John 11:54-12:3

We have come to the final week of Jesus’ earthly life. After raising Lazarus, Jesus retreated with His disciples to Ephraim, a desert village that is about 15 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Because of His “celebrity,” some people were watching and waiting to see Jesus in Jerusalem, while the religious leaders sought to arrest him.

When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Feast at all?” But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him. (John 11:55-57)

Just prior to going to Jerusalem, Jesus pays one last visit to his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:1-3)

Jon Courson points out that we are seeing these siblings exhibit three aspects of the church’s purpose: Martha is working in the kitchen (this time with no complaining), Lazarus is giving witness to his new life, and Mary, true to her character, is at the feet of Jesus , worshiping. Regarding Lazarus, Courson writes that although he doesn’t speak a word that is recorded here, he is nonetheless witnessing about his changed life. And just like Lazarus, that is what we are called to do, for Jesus has raised us from death! We were dead in our sins until He gave us new life. There is no witness more compelling than a changed life! As Courson writes, “It intrigues, interests, stimulates, and draws.” (Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: New Testament, P. 538)

Do people see a new creation in us? Do they see a changed heart and a joy that is not dependent upon circumstances? Or do they see the same dead body, still wrapped up in self, grumbling about our work or our marriages or our children, gossiping along with everyone else, and completely devoid of joy? You needn’t speak a word to be an effective witness. But if people see a change in you, they are sure to be curious! Tomorrow we’ll look at Mary, as she lavishes Jesus with love and worship.  

John 11:45-53

When Lazarus came forth from the tomb, there were two reactions:

Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. (John 11:45-46)

People either believe and follow, or they reject Christ. Some of those there, even having seen with their own eyes the miracle, run to tell the Pharisees. It’s possible that they went to the Pharisees hoping to get the Pharisees to claim Jesus as the Messiah, or they may have just wanted to “rat” Him out. Whatever the motivation, the result was that the Pharisees were beside themselves:

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.     


“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 


Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” 


He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life. (vs.47-53)

It’s interesting that they don’t argue the validity of the resurrection of Lazarus. Instead of pondering what it all means, they are frantic about what the Roman reaction would be if everyone believes, because it will mess up their power and authority over the Jews. The Romans will come and take away the temple. This in fact did occur in 70 A.D., when the Romans sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple and scattered the Jews.

So Caiaphas, the high priest, determines that it would be better for one man to die instead of everyone else. This is the justification he uses for plotting murder. However, he is unaware that his actual words prophesy exactly what would and must happen: one Man would die for all.

We have just read about the last miracle that John recorded. The rest of his gospel is about the final week of Jesus as He moves toward the crucifixion, then the glorious resurrection, and its aftermath. Every time I read one of the gospels and it gets to this point, I feel like the disciples wanting to urge Jesus, “Don’t go!” I know what awaits Him. I know the agony He will suffer. It’s like when we watch a scene in a mystery or horror movie, and we want to yell at the actor on the screen, “Don’t open that door,” because we know something awful awaits him. And yet, had Jesus NOT gone to the cross, we would all be hopelessly dead in our sins.

So, while the religious leaders plot a despicable act, they have no idea Who really is in charge! God is sovereign. He has a plan. Nothing and no one can thwart it. He will use even evil people to accomplish His ends. We don’t need to fear.

We can see so much evil in the world around us - especially in the political realm. And it frustrates and worries us. It makes us fearful of the future. Maybe you work in an environment where corruption is rampant, or in a place where it just seems that there is no justice. Do not fear. God sees it all and He is just. He has a plan!  

John 11:38-45

I’m sure you all remember the singing Munchkins in the movie, The Wizard of Oz, who examine the body of the Wicked Witch of the West (on whom Dorothy’s house landed), and confirm, “She’s really most sincerely dead.” In today’s verses, Martha tells Jesus something similar about Lazarus. He’s not just dead - he’s REALLY dead:

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.” (John 11:38-39)

In the King James Version, Martha’s words are, “he stinketh!” There is no doubt here that Lazarus was truly dead - and I think that’s probably why Jesus waited the extra days. He wanted to be sure that everyone clearly understood what was about to happen.

The King James version also describes Jesus’ emotions in stronger terms. Verse 38 says, “Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave.” We really can’t imagine what thoughts were going through Jesus’ head. He knew what He was going to do, so why was he groaning in himself? What deeply moved Him? Was it His love of this family and His understanding of the great emotional toll this had taken on Mary and Martha? Was it the lack of belief of those around Him? Was it just the thought of Lazarus having gone through that enemy, death? Was it mixed with the thoughts of what was waiting for Him in Jerusalem? We don’t know.

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would 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.” 


Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. (vs. 40-45)

Jesus allowed Lazarus to die, just so the people standing there would BELIEVE. This was His biggest miracle. Lazarus had been so dead that he “stinketh,” but there he was raised back to life - walking out of his own grave! We know that Lazarus would eventually die again, so this wasn’t just about answering the prayers of Mary and Martha. It was all for the glory of God. This is why God delights in answering our prayers - that we might give Him glory and so that many would believe because of our testimony.

What in your life is so “sincerely dead” that you cannot imagine a resurrection? Is it your marriage? Is it your attitude toward your job? Is it your finances? Is it a relationship with a family member that has died? Is it your hope that your wayward children will ever come back to the LORD? Even if it “stinketh,” Jesus can raise it from the dead. And He will, because He wants us all to believe! Mary and Martha knew He was able, which is why they sent for Him in the first place. What they were not convinced of, because of His delay, was His willingness. Aren’t you so very glad that we serve a God who is not only ABLE, but is also WILLING? Hallelujah!  

John 11:27-37

Yesterday we finished with the question Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” Martha’s response, at first glance, seems to be a firm declaration of faith, but I believe behind it was a similar attitude that we often share:

“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27)

Martha had no doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, and she obviously believed he had the power to heal Lazarus. But she must have figured that even though He was able, He must not have been willing. For, after making this declaration, she turns and heads back to the house. So often Christians will affirm that Jesus can certainly do miracles, but He just doesn’t see fit to do any for me. I’m just not important enough for God to notice me!

If you are like me, you have no trouble believing God can and does do miracles for those for whom we are praying. We’ve witnessed them! But when it comes to our own needs, we are torn between active belief and resignation, and like Martha, after declaring our faith, we turn and head back to the house rather than wait in expectation. Don’t we yearn for the simple faith of the child who knows without a doubt that her daddy will always come through and watches on tiptoe to see him do it?

Jesus was certainly willing to answer the prayers of these dear friends. It is apparent in the tenderness He shows Mary when she finally comes to meet Him.

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?” (vs. 32-37)

Jesus response to their grief was compassion mixed with a troubled spirit. How He wanted them to just trust and believe! Mary’s weeping moved Him deeply. Her friends could see that. But some asked that same question that had been nagging both Martha and Mary: why didn’t He come immediately and heal Lazarus? Their faith goes far enough to believe in His healing power, but they aren’t yet ready to believe He can raise from the dead, so they are left with the fact that He did not intervene. Why?

All of us have experienced those times when God is silent or does not intervene. Oh, if we could just trust that something better is coming! It may not be as dramatic as what we will see next, and it may not be at all what we specifically asked for (they were asking for healing not resurrection), but we CAN trust that God has a plan that is much better than we can envision - “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Eph 3:20) I can’t wait to see Him blow their minds! And speaking of blowing their minds, I need to let you know that baby Royce is now at home with his mommy and daddy. Glory to God! Now there’s a miracle we all believed in! Thank you, LORD!  

John 11:17-26

The encounter that Jesus has with Martha in the next verses of John 11 is so poignant and really speaks to me about the challenge of faith:

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 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. (John 11:17-20)

Don’t you wonder why Mary stayed at home? We know that Martha was more of a doer, who was most comfortable in being active. And Mary was the contemplative one, who enjoyed sitting at Jesus’ feet. This is not a judgment of which personality is better, it just seems to fit with what we already know about these sisters. So, I’m thinking Martha, in her grief, needed to run and meet Jesus to get some answers, while possibly Mary was so overcome with grief she was cocooning... Everyone handles their grief differently. But we sense a bit of accusation as Martha confronts Jesus. I know “confront” has a harsh connotation, but I’m thinking there was more of a boldness and forthrightness with Martha. She was unafraid to ask the tough question that was probably on the minds of all who loved Lazarus.

“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.” (vs. 22)

Doesn’t there seem to be an accusatory tone in her first statement? Don’t we often feel that way when we go to the LORD in desperation? “LORD, why did you let me lose my job? You know my family needs my income!” “LORD, you know how very much I want a baby! Why am I still infertile?” “Father, how can you allow my baby to suffer?” And for some of us, it’s Martha’s exact words that pour out to God in anguish. Prayers like these are honest! We do not need to fear bringing them to God! They are part of the nitty-gritty of life!

We know that Jesus loved this family and He was deeply touched by their grief. Not only because He was human and understood sorrow, but because, as God, He also wanted them to believe and see beyond their earthly grief. While He is about to bring them great joy, there will come at a later time a day when they will once again grieve Lazarus. So He points Martha to the eternal truth that she needs and that we all need to grasp and fully believe:

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. 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?” (vs.24-26)

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS??? This is the question we all need to answer. If we truly believe, we will find comfort, and hope, and even joy in the midst of the most painful situations. Jesus IS THE resurrection and THE life. It is our belief in Him that determines our eternal destiny. So this question to Martha is ours as well. Do we get it?? Tomorrow we’ll see Mary’s encounter with Jesus. Such a tender moment...

John 11:7-16

Jesus waited until the perfect time to head back to Bethany.

Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” 


“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?” 


Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.” (John 11:7-10)

John Courson points out in his commentary that the same thing is true for us. We have an appointed time for our death, as well, and nothing can take us earlier. Neither can we delay that hour. Jesus’ disciples knew that it would be dangerous to go back toward Jerusalem, where the Jewish leaders were on the watch to kill Him. But He was resolute. He knew that His hour was near - and no one could lay a hand on Him before that appointed hour.

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.” (vs.11-15)

The disciples were confused by Jesus’ figurative language, when he said that Lazarus had “fallen asleep.” So He had to speak plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Oh my goodness, how many times I have needed Him to just speak plainly to me because I wasn’t getting something He was trying to show me? Sometimes we need to be hit over the head with the obvious!

While the rest of the disciples wanted to keep Jesus from danger, Thomas spoke out boldly:

Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (vs. 16)

Now, Thomas is the one known as “Doubting Thomas” because he required proof of Jesus’ resurrection before he would believe. But here we see his brave character. He was willing to die with Jesus at this point (even though he scattered at the end like most of the disciples). You have to give him some credit here, though, for being devoted to Jesus! I’m so grateful for the examples of Peter and Thomas who knew both grand moments of dedication to Jesus, then would have times when they blew it! Aren’t we all like that? We, too, have our “Thomas” moments, when we step up and are bold for Christ. But, then, we have our weaker moments when we refuse to believe without visual proof!

These same disciples eventually turned the world upside down for Christ, spreading the gospel through the known world. What changed? On the day of Pentecost, they received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and His power is what transformed twelve weak disciples into the bold Apostles who gladly faced persecution and death for their LORD. We, too, have that same power within us when we receive Christ. That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is ours! Why aren’t we bolder? We need to pray for such boldness and believe that the Holy Spirit is at work within us! We need to step out in faith and watch Him use us!

Meanwhile, back in Bethany . . . two sisters are mourning their beloved brother. They are grief-stricken and confused. Jesus is about to knock their socks off!  

John 11:1-6

Chapter 11 of John’s gospel focuses on the death and resurrection of Jesus’s dear friend, Lazarus. Today we are going to look at just the first six verses that are all about God’s timing:

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.” Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. (John 11:1-6)

Jesus was up north in the area of the Jordan River, when Mary and Martha sent word that their brother Lazarus, “the one you love,” was sick. “Jesus dropped everything and rushed to his side!” That’s what you would expect to read, but that’s not what happened! Instead Jesus waited two days before heading to Bethany. Did He not care? Did He not know how sick Lazarus was? He knew! But He also knew that there was a greater plan at work. Lazarus’ sickness was “for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Just like the healing of the man born blind in chapter 9, there was a specific purpose for Lazarus’ death: that Christ would be glorified in the resurrection! But Lazarus had to die first! He would, in fact, have to lay in the tomb for four days first! There was a greater plan at work, so Jesus purposely delayed the answer to Martha and Mary’s prayers!

Sometimes God will keep us in a holding pattern even when things look hopeless. We are in a desperate situation that only He can help, and we wonder why He hasn’t shown up yet! Maybe your marriage is falling. Maybe your teenager is in deep trouble. Maybe you have lost your job, and you are about to lose your house, as well. Maybe you have just learned that you have terminal cancer. These are things that NEED God’s immediate response! Where is He? Why hasn’t He come? Does He not get how much you need Him NOW?

Jesus knew all about Lazarus! He knew he was terminally ill. Yet, in confidence he claimed that the END would NOT be death. Jesus had a plan that required some waiting. The situation needed to get much worse, so that the planned miracle would have the maximum effect. Lazarus needed to die.

I have a saying I use in my classroom: “If nobody dies, we can fix it!” I don’t want students to think that they can make a mistake that can’t be forgiven or overcome. But the truth is that Jesus can fix even that! If He is delaying in answering your fervent prayers, take heart! Trust Him! He has a greater plan. I can’t wait to see how He amazes Mary and Martha!