1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.2(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16Then Thomas (also known as Didymusa ) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:1-16)
Thoughts: Lazarus, brother to Mary and Martha, and a good friend of Jesus, was sick. Later, when Jesus wept at the tomb, the response of the observers was, "See how he loved him." Jesus was willing to go back to Judea even though it would be his last trip there and would end in his death. The disciples, especially Thomas- the doubter, thought it would lead to his death and they were right. Jesus was not willing to hide his light for fear of the darkness, and we should not be afraid to hide ours. The world will tell us not to pray in public, not to say "Jesus" at the end of our prayers- lest we offend someone. The world will tell us to hide our light under a bushel so that we can live comfortably in the darkness. Jesus was not afraid to say who He was and to go to the aid of someone though it meant His death.
John contrasts Jesus' love with His waiting. Verse 5 affirms Jesus loves the three siblings and the next verse says, "So he waited until he was dead." It is this word "So" (oun in the Greek which means "now therefore" or "accordingly so") that is so very strange. Jesus loved Lazarus and Lazarus was sick... so he delayed! Usually when someone is in pain or sick we want the doctor to hurry up. But Jesus knew God's plan and that "this sickness would not end in death" (vs. 4) even though he knew Lazarus was dead (vs 11, 14). The ultimate showdown with those who wanted Jesus and His Gospel silenced and dead was about to occur. Jesus encouraged his disciples by raising Lazarus, and then He was raised as an encouragement to us all. God sometimes delays answering our prayers so that His greater purposes would be achieved. We wish he would hurry up and help the sick, save the lost, bring heaven to earth. But God knows the full cost of hurrying. If Jesus had hurried he could have (as both Martha and Mary pointed out later) kept Lazarus from dying, but that would not be nearly as inspiring as raising Lazarus from the dead. God may be telling you "wait" in answer to your prayers. Trust His timing and trust Him.
John contrasts Jesus' love with His waiting. Verse 5 affirms Jesus loves the three siblings and the next verse says, "So he waited until he was dead." It is this word "So" (oun in the Greek which means "now therefore" or "accordingly so") that is so very strange. Jesus loved Lazarus and Lazarus was sick... so he delayed! Usually when someone is in pain or sick we want the doctor to hurry up. But Jesus knew God's plan and that "this sickness would not end in death" (vs. 4) even though he knew Lazarus was dead (vs 11, 14). The ultimate showdown with those who wanted Jesus and His Gospel silenced and dead was about to occur. Jesus encouraged his disciples by raising Lazarus, and then He was raised as an encouragement to us all. God sometimes delays answering our prayers so that His greater purposes would be achieved. We wish he would hurry up and help the sick, save the lost, bring heaven to earth. But God knows the full cost of hurrying. If Jesus had hurried he could have (as both Martha and Mary pointed out later) kept Lazarus from dying, but that would not be nearly as inspiring as raising Lazarus from the dead. God may be telling you "wait" in answer to your prayers. Trust His timing and trust Him.
Prayer: Lord, help me to wait on you even in pain and death.
(Map showing Bethany. Later Jesus would go from Bethany to the Mount of Olives and enter Jerusalem through the Golden Gate- which is the gate the Messiah was prophesied to enter. The crowd that saw Him raise Lazarus became the crowd that put palm branches before Him on Palm Sunday proclaiming Him King.)
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