John 11:1-46 (NASB)
Instead of reading this whole text up front, I am going to pause in-between verses as I go along. Unlike some events in the Bible that are mentioned quickly, the Gospel of John spends a long time telling this story of Lazarus’ resurrection. I can’t help but wonder if this is because it is really important, although interestingly, none of the other Gospels included this event. We refer to the other three gospels as the synoptic gospels. The word “synoptic” comes from the Greek word synoptikos, which means, “able to be seen together” (https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/synoptic-gospels). John isn’t included in that, for his account differs greatly from the other three. This is probably because John wrote his gospel account sometime after the other three gospel writers. Because he wrote this later, he is able to include helpful information on details that happened after these events happened to give us a better understanding of it all. Even in this passage, John starts this chapter by mentioning that this Mary is the one who anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume and dried them with her hair. He adds this information, even though that happened later, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, so we can have context and know which Mary he is talking about.
Starting with verse 1:
1Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5(Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.) 6So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
There is so much within this text. The first thing I notice is that Jesus operates on His own timeline. I am sure that Mary and Martha wanted Jesus to come immediately. They wanted Him to drop whatever He was doing and come heal Lazarus. Instead, the text tells us Jesus stayed two days longer where He was. He could not be hurried. In fact, it seems like He delayed on purpose, for He says that everything that was going to happen would be so that God would be glorified. There was a reason for His delay. Not only that, but there was a reason for Lazarus’ sickness and death. Jesus was going to use this sickness.
Does that sound like anything you have experienced before? Have you ever sent word to the Lord through prayer that you need His help, but it seems like He delays? I know I’ve felt that way many times. I’ve prayed for healing or for His help in some situation, and it seems like radio silence. It seems like He is dragging His feet. Especially since we know that if He wanted to, He could help or intervene right away. Why does He delay? Why does He wait? This account of Mary and Martha’s dire situation tells me it’s not because He doesn’t care, but that He must have a purpose in delaying.
7Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.” 8The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and yet You are going there again?” 9Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
What does Jesus mean by asking the rhetorical question, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” At first reading, this might be confusing. It seems to have been confusing to those who heard Him say it. We don’t see in the text what their response was to this statement about walking during the day, but based on their other responses, I’m going to guess that they took Him literally. I think, like always, Jesus was making a rather profound statement here. John 8:12 records, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’”
Jesus was saying if we follow Him, it will be like we are walking during the day. Then we can see clearly. If we follow the light we will not stumble around in the dark. If we don’t follow Him and we go our own way, we are certain to go off track and bump into things and get hurt. If we follow Him, even if things seem counterproductive or seem “incorrect” to us, we can trust that He is leading us the right way.
In this passage we see that Jesus knew where He was going, and He knew that even though the Jewish leaders were trying to kill Him, He knew that God’s plan would not be thwarted. That could have also been part of the plan of why He waited two days to go to Mary and Martha. Whatever the reason, Jesus was going to follow His own timeline and follow the plan God had laid out for Him. This should encourage us, because even if circumstances look less than ideal for us, we can trust in the Lord that His way is still best. We can trust His timeline, even when it seems to us like He is delayed.
11 This He said, and after this He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going so that I may awaken him from sleep.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will come out of it.” 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about actual sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus died, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.” 16 Therefore Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go, so that we may die with Him!”
One of my favorite things in reading the Gospels is reading the comical responses of the disciples. They seem so dense sometimes. How can they not understand what Jesus is saying? They didn’t understand that Jesus was not saying that Lazarus was only sleeping. That is why Jesus had to clarify that, no, Lazarus really was dead. It seems so obvious to us, the reader, and they just don’t get it. I find it amusing, but I also know that I am just like those disciples. I am certain that if we could read the story of my life, I am sure that anyone reading it would say, “Why didn’t she get it? She was so dense. It’s hilarious how often she worried for no reason!” I try to remember that when I read the Gospels, and while it is still good comedy, it also comforts me to know that just as Jesus made allowances for the disciples’ obtuseness, He thankfully makes allowances for mine.
The truth of the matter is, Lazarus was “just sleeping.” For even in death, for us believers, we do not die. We sleep, because our physical death is just temporary. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 states, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.”
17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. 20 So then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
If You had been here…. If You had only been here, Lord. If only this bad thing hadn’t happened. If only You stopped him from dying. If only. Martha starts down the path of if only. It is a path that seems to have no end. Have you ever started down that path? It is a path of regret and frustration. If only You had helped me, Lord, but You didn’t. If only You had answered my prayer, but You didn’t. The if only path seems to end in blame and bitterness. I am impressed at Martha’s faith that she didn’t leave it there. She started on that path and then pivoted back to faith. She said, “22 Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus answered her faith with reassurance.
23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, and He who comes into the world.”
Verse 25 records one of the most important statements that Jesus ever made. It is foundational to our faith as believers: 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Jesus’ statement and question to Martha is what we Christians have based our hope for eternal life upon. He stated that if we believe in Him, we will never die, but will have eternal life with Him. For if we believe this, even if our body dies, we will continue to live with Him forever. Jesus asks Martha, “Do you believe this?” It is the same question He asks each one of us. Do you believe this? Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? How we answer that question determines our state for all eternity. It is not enough to answer Jesus in the affirmative saying that yes, I believe you exist. But do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Do you believe in Jesus? Believing Jesus is the resurrection and the life and believing in Him, is different than merely believing Jesus was a good man who existed. Remember what Paul said about how even the demons believe? But those demons do not believe in Jesus. A person can believe that God exists, but not believe in Him. For example, I believe that political leader x exists, but that doesn’t mean I believe in political leader x. I don’t have faith or hope or trust in political leader x. If we believe in someone, it means we put our faith in them. We trust them. We have certain expectations and hopes for the person’s ability to accomplish something. Believing in someone means we have faith. And faith, as we’ve been studying, means action. We show by our actions that we have faith. Remember what James 2:26 said: “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
As Jesus would shortly demonstrate, He told Martha the whole crux of His mission on earth. He was about to show just exactly what putting faith in Jesus produces. By raising Lazarus from the dead, He was not only showing His power to bring someone back to life, but this was a foreshadowing of His own death and resurrection.
28 When she had said this, she left and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard this, she got up quickly and came to Him.
30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw that Mary had gotten up quickly and left, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34 and He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could this man, who opened the eyes of the man who was blind, not have also kept this man from dying?”
Verse 35 tells us, “Jesus wept.” I think we could suppose that He weeps because He is empathetic and it pains Him to see Mary crying. We know Jesus loves so deeply that her sorrow caused Him sorrow. I know it pains me to see my children upset. When they are hurting, it deeply hurts me. I think it’s safe to guess that is one reason He would have wept.
I think there is another possibility, too. As I mentioned earlier, Mary anoints Jesus’ feet after this, though John mentions it here. If we keep reading in John, we get to that moment in chapter 12 and learn that it takes place six days before Passover. This raising of Lazarus, Mary anointing Jesus’ feet, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey all take place one right after the other. So when Jesus sees Mary’s tears, and He weeps, we need to keep all of those events in mind in order to understand why He weeps, too. Jesus could have been weeping because He knew what was about to happen to Him in just a matter of days. He was going to have to endure the torture of the cross. We know because of the description of what happens in the Garden of Gethsemane, that Jesus would be so stressed that the text states He sweat drops of blood. It does not seem out of character or inappropriate that He wept, not only out of empathy for Mary, but because He knew exactly what He was about to face.
This entire event with Lazarus dying and Jesus waiting to raise him until he was dead for four days, all of this is an illustration of what was to happen to Jesus in about a week from then. Like Jesus stated, Lazarus’ death and resurrection was all part of God’s plan. Just like verse 4 quotes Jesus saying, “This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”
38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42But I knew that You always hear Me; nevertheless, because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”
How alike Jesus’ resurrection is this scene? Lazarus had died. It was over. Martha knew that his body should have already started to decay. There was no hope left. The stone was in front of the tomb. Yet Jesus had a different plan. He had a purpose in this death. He asks Martha, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” It’s like He is saying, “Don’t you have any faith in Me?” Martha seemed to have faith that Lazarus would rise from the dead in the final resurrection, but it doesn’t seem like she thought Jesus would raise him from the dead right then. Jesus knew that God had already answered His prayer. He was not worried about a stench or about decay. He knew Lazarus would be resurrected and healed.
43And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44Out came the man who had died, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.
It is always baffling to me that there were people who were privileged to see Jesus in the flesh and witness His miracles, yet they still did not want to believe in Him. Some of the people went to the Pharisees to tell them about Lazarus being raised from the dead, not so they would believe in Jesus, but because they were reporting to the Pharisees because they were upset by Jesus. After this event and after Mary anoints Jesus’ feet, John 12:9-11 tells us, “The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not on account of Jesus only, but so that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead. But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.” These Pharisees wanted to kill Lazarus so Jesus’ miracle would be erased. And of course, we know that they also wanted to kill Jesus. But just like Lazarus was raised from the dead to the glory of God, death could not erase Jesus.
All of this evil that the chief priests were plotting, none of it would impede what God had planned to do. Jesus demonstrated through Lazarus’ death and resurrection exactly what was going to happen to Him in a few days, and yet none of them could ever have imagined it. Even though He had even told them what was going to happen, they had no idea what it meant.
We would be wise to remember the words of Jesus when it seems like things in our lives and world are dire and without hope. His words are still true and trustworthy. His words are still our hope: “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” And just like the disciples and the Pharisees could not have imagined that Jesus was going to die on the cross and be resurrected, sometimes we cannot imagine the good things that the Lord has in store for us. Not only can we not fully imagine the beauty and awesomeness of eternity with Him, but even now in the immediate circumstances of our lives, it is hard to imagine that God can take hurt and pain and use it to His glory. But if we trust Him and wait for His timing, we can have faith that we will see “resurrection and life” spring up from our pain. As Psalm 46:1-3 says:
“God is our refuge and strength, A very ready help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth shakes And the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.”
God is still our ever present help in trouble. May the Holy Spirit help us to trust Him, even when things seem hopeless and the “if onlys” create doubt. May we trust in Jesus, knowing that He loves us and cares for us, no matter how dismal things appear to us. May we be like Martha and say, “even though it seems like You are late in responding Lord, I will trust in Your ability to help me.”
Pray: Father God, we thank You for always being with us. Thank You for giving us Your Son to not only die on the cross to take away our sin, but thank You that He died to give us eternal life. By raising Him to life, You have shown us what awaits for us when our earthly life is over. Please help us, by Your Holy Spirit, to follow Your ways and walk in the light of eternity. We love You and praise Your name, amen.
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