) and even in struggle God’s good and gracious purposes are met.