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!