What we can learn from the story of Lazarus [John 11]

 

Thoughts:

We come to one of the most pivotal chapters in the book of John, perhaps in the whole New Testament - the story of Lazarus. Jesus heard of the mortal sickness that Lazarus, a good friend, was dealing with. Instead of leaving right away to heal him, Jesus waited longer and didn’t show up until Lazarus was not only dead but in the tomb for 4 days (v. 17). Imagine the frustration Mary and Martha and the rest felt when Jesus didn’t show up right away to make the situation better. How many times have we been guilty of that ourselves, thinking and “knowing better” that God took too long to show up, in fact, so long that the situation is over, our “Lazarus” so to speak is dead? Is it your career, is it your marriage, is it your ministry - fill in the blank? Yet God had a plan for this prolonged answer to their need - “but for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified by it” (v. 4). And because Jesus waited longer than expected, not only did His Disciples and Mary and Martha see His power, but also the whole townspeople, including from Jerusalem, came to mourn but saw Jesus’ power revealed (v. 19). 

It is evident from this story that God doesn’t keep our time table. When this story is coupled with stories such as the story of the promised son to Abraham & Sarah, the story of Joseph in prison, and the rebuilding of the Temple (book of Ezra) we see that God has a purpose in waiting. 

Another interesting part of this account is when it states that “when Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within Him” (v. 33) What was this deep anger all about? Why was He angry? Was He angry at what death does to humanity? This account shows the true humanity of Jesus, anger and sorrow. This passage is one of the few where it says that Jesus got angry and stayed angry (v.38). It doesn’t even say He was angry at the temple cleansing (Lk 19:45-48 and John 2:13-16).

Once Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead the leading priests and the Pharisees gathered together to figure out what they needed to do with Jesus (v. 47). They reasoned that if Jesus kept doing this then the Roman army would come and destroy the temple and their nation (v. 48). From an outside perspective, not knowing that Jesus was the Messiah, it doesn’t seem all that bad to be concerned with the fate of your nation, right? Isn’t that what we are facing in our culture today, we are concerned about the fate of our nation and need to do something about it? The only difference is, the fate of our nation isn’t based on 1 person doing miracles and speaking truth but it is based on a group of people or ideology intent on destroying our country to merge us with the world. Yet on the flip side, the “dark side” would contest that it is Christianity (i.e. Jesus) who is destroying our nation and will do anything to stop it. 

Prayer:

Father, it's good to be reminded that Your timing is perfect. In situations when we feel like it is done and over, there is still hope in You. We can imagine how Mary and Martha felt seeing their brother die and Jesus not coming in time and the incredible sadness they felt knowing that You could have done something at that time but didn't. But as Your Word states, it happened this way so that You could be glorified. In times when we are tempted to think that all hope is lost, help us to hold on to the fact that by Your power in accordance with Your good and perfect will, all things are possible. Help us to trust you have the best in mind for Your children and that everything happens for a reason. In the meantime, may we find comfort and hope in Your presence. Thank you that we serve a God who can bring the dead back to life!

Scripture Snippets [Insights from Romans]

 

CHAPTER 4

• Paul's main point is that the blessing of God's promise does not come through the law but through the promise made to Abraham. One verse in this chapter sticks out in particular, "...yet, with respect to the promise of God, he [Abraham] did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform." (vv 20-21)

• In verse 15, we read, for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. Further, a chapter back, in 3:20, we read that "through the Law comes the knowledge of sin."  Therefore, the Law makes visible our invisible sin and gives us knowledge in place of our ignorance of it. The Law can be likened to the decoder in an invisible marking pen set.  It brings to light the invisible. 

• The Faith of Abraham in God’s Promise in Genesis 12:1, was amazing:
• In v18, we read that even when there was no reason to hope, Abraham kept hoping
• In v19, that Abraham’s faith did not weaken even when the circumstances seemed to say it was over
• In v20, Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise and his faith grew stronger. This brought glory to God. 
• In v21, He was fully convinced that God is able to do what He promises
• In v22, in response to Abraham’s faith, God counts him righteous
• In v24, we can also experience that kind of faith when we believe the promise that Jesus died for our sins and raised to life to make us right with God. 

• The phrase “right with God” keeps getting brought up through chapters 3 and 4
• Ro 3:20
• Ro 3:21
• Ro 3:22
• Ro 3:24
• Ro 3:25
• Ro 3:26
• Ro 3:28
• Ro 3:30
• Ro 4:13
• Ro 4:25

Abraham's Hope [Romans 4]

Thoughts:

Hope is a precious gift. With hope, many people have been able to endure great trials, tortures, and testings, and come out on the other side stronger and more resilent [read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl for good examples of this during the holocaust].

One biblical example of this kind of hope is Abraham. God promised Abraham a son when Abraham was 75 years old [Genesis 12:1-4]. Ten years later, no son. So Abraham did what we all might do if we have faith that God will do something...we try to make it happen ourselves. So Abraham's wife Sarah, encourages Abraham to have a son the natural way with his maidservant Hagar [Genesis 16]. Trying to take it into his own hands only caused more problems down the road. Thirteen years after that, God reminds Abraham of His promise, twenty-four years ago and confirms it [Genesis 17]. From that point, it was another year before Abraham and Sarah had their promised son, Isaac [Genesis 21]. Finally, after a quarter of a century, God fulfills His promise. 

With that background in mind, when it states in verse 18 that "[e]ven when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping..." it hits home in a more powerful way. Abraham was in the twilight of his life when God made this promise...and it didn't happen until 25 years later. I'm not sure about you but even though I've always tended to be a fairly hopeful person, believing God works all things together for good for those who love Him (Ro 8:28), I've been finding myself in a prolonged and challenging situation of about 5 years and I'm already giving up hope. Yet reading this passage today is a reminder from God of what is true and the ability of having faith and hope in the One True and Living God.

18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.

20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. [NLT]

There are a few things that stand out to me about this passage. First, Abraham's faith never weakened throughout that 25 years, even when the situation around him seemed impossible. Second, his faith grew stronger because He believed that God does whatever He promises, and this mindset brought glory to God. So if you ever find yourself asking what you can do to glorify God, strengthen your faith in God's promises and see what happens. Finally, his hope and faith in God's promise wasn't only for his benefit but also for all those who came after him. It's important to be reminded that our actions and what we do (in this case, our belief and trust in God's promises) will be for the benefit of others in the future. 

Q & A:

If Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise, then why did he have a son with Hagar at Sarah's behest?

Yes, when Abraham tried forcing the timing of God's promise, it could be seen as a time of limited faith. However, to give Abraham some slack, God said the promised child would come from Abraham but didn't mention Sarah [Genesis 15]. Also, it was customary of the day that heirs would sometimes come from maidservants. Here is an example of God giving a promise but not the details of it. We see Abraham trying to work out the promise in the natural means of what he knew. All throughout it though, we see Abraham's continued upward faith in God. God had enough grace to cover Abraham's failed attempts at fulfilling the promise in natural ways, but Abraham (and future generations) had to live with the consequences of it (i.e. the continued war between arab nations and Israel)

Prayer:

Father, thank you for Your promises that you have given to us in Scriptures. Sometimes it's hard to believe and hold on to those promises because the distractions and situations in life seem to great. However, let us be reminded that there is nothing in this life that can separate us from Your love and that Your promises will never fail. May we have the ability to be like Abraham who never wavered in his belief that You will do what You say and even more so, see our faith strengthened, for our benefit and for our posterity. You are a great God and a fulfiller of all Your promises in Your perfect timing. All praise be to You. In Jesus' name Amen. 

Scripture Snippets [Insights from Genesis]

 

CHAPTER 4

• Did Adam and Eve have kids before verse 1? Did they have any kids in the garden? Is verse 1 emphasized because Cain was their first son?

• In verse 2, instead of saying what Cain was first, they say what Abel did (which was a keeper of the flocks) and then says “but” Cain was a tiller of the ground.  Why was the word “but” used and why did it flip flop the sentence structure?         

• In verse 6, before Cain kills Abel, the Lord actually speaks to Cain and tells him to beware because sin is crouching at his door but that he must master it.  Apparently, he didn’t master it and it caused him to kill Abel. In verse 7, it says that Cain told Abel. What did Cain tell Abel I wonder?

• After killing Abel, we see God using questions again with Cain (v. 9) like He did with Adam and Eve, not because He didn’t know the answer but because He wanted Cain to come to terms with what he had done.

• In consequence for killing Abel, Cain’s farming skills were greatly diminished and he would be a wanderer of the earth (v. 12). This situation is the exact opposite of what we learn about in our textbooks, which say man started off as a hunter-gatherer species and then settled down into farming communities.

• God also pronounces a curse on the land again, "Now you are cursed from the ground… when you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you…" (v12). Is this a continuation of the curse God pronounced on Adam in chapter 3? Or is this a newer curse?

• At the revealing of this consequence from the Lord, Cain was terrified that someone would kill him (v. 15) This implies that there were other people living in this world, more than just Adam, Eve, and Abel. Who were these people? Were they Adam and Eve’s other children? As an example of God’s grace, He puts a sign on Cain so that no one will kill Him and also states that if anyone does kill Him, God’s vengeance will rest on him sevenfold. Cain then had a son with his wife (v. 17), who was probably his sister. Cain’s eventually built a city and named it after his son Enoch. This probably means that he no longer was a nomad but had some stability in his location.

• In verse 17, the first city of Cain could be Eridu, where they worshipped Enki. Could be where the Tower of Babel was located.

CHAPTER 5

• This chapter kicks off the genealogy of Adam. I find it interesting that when talking about Adam’s sons, it starts with Seth and does not mention Cain, Abel, or anyone else (v. 3). Was it because of the end of chapter 4 where it says that after Adam had Seth, “men started to call upon the name of the Lord”? When the 10 names mentioned in here are put together it gives a gospel message according to Chuck Missler.

Adam = Man

Seth = Appointed

Enosh = Mortal

Kenan = Sorrow;

Mahalalel = The Blessed God

Jared = Shall come down

Enoch = Teaching.

Methuselah = His death shall bring

Lamech = The despairing

Noah = Rest, or comfort.

Scripture Snippets [Insights from John]

 

CHAPTER 10

• In this chapter Jesus starts off by saying that robbers and thieves climb over the fence to get into the sheepfold instead of coming in by the gate (v.1). Jesus goes on to say that He is the gate to the sheep (v.7). It makes me think of all the religious teachers and spiritual philosophy that comes our way on a daily basis. We must ask ourselves is it coming through to us through the gate (Jesus) or is it  “jumping over the wall” to capture our interest and attention?

• The purpose of the thief (Satan) is to kill, steal, and destroy.  The purpose of the shepherd (Jesus) is to bring life, life more abundantly. (v.10)

• Our salvation is secure. No on can snatch us out of the hand of Jesus, the shepherd because God gave us to Jesus (v.29).

• Jesus mentions at least twice, to consider His actions not just His words (v. 25, 37-38)

CHAPTER 12

• V. 11 states that because on account of him [Lazarus], many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus. This indicates that because of Lazarus being raised from the dead, people were believing in Jesus. So doesn’t this contradict the story in Luke 16 where the Rich Man asks Abraham,

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”?

One thing to consider is that the passage said the priests were convinced to now kill Lazarus too because of this event (v.10). So this event reflects more a situation of a heart issue and whether that would cause a person to believe and have faith or to turn away and rage. In the Luke 16 parable, Jesus was describing a heart issue of someone who won’t believe, even if they see a miracle. 

Additionally, just because someone has a surface level belief, it does not mean they also have a repentant faith. It’s possible some believed, like the rocky soil (Matt 13:5) but did not continue in their belief.

• It’s interesting to note that in vv. 42 and 43, we find out that some of the Jewish leaders also believed but because they loved human praise more than praise from God they wouldn’t admit it. I believe from other passage, Nicodemus (John 3) and Joseph of Arimathea (John 19) were secret disciples. 

Q. So how does that kind of example seem to comport with Matthew 11:33, which says that, “But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”?

A. Technically, they never denied him from what we read, they just were not very open to telling people. Later on, we see them doing things that would have shown their allegiance to Jesus. Nicodemus defended Jesus when he was speaking the Jewish council of leaders (Jn 7:50–51) and publicly helped with His burial and Joseph laid his reputation on the line when he asked Pilate to bury Jesus’ body.

The Tale of Two Families [Genesis 4 & 5]

Thoughts:

Most everyone has heard of the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4) the first two recorded brothers in Scripture. God accepted Abel's sacrifice but did not accept Cain's. This made Cain furious enough to plot and carry out the murder of his brother Abel. Of course, God held him accountable for this murder and Cain was destined to be banished from the land. From this point, we see two sides of humanity's family tree emerge - The line of Cain, representing the City of Man, and the line of Seth, Adam and Eve's other son (Ge 4:25-26), representing the City of God.

City of  Man

In Cain's city of man, human cultural achievement and development apart from God is emphasized. We see perhaps the first recorded city in Scripture being founded by Cain. Then we see polygamy being introduced by Lamech and his two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah bore Jabal and Jubal and Zillah bore Tubal-cain.  So within six generations, the line of Cain, had those who dwelt in tents and tended livestock (Jabal) (v. 20); those who played the lyre and pipe (Jubal) (v. 21); and those who created implements of bronze and iron (Tubal-Cain) (v 22). So we have agricultural, entertainment, and war being established through the line of Cain. The discussion of the line of Cain is finished with Lamech's poem of violence and vengeance, reflecting just how far humanity had gone from God's original design.

City of God

In Seth's city of God, we see faithfulness, divine blessings, and God's promise continuing. It was with the line of Seth that people began to worship the Lord by name (Ge 4:26). So God was being worshipped, God was blessing them, Enoch walked in close fellowship with God, so much so that he was taken away from this earth by God (Ge 5:24), and Noah the last man to be named in this lineage, was used by God to preserve humanity, through his three sons, Shem, Ham, Japeth (Ge 5:32).

  

Prayer:

Father, thank you that history is Yours. You are creator and sustainer of life. In this life we will have choices to follow You or follow our own way. Keep us from the temptation to do our own thing and find satisfaction and glory in creating our own city. Help us to strive after righteousness, peace, and love, while pursuing the City of God. In Jesus' name Amen.