John 11:1-44

Vs 1-6 Does God get to have the Glory in your life no matter how your life turns out?

As we look at these passages we see Mary, Martha and Lazarus who had a very close relationship with Jesus. They sent a messenger to Jesus and it took the messenger a day to get to Him. The thing that is ironic is that Jesus waited two more days before He decided to go toward His sick friend. You would think, since this was someone that was close to Jesus, that He would have stopped everything He was doing and rush to the scene to aid His friend. The key to why Jesus acted the way He did is found in verse four. “”No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

One of the issues with Christianity today is that we have made it about us and not about Jesus Christ and His glory. Our lives, no matter what they turn out to be, should always be for His glory and not our own.
Scripture is full of how God’s Glory is displayed and you can trace it from Genesis to Revelation. For example, Moses prayed to see God’s Glory before he led Israel in Exodus 33:18. Isaiah saw Gods Glory as well in Isaiah 6:1-5. Psalm 19:1 says “the heavens declare the glory of God”. Even redemption is for His Glory, as shown in Romans 9:23 and 2 Corinthians 4:4.

Vs 7-16 Do you believe that Jesus allows things to happen for your sake?

I love how the disciples did not understand what Jesus was talking about at first. Jesus had to tell them plainly that Lazarus was dead but then He said something that really strikes to the core of what being a Christ follower is all about. “and for your sake I am glad I was not there.” When tragedy strikes do we believe that Christ has our best interest in mind?

Today’s false teachings will tell you that if you have enough faith then bad things will not happen to you. Jesus taught us that we should pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done” (Matthew 6:9-11) and not our own wills or our own desires. This takes trust in Christ as we walk through things we do not fully understand. When Jesus does not come to our rescue as we think He should or if He does not act the way we think He should, then we have to trust that He has our best in mind and also His glory as well (Romans 8:28).

The disciples also had some major concerns about being killed if they went back because Jesus’ enemies wanted to kill Him earlier. Perhaps they thought that Jesus could just heal him from afar like he did for the official mentioned in John 4:46. But, in fact, they said, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better” misunderstanding Jesus, Who really meant that Lazarus was dead. Thomas, who became known as “Doubting Thomas” did not show much doubt at this moment because he was willing to die with Christ. Thomas said to the rest of the disciples “Let us also go that we may die with Him.” Having friends who say crazy things like might be scary, but isn’t this the attitude all of us should have as Christ followers? We do not know if following Jesus is going to lead in death but if Jesus is going, and we should be willing to follow as well..


VS 17-27 Do you see Jesus as the resurrection and the life?

In Jesus day, people hired professional mourners for funerals and so when Jesus arrived on the scene there might have been many people around Mary and Martha making the scene noisy and chaotic. Professional mourners would wail loudly and it created a scene of hopelessness and despair. Because the Jewish people did not embalm their dead, it was common practice to have them placed in the tomb the same day they passed away.

It is not clear if Martha and Mary were upset with Jesus but they knew that if Jesus would have been there Lazarus would not have died. Both Mary and Martha said “Lord if you would have been here, my brother would not have died.”(Vs 21, 32) Since they both said the exact same thing, it seems that they were talking about how Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’ death. This family was close to Jesus and knew that Jesus frequently healed many people and ministered to them in their time of need. Jesus, however, was not there for them. Again, there is no indication that they were disrespectful or even frustrated by Jesus’ absence. Mary and Martha could have been just stating the fact that Jesus could have healed Lazarus, but you can imagine how frustrating it would have been to see Jesus heal so many people but not their own brother. How many times have we questioned Jesus because He did not act the way we thought He should act?

Jesus then goes on to tell Martha that He is the resurrection and the life. She knows that He will rise again in the last days because that was the teaching of the Jews and that is what Jesus was teaching them as they were with Him. She knew Jesus could have healed Lazarus while he was sick but she did not think He could bring him back from the dead. The reality is we all die and we need a savior and we need one that is “the resurrection and the life”. When Jesus died on the cross, He did so freely and He knew that He had power over death and was able to take His life up again. (See John 10:16-18) This is where our peace comes from, no matter what happens in this life because we know who is in charge of the resurrection and giving us life in the life to come. We trust in the one who not only laid down His life for us but also had the power to take it back up again. He has and always had the ultimate power over death and that is where we get peace in the midst of situations we do not understand. We believe, or embrace as if it were true, the fact that Jesus Christ has redeemed us from death and sin.

Vs 28-37 Do you see Jesus crying in your pain?

Mary may have been trying to sneak out to meet Jesus to keep Him away from a crowd that would have been hostile to Him. When Mary got up, the mourners followed even though Mary probably did not want them to. This was their job. If she went to the tomb to cry they were to go with her and cry as well.

We now get a picture of Jesus that many people do not understand or maybe even accept. We see in verse 33 that He was troubled or some versions say angered. The Greek word used here gives the picture of a horse snorting in anger. Jesus was experiencing anger because He saw loved ones hurting, He was experiencing in human form what sin had done to His creation, and He heard people crying out with no hope. Jesus experienced all of this and that is why we can go to Him with our hurt and our pain because He understands. (See Hebrews 4:14-16) Do you see Jesus weeping in your pain? Do you believe you have a Savior that understands human pain and will cry along with you? Jesus already knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead and that the wailing, the pain and the doubt that some of the people had would all come to an end. Yet even though He knows the ending, He walked through the pain of what they were experiencing and felt the same pain.

Even though some saw how much He loved Lazarus, there were still others who questioned how Jesus acted and why He did not intervene on His friend’s behalf. We will always be surrounded by people who do not understand the ways of Christ because the ways of Christ seem foolish to those who do not follow Him. (See 1 Corinthians1:17-19) The question then becomes, which view do you have? Do you have the view that Jesus could have done something or the view that you are going to trust him no matter what?

Vs 38-44

Martha, not realizing what Jesus was about to do, probably thought that Jesus wanted to see the body one last time. She was horrified to think of the state Lazarus was already in and the odor that would come out as they opened the tomb. Again, we see the term “deeply moved”(v. 38), which could easily be translated as anger. “Take away the stone.”Jesus had a tone in His voice that would have commanded the attention of all those around Him. Those who loved Him and the skeptics alike would have been watching to see what would be taking place and what Jesus was about to do. There could have been a crowd that gathered around because, by this time many would have heard that Jesus was back in town and not knowing what would happen to Him, they could have gathered in curiosity.

Jesus then prays out loud to God showing His relationship and also showing them that He was the waited for Messiah that they had long anticipated to come. After He prayed, He called for Lazarus to come out, showing that He had power over death. By waiting four days to bring Lazarus back from the dead, even the most hardened skeptic would have to say that this was a miracle. There was no doubt that Lazarus was dead; there was no doubt that this was not a hoax or some sort of magic trick. This was a true miracle of God working in the lives of those He loves and for His glory so that others will believe He is the “I Am” they were longing for.

As a side note, have you ever thought what Lazarus was thinking. Was he happy? Was he disappointed? Was He thinking, now I have to die again? When it did come time for him to die again did he say, ‘ been there, done that.” We will not know this side of heaven but that will be a neat story to find out when we actually get there. What we do know is this: Lazarus is not mentioned again in the Bible. We might be persuaded to think that he would be because he was part of a miraculous story. This, however, shows us that it is more about Jesus Christ than it is about us. Allowing God to use our lives for His glory to lead others to Himself is what it is all about. Do not buy into the lie that Christianity is about you and what God can do for you. Jesus died on the cross for your sins and He is the resurrection and the life and it is through Him that we have peace with God. (See John 14:26)

So, are you disappointed in God for not acting a certain way? Did Jesus not come to your rescue the way you thought He should have? Does God have the right to use your life to lead others to Him? Are you only following Jesus as long as He does what you want Him to? (See John 6:66) It is easy to read the story of Lazarus because we know how the story ends, but what about your life; will you trust Him even though you do not know how the story will end in this life? We do know that if we believe in Him that the story ends in victory as we will be raised up with Him for eternity because of His sacrifice for us.

John 11:25-26
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die, do you believe this?”