THE RAISING OF LAZARUS
John 11:1-45
There
are some questions that are too big to be answered with mere words. This chapter deals with such a question. The question had been asked in the previous
chapter. The Jews who had seen the
miracles of Jesus and who had heard His teaching gathered around Him and asked,
“Are you the Christ?” (John 10:24).
The
Jews therefore gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How long will
You keep us in suspense? If You
are the Christ, tell us plainly." (John 10:24).
This
is a big question. It is THE big question
in this book. It is a big question that
deserves a big answer. The narrative of
John 11 is the answer.
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John 11:1-16 |
John 11:17-37 |
John 11:38-44 |
John 11:45-57 |
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Preparation for the miracle |
Arrival of Jesus |
Miracle Performed |
Results of the Miracle |
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Jesus is away |
What took place in |
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This
chapter will provide a turning point.
After this, the enemies of Jesus will seek to put Him to death. They have been able to tolerate much, but
they will go no further. They will be
unwilling to accept that Jesus can give life to the dead.
THE
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Now
a certain man was sick, Lazarus of
The
first two verses of this chapter set up our cast of characters and also
introduce the problem that they face.
1. Lazarus of
This is a Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Eleazer, a name known to the Old Testament. It means “helped by God.” This also happens to be the name Jesus used
in his parable of the rich man and Lazarus, but there is no indication that
they are the same person.
2. Mary.
We are told that this was the same Mary who
anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair. John has not yet told of this event. He will do so in chapter 12, but it was
apparently so well known to the church at large that he is able to mention it
now.
3. Martha.
The dynamics of Mary and Martha and known to us from
Luke 10:38-42. It is the story where
Jesus visited the house of Martha and she found herself distracted at the
preparations and upset because her sister Mary had chosen instead to sit at the
feet of Jesus.
There will be none of that discord in this
chapter. It is a time when the two
sisters will come together for mutual support.
AN
URGENT REQUEST
The
sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." 4 But when Jesus heard it, He said, "This sickness is not
unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by
it." (John 11:3-4).
Notice
how Mary and Martha handle the sickness of their brother. First they prayed. They did this by sending word to Jesus. This was not a last resort. They seem to have sent word to Him early
on. At the same time, there is an urgency to this request.
Lazarus was sick and it was a life-threatening sickness.
Yet
there is no urgency on the part of Jesus.
He states that the purpose for this sickness is not unto death. This is not to be the end of Lazarus. It is, instead, to be an opportunity for the
glory of God.
A
TIMELY DELAY
Now
Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When
therefore He heard that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer in the
place where He was. (John 11:5-6).
As
we read of the delay of Jesus, we might be tempted to think that Jesus did not
care about this little family from
Why
did He wait? Because there was something
wonderful that was going to happen but it necessitated a waiting period. There was going to be a resurrection, but
first there would have to be a death.
Understanding
the delay of Jesus and the corresponding love of Jesus might help you to answer
some questions in your life right now.
When God is not immediately answering your prayers, it could be that He
has a resurrection planned for you.
A
LESSON IN LIGHT
Then
after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to
The
travel plans of Jesus must have struck the disciples as unusual. They had recently left
Jesus
replies with a proverb. It is a proverb
about timeliness and about light. These
two ideas are combined in this proverb to teach us several lessons.
1. The Lesson of Timeliness.
Jesus was in tune with the times and the seasons of
the Father’s plan. The Gospel of John
has presented a continuing refrain reminding us that “His hour had not yet
come” (John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20). Though the
disciples were worried about the response that awaited them in
2. The Lesson of Light.
Light helps you to see things. It is especially valuable in helping you to
find your way past obstacles that would be otherwise hidden from your
sight. Walking in the country at night
can be hazardous to your health, especially in a country in which streetlights
are unknown.
Here is the point.
The disciples are traveling with the One who is the Light of the
world. They do not have to worry about
obstacles. They do not have to worry
about anything.
You have the same assurance. If you are walking in the light of His word
and of His Spirit, you have no need to fear.
A
LESSON IN FAITH
11 This He
said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen
asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep." 12 The
disciples therefore said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will
recover." 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought
that He was speaking of literal sleep.
14 Then
Jesus therefore said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15 and I
am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let
us go to him."
16 Thomas
therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow
disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." (John
11:11-16).
Jesus
says that it is good that Lazarus has died because it is going to cause the
faith of His disciples to grow. This is
going to be important because it will not be too long until these same
disciples see Jesus hanging upon a cross and they need to understand that He
has the power over life and death.
He
wants them to believe. This miracle will
have the result in producing faith in them.
That does not mean they had not previously believed. They had.
But faith must be continually nourished.
They needed a growing faith.
I
love the reaction of Thomas. He says in
effect, “I would rather die with Jesus than to live without Him.” Thomas did not have a great deal of faith. What he DID have was commitment. He had committed to follow Jesus and he was
determined to do so, even when he could not see or believe the result to be a
positive one.
A
LATE ARRIVAL
17 So when
Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now
20 Martha
therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him; but Mary
still sat in the house. 21 Martha therefore said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22
"Even now I know that whatever You ask of God,
God will give You." (John 11:17-22).
Martha
comes out to meet Jesus. We remember
Martha. She was the practical one. She was the one who had been distracted with
the preparations of the dinner and the details.
She was what we call “a mover and a shaker.” She was the one who liked to get things done. She does the same thing here. She goes to Jesus and she expresses her need
and her sorrow and her faith to Jesus.
She says, "Even now I know that whatever You
ask of God, God will give You."
A
RESURRECTION PROMISE
23 Jesus
said to her, "Your brother shall 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; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and
everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe
this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed
that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who
comes into the world." (John 11:23-27).
Martha
demonstrates what was the common believe in the resurrection on the last
day. This was not merely a New Testament
belief. It was something that had been
taught first in the Old Testament.
She
can believe that Lazarus will rise again at the last day, but she has a bit of
difficulty believing that he might rise a mere four
days after his death. She is putting all
of her hopes into the future. By
contrast, Jesus focuses her faith on the present tense. The One who has the power to raise men from
the dead is standing before her right now.
Martha has been thinking of an event; Jesus directs her attention to a
person. This is a reminder to us that
salvation comes, not through a system of theology, but through a person.
The
words of Jesus form a chiastic parallel.
It takes us from life to death and back again to life.
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I am the resurrection
and the life |
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...shall never die |
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he who believes in
Me... |
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...and believes in Me |
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shall live |
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everyone who lives... |
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...even
if he dies |
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Notice
the two deaths that are mentioned here. Though these words as spoken at a cemetery, Jesus is referencing
both physical as well as spiritual death. Even if a person DOES die physically, those
who believe in Him shall never die spiritually.
It is because of death’s limitations and because of the temporary
quality even of physical death that death has no more sting. Death cannot break the continuity of eternal
life.
MEETING
WITH MARY
28 And
when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister, saying
secretly, "The Teacher is here, and is calling for you." 29 And
when she heard it, she arose quickly, and was coming to Him. 30 Now
Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where
Martha met Him.
31 The
Jews then who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that
Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going
to the tomb to weep there. 32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw
Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You
had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:28-32).
It
will help us to visualize the scene if we know something of Jewish funeral
practices in the ancient world. Whenever
someone of prominence died, people would come and stay for as long as a week to
comfort the family. The burial of the
deceased would take place as soon as possible.
The time of grieving that followed would be a time of tears and a time
of lament, especially if the death had been an untimely one.
The
procession of mourners to and from the tomb would customarily be led by the
women, since it was by a woman that sin and death had entered the world. It is likely this entire procession that
comes now to meet Jesus.
There
is an interesting contrast to be seen between Mary and Martha in this chapter.
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Martha |
Mary |
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Took the
initiative to go and to meet Jesus |
She waited at
her house until being summoned by Martha |
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“Lord, if
You had been here, my brother would not have died.” |
"Lord,
if You had been here, my brother would not have died." |
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Adds that Jesus
is still able to raise Lazarus from the dead. |
No mention of
the present ability of Jesus. |
PATHOS
IN THE PRESENCE OF DEATH
33 When
Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping,
He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, 34 and
said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come
and see."
35 Jesus
wept. 36 And so the Jews were saying, "Behold how He
loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not this man, who
opened the eyes of him who was blind, have kept this man also from dying?"
(John 11:33-37).
The
Greek word used here for “wept” is the aorist of dakruo. It is a hapaxlogomenon. It is the only time this particular word is
used in the New Testament. A different
Greek word is used for all other weeping.
This term is related to the noun dakruon which refers to “tears.” This points, not
merely to the weeping of Jesus but more specifically to the tears of Jesus.
INSTRUCTIONS
TO BE OBEYED
38 Jesus
therefore again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave,
and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, "Remove the
stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by
this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus
said to her, "Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory
of God?" (John 11:38-40).
From
a practical standpoint, the instructions of Jesus make no sense. The body begins to decompose rapidly if not
pumped full of embalming chemicals and it had now been four days since the
death of Lazarus.
We
live in an age where seeing is believing. People want to see first and then they will
believe. The approach of Jesus is the
direct antithesis to this. He says,
“Believe first and then you will see.”
We
are called to believe and to obey the commands of the Lord, even when they seem
impractical. We are called to forgive
even when there is no guarantee that our forgiveness will be appreciated or
reciprocated. We are called to be
sexually pure even when the world is espousing an alternative lifestyle. We are called to seek the needs of others
before our own, even when common sense tells us that we might suffer loss as a
result.
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If
you believe |
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You will see the glory of God |
This
was true of the miracle they were about to see and it is also true of the
gospel. If you will come to Christ in
faith, believing in the One whom you cannot see, then there will come a day
when you also will see the glory of God.
A
PRAYER FOR PEOPLE
41 And so
they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I
thank Thee that Thou heardest Me. 42 And I knew that Thou hearest Me
always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may
believe that Thou didst send Me." (John 11:41-42).
Jesus
prays a prayer to the Father. This was a
regular theme with Jesus. He was
regularly in prayer. But this prayer is
different. He prays to the Father in a
way that is intentionally meant to be heard by those who are standing around
Him. He prays to the Father, showing
that He is trusting and relying upon the Father so
that the people who are watching and listening will hear His prayer and
believe.
Jesus
already knew what was going to happen.
He knew that Lazarus was about to be raised from the dead. But the people did not know. And so, He prays for this miracle to be
accomplished so that, when it takes place, there will be no doubt in anyone’s
mind as to what has taken place.
RESURRECTION!
43 And
when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus,
come forth." 44 He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with
wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them,
"Unbind him, and let him go." 45 Many therefore of the
Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done, believed in Him. (John
11:43-45).
Some
have suggested the reason Jesus called out the name Lazarus is because it was
not His intention to raise up everyone in the graveyard. That may or may not be true, but what is true
is that there is coming a day when the call will go forth and all those who lie
in the dust of the earth will be raised.
Lazarus
was still bound hand and foot with wrappings. He was still wearing the grave clothes. In a sense, this serves to remind us that
Lazarus was still of this mortal body.
He would eventually grow old and die.
Again. I
don’t know this for certain, but I have a feeling that it was not so difficult
the second time.
There
is coming a day when we will be raised from the death and we will no longer be
bound hand and foot with wrappings and we will no longer have this mortal,
decaying body. We will receive a new
body — a resurrection body.
This
is the climactic moment of the chapter.
Indeed, the entire first half of the Gospel of John has been leading up
to this moment. Throughout these first
eleven chapters, we have seen one sign after another. Each of these signs has grown in
intensity. Each was more striking than
the one before. As the disciples have
seen many of the previous signs and believed, now we read that many
therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done,
believed in Him.
What
is the point of this narrative? It is to
show that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God. But that is not all. It also teaches us that, if the Christ who
has victory over death lives in you, then that same power should be seen in
you.
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