Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
John 11:1-44
Jesus loved Lazarus so deeply. Yet when Lazarus needed Him most, Jesus did NOT come to him. BECAUSE He loved him. Jesus let Lazarus suffer and die, but not without the cost of His own heartbreak. Jesus wept with compassion for His loved ones even knowing that Lazarus would soon experience the miracle of the resurrection.
Mary and Martha had seen Jesus go eagerly to the least of these to heal them and perform miraculous deeds, yet He did not show up for their brother, despite their humble and desperate pleading. I can imagine their disappointment in the Savior they thought they knew.
Jesus did not show up when they needed Him most. I can relate. In the darkest hours of my depression, I cried out to God begging Him to let me feel His presence; let me know that He had not completely abandoned me. Have you ever experienced betrayal? As the pain from betrayal sets in, doubts of if that person ever truly was your friend sink in. If God had abandoned me, if Jesus stayed distant and watched me suffer, if the Holy Spirit remained silent as I constantly begged for His presence, then was God truly who I thought He was? Was He truly good? Did He love me the way He says He does? Was the close relationship I had with Him for years just an intellectual concept pushed on me by Christian culture? Was He really just, all-powerful, and sovereign? When Jesus chose to stay where He was instead of draw near to me, these are a few of the questions that flooded my mind and stole the hope that I had placed in this God I had loved so dearly.
The fall I returned to school after that very dark summer, Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti and wreaked havoc, especially on the western end of the island. The following summer, I stayed with a Haitian family living in one of the rural cities of the western coast. I’d seen the poverty of the mountains in Haiti, but this did not compare. Hurricane Matthew had taken lives, homes, and ALL of their crops, which was their source of life. My questions continued. If God is all-powerful, all-mighty, all-loving, why doesn’t He do ANYTHING? Their repetitive prayers were going unanswered. Was God even listening? Their hearts were pure and their yearning for Him was genuine, but where was He? Where was the compassionate God I had learned so much about since I was a toddler? I wasn’t sure I wanted to serve a God that sat idly as His people suffered, withholding His presence and His power. That did not look like love to me.
The story of Lazarus shows that that is love; that Jesus did withhold His presence and His power because of His love for Lazarus. God let Lazarus die, so that he could experience the power of the resurrection and have an intimacy with Christ that He could have never imagined. God let Lazarus die, so that Mary and Martha could get rid of the illusions they had about Jesus and come closer to His heart (next chapter - Martha is preparing a meal for Jesus as Mary washes His feet with expensive perfume and her hair). God let Lazarus die, so that others would BELIEVE. Perhaps, God let me die too. Perhaps, God loved me so much that He would not compromise His plans due to my cries of desperation. Perhaps, God wept - seeing my overwhelming pain and fear. Perhaps, God let me die so I can experience the power of the resurrection. I tasted hell so I could accurately appreciate the glorious miracle of grace. Instead of running to my side, God stayed where He was and made me wait. “Through waiting we become more curious about our souls within and the world without” (Stephen Smith, The Lazarus Life). And more curious I became. Curious about this God I thought I knew, but in fact did not. I had created an image of who I thought God was. Once that image began to fail me, I thought God was wrong, not my created-image. Maybe God’s inactivity in my life and in the lives of so many suffering people around the world is not actually inactivity. But instead, maybe it is Jesus staying where He is, so Lazarus can be raised from the dead. Maybe there is something as glorious and miraculous as the resurrection around the corner for us too. I am choosing to believe that there is. I am choosing to believe that because I so desperately need to be raised up from the dead. I want new life, abundant life, free life. I am hopeful for it, and hope is an important part of believing. And I don’t think I have to know all the answers about God and His mysterious glory to step out of the tomb and into this new life. I think I just have to step towards Him when He finally after 4 days (more like 4 years for me) calls me to come forth. Selfishly, I wish Jesus would have just put on His sandals and ran to His sick brother, but deep down, I want the impossible to happen on His timetable, even if that means I always struggle with depression and doubt and I attend way too many Haitian funerals. Deep down, I want to believe that He is the resurrection and the life, because boy do I need it, and so does this hurting world.
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