The verses we study today – Chapter 11 of John's Gospel – are, for me, some of the most emotional verses in Scripture. They speak to me of the tremendous example of emotional maturity and manhood found in Christ Jesus.
John 11:1-4
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
The name Lazarus means "whom God helps" and he was probably the younger brother of Mary and Martha. The reaction of the community later on would indicate they were wealthy and socially prominent people. The word love in "whom you love is ill" is φιλέω (fil-eh´-o) and indicates that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were friends of Jesus. They lived only a couple of miles from Jerusalem and had probably spent lots of time with him. There was a depth of personal relationship here. These people were friends of Jesus and he had a deep love for them.
I think it is important to realize that Jesus had friends. If we don't stop and realize that Jesus had an emotional life with a mother, brothers (likely sisters too), and friends (even old friends) then we start to think of Him as distanced from humanity. In part, when we say that Jesus was "fully man" we affirm this complete healthy emotional life that Jesus had. The Church Council in Chalcedon (451 AD) has been the great statement on the person of Christ that has endured for more than 1500 years but we slide toward the heresy of monophysitism mentally because we have trouble thinking of Jesus being fully human as we embrace His full divinity.
Jesus knew what was going to happen and what God was calling Him to do. He wasn't making a mistake and He – as always – was in perfect submission to God. Note also that it is probable that the messenger carried back the message, "This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God's glory by glorifying God's Son."
John 11:5-8
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?"
The word for "loved" here is ἀγαπάω (ag-ap-ah´-o). I think John uses this stronger word with a since of obligation to specifically draw attention to the delay in departing. This particular Lazarus is only mentioned here in John's Gospel but Jesus' love for these sisters and for Lazarus has made this story one of the most familiar in the New Testament and made his name a shorthand expression for life from death. I also think John wants to make it clear that Jesus didn't wait because he was worried about the Jews who wanted to kill him. This was clearly on the minds of the disciples but it wasn't determining Jesus' course of action. Jesus was moving in perfect submission to the Father.
John 11:9-16
Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
Thomas didn't really speak a word of faith; did he? But he did the right thing. Jesus knew He wasn't going to be killed before He chose to lay down his life at the right time as directed by God the Father. Jesus was doing the works of His Father at the right time in the right way. Thomas was correct in a sense because it was the last trip to Judea.
Jesus statement that Lazarus' illness doesn't lead "to death" now is revealed to mean that the illness leads "through death" to resurrection.
John 11:17-22
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."
The first words out of Martha's mouth were an accusation. She was saying that my pain is your fault. If you had done what you should have I wouldn't be hurting like this. The second statement is that "I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you" is not necessarily a statement without accusation. I think you would have had to heard the tone to be sure of the meaning. But in context and based on what she said later it seems that it was really part of the accusation.
Martha essentially says, "Jesus if you had been here I wouldn't be hurting and I know God still gives you whatever you ask for, you don't have an excuse. The only reason I am hurting is because you didn't ask." She was surely aware of Jesus healing from a distance at a word. They surely heard from the messenger that Jesus said, "This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God's glory by glorifying God's Son." Well that was (in the natural) obviously not the case. And yet Jesus patiently spoke the truth to Martha because she was willing to listen and He did not react to the accusation.
John 11:23-
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."
Jesus was able to speak the truth to Martha and she could give intellectual assent to what he was saying but she had given up hope for Lazarus. Their culture had a doctrine that for 3 days the spirit would hang out around the body just in case there was some mistake. It had been 4 days. For Martha, all hope was gone and it was Jesus' fault. She was disappointed in Him but she was still a believer and would "soldier on".
Mary was so wrapped up in sorrow that she was still back in the house.
John 11:28-37
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?"
Once again Jesus was accused of being the cause of her pain and in this case Mary couldn't even be consoled. He couldn't even speak the truth into her life as he had been able to with Martha. Mary was so lost in despair that she couldn't even receive the word of truth.
Jesus was deeply hurt because of the situation. Friends he loved blamed him for their pain and He had acted exactly as He should have. Martha was (true to the other scripture stories) very practical and came to discuss it with Him but didn't get the answer into her heart. Mary didn't come out to meet him and, when he asked for her, she came, accused him of failing her, and collapsed at his feet in grief. He hadn't done anything wrong. He left for Bethany when he was supposed to. He arrived in Bethany when he was supposed to. Lazarus was supposed to die.
Jesus was deeply moved and troubled in His spirit and He wept. Well of course He wept. The amazing thing is that He didn't yell at the faithless and unhearing best friends he had. This is not the same pain of rejection by the unbelievers that occurred at the Cross. This is a rejection by believers because they believed that Jesus had failed them. On a human level this is deeply moving and troubling.
The level of self control we see in Jesus is amazing to me. He only shared the truth. He didn't damage relationships by saying something stupid. I wonder if it is a lesson that sinful man can ever learn. To turn the other cheek and keep your mouth shut. Can we ever value friends so highly that when you can't speak into their lives you'll stop speaking and not return abuse for abuse? When they are wrong?
John 11:38-44
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
Jesus didn't speak one word out of time. He knew when to speak the word of truth, like he did with Martha even when it was not received; he knew when to keep silent, like he did with Mary. That didn't isolate him from the pain of rejection, love would not provide for that. Love (Agape) enables you to love in a situation that is painful. It never fails because of its strength not because it helps you avoid the trial. God's love enables you to lay down your life, it certainly won't help you avoid laying it down. God's love makes it possible for you to turn the other cheek; it won't help you avoid getting slapped in the first place. Love made Jesus more susceptible to the pain of rejection and unjust criticism not less. But He never sinned. Jesus was angry but he didn't sin.
There is a part of me that would have wanted to tell them all off, either before or after raising Lazarus I don't know. But I sure would have wanted to straighten them all out. Why? for my flesh's sake. Have you ever daydreamed saying, "what I should have said is"? Well Jesus never did that. We feed our pride with our daydreams.
It is probable that they could smell Lazarus as they approached the tomb because the stone wouldn't seal that tightly. Lazarus had not been embalmed. The confusion around Jesus' statements and the despair of the sisters apparently had prevented it until it was too late. He had been dead four days; he did smell because he was decaying.
Jesus wanted it to be clear that it was his relationship with God that made this miracle possible. He didn't want any Pharisee to be able to say that he did it by the power of the devil.
This is the first time recorded in scripture that Jesus shouted. The only other time he would shout would be on the cross. Here it is a testimony to his power and for the crowd that he didn't need some magic spell or special words, he just said "Lazarus, come out!"
Lazarus is a picture of the resurrection that occurs in our salvation and not the final resurrection that will occur at the last trumpet. The picture of new believers coming into the Church and needing help with the grave clothes is true. Those who are new in Christ need help to see and identify those stinking grave clothes that are to be put off as you put on clothes of righteousness. However, as you grow in Christ then you will see and help remove those parts of your past life and practice that smell of death and rottenness. You'd never cling to anything like that.
Lessons from Jesus' Response to Martha and Mary:
Consider the validity of the criticism. Jesus didn't need to do this but we do. Don't even respond right away if you want to pray about it later. Just say thanks and move on. But even something that you have prayed through before may be important to consider. God has to bring us around to the same issue sometimes over and over before we work through it.
Not Respond with Anger. It is OK to repeat the criticism to the one who has brought it to your attention. This lets them know you heard what they said and then it also lets them hear what they said. Then at least say you'll consider it and possibly say you'll try to change.
Reply only with the Truth. It may be necessary for you to explain your point of view. If the other person is too upset to hear it then you should wait until later to explain your point of view. You should really guard against making excuses at this point. This is the point at which you can avoid hearing what God is saying if you aren't careful and if you are good with excuses. Be sure to ask God if your version of the truth is just an excuse you are making up.
Never Seek Revenge. Pray for someone who has attacked you unfairly. If you are really in the right then they are in danger so pray for them. God showed you Grace. You show them Grace. If you seek revenge then you are in God's way at best and, if you are in the wrong, may be setting yourself up for a big trial.
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