John 11:1-57
The Death of Lazarus
1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (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.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 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.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 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. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
11 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.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 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.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 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.
32 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.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “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.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 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.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 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.”
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 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 signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.
I have often wondered if I saw a miracle, would my faith be strengthened...I have heard in many debates that the non-believers would believe in God or Jesus if they saw a modern day miracle...Maybe they are saying that a miracle in today's time and not during early Biblical times, or Jesus' time is not as forceful as a miracle today, or the old miracles maybe did not transpire as they were written...This story of Jesus is much about how we believe in miracles, and how miracles impact our faith...Maybe they are indirectly talking about science and they need to observe the miracle...But miracles are miracles and they are so hard for our minds to comprehend that each of us would probably react differently to the same miracle...
Jesus was a friend of Lazarus...Lazarus became very ill and very sick...Jesus had said much earlier to His disciples before they were at Mary and Martha's, “This sickness will not end in death...No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”...And Jesus got in no hurry to save Lazarus from his first death...And Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus....Jesus knew the sisters would grieve...So when Jesus 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.”...Lazarus had now been dead for some time...He had been dead for four days, when He got there...So those watching how the events surrounding Lazarus next few hours while Jesus was there would be of great interest for those who believed in Jesus...Mary and Martha were heartbroken that their brother Lazarus had died...Even Jesus was grieved and upset...Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus...But Jesus told Mary that He is the Resurrection and the Life...Those who believe in Him will live, even though they physically die...And whoever lives by believing in Him will never die....They will have eternal life...
Jesus ask Mary if she believed these things...“Yes, LORD,” she replied, “I believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”...But even though that Lazarus had died four days earlier and was completely dead...We can make no mistake about that...Some of the Jews that were attending this event made reference to another miracle that Jesus had done, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”...
Now Jesus, again became deeply moved, as He came to the tomb of His friend Lazarus...The tomb was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance...“Take away the stone,” Jesus 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.”...God had sent Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead...This miracle would show the glory of God...When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”...The dead man came out and now was alive, 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.”...Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and is one of His greatest miracles...And as Jesus says, this miracle is for the Glory of God...
Those believing in Jesus would react positively to Jesus and to this Great Miracle...Some Jews now believed in Him...But others would not...All who were there had seen a modern miracle...Others would not believe that it happened...Jesus had just saved someone and had helped the family of Lazarus...This great miracle has different people reacting differently...And maybe some did believe and their faith increase, but others plotted to kill Jesus...What a wide and diverse response to a miracle...Certain people were plotting to kill someone who just raised Lazarus from the dead...Now this resurrection of Lazarus had to be divine...And Jesus had to come from God...For no One could perform this type of sign if God were not with Him...
Why didn't everyone who were eyewitnesses to this event react positive and give glory to God?...Is pride or greed an obstacle to our faith?...Did these things or other things fail the ones who did not believe in Him?...
Reflect on these events...If you would were eyewitnesses to this miracle, would you believe it?...Do you believe in miracles?...Do you have obstacles that lessen miracles?...Would your faith in God and Jesus grow if you today saw a miracle?...Would you give glory to God for the miracle, as Jesus did?...How now would you feel about death?...How do you react to miracles?...What does it take to gain and increase faith?...