Raising of Lazarus -- Part 2

The next verse tells us that Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus. This time the word for love is agape. This kind of love is selfless, purposeful, and places value on the person loved. Agape love does not usually stem from emotional feelings, but rather from purposeful action. Jesus therefore had both kinds of love for this family.

The next verse is difficult to follow because it appears to be attached to the verse we just discussed. Verse 6 tells us that for this reason, because of His love for them, He stayed two more days where He was. From our point of view it seems as though love would have driven Him to them sooner rather than later. Jesus seems to explain this somewhat in verse 15 where He tells them that He was glad (happy and rejoicing) for their sakes that He had not been there. Why? So that they might believe. He was more interested in their growth in faith than in the temporary feelings involved with having lost their brother.

Later on when Jesus arrives, (verse 21) Martha says to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” What does this tell us about Martha and her faith? To me it says that she believed that Jesus would have cured her brother if Jesus had been there. It also tells me that she might not be so sure that Jesus could raise Him from the dead. Except, when we continue reading, we see that she says that “even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give You.”

She knew of Jesus’ power and His relationship with the Father and she knew that the Father would honor Jesus’ requests no matter what they were. When Jesus said, “Your brother will rise again.”, it’s almost as though she dared not believe that it was possible right now. She gave the “right” answer that he would rise again in the resurrection. But Jesus wanted her to see that He is the resurrection. He is life and has the power of life in himself. In fact Jesus said that in another passage that He had the power to lay down his life and the power to take it up again. Think about that for a minute. It is one thing to believe that Jesus has the power to raise someone else from the dead. It’s a miracle of an entirely different order to raise oneself from the dead. But that is who Jesus is and what He is capable of. He is the resurrection and the life.

Raising Lazarus - Part I

I’m sitting here thinking about the incident where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. We’re studying John 11 in our Sunday School class tomorrow and I’m wondering what needs to be emphasized from a passage that is so familiar. This incident involves a “certain” man from Bethany who was sick. The Bible claims that this is a true story. There was a certain man who became sick and then died. Jesus called that same man back to life again. The blind man had said, “I once was blind. Now I see.” This man will be able to say, “I once was dead. Now I live.”

When the sisters sent for Jesus they told him that the one he “loved” was sick. This kind of love is the word phileo or brotherly love. This is the kind of love that shows tender affection and kindness. Jesus had a tender love for this man.

Jesus’ response is interesting because He tells them that this sickness is not unto death, but rather is for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Shouldn’t this be the case in all of our trials? Our ultimate purpose in life is to bring glory to God. We say that so glibly and yet it is true. Therefore, when we are sick or going through some other trial it is so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. It may not involve a miracle of the level of raising someone from the dead, but it may be a demonstration of God’s tremendous grace at work in our lives showing those around that we have His peace and His joy even though the circumstance itself may be hard.