The reading assignment for this week is: Monday - John 11, Tuesday - John 12, Wednesday - John 13, Thursday - John 14, Friday - John 15.
In John 11 we have the amazing account of the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary were some of Jesus' key supporters, and Jesus often found himself as a guest in their home in Bethany. It is not a surprise that when Lazarus becomes terribly ill, the sisters send messengers to tell Jesus of their urgent need. When Jesus receives the news he lingers for a while outside of Jerusalem instead of hurrying off to offer comfort or aide. Perhaps his disciples thought he would not dare go because the Jews were looking to kill him as they say openly in vs 7 and following. In verse 15 Jesus says he has waited in order that God might be glorified.
When Jesus and the disciples arrive in Bethany Martha comes out to meet him with a statement of faith and accusation. She says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” John 11:21&22 NRSV
The exchange between Jesus and Martha is a source of a great deal of Christology. Jesus answers Martha saying that her brother will rise again and Jesus says of himself, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." John 11:25&26 NRSV.
The scene at the tomb is perhaps the most powerful scene, outside of the passion and resurrection of Jesus, in all of the Gospel accounts. Jesus instructs them to roll the stone away and they caution him that there will be a foul odor because he has been dead 4 days. Jesus looks up to heaven, prays thanking God for all that God is about to do, and then he cries with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" It is my opinion that Jesus called Lazarus by name for a good reason here. When the Lord of life calls out into the grave yard, he needed to be specific lest the entire graveyard empty out! He was, on this day, calling Lazarus and only Lazarus, so he called him by name. I believe the day is coming when The Lord of Life will make a general call and we will all answer his voice.
This amazing act of power has brought us to the edge of the passion narrative in John's gospel. The prophetic words of Caiaphas are uttered here in the concluding verses of chapter 11, "But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God." John 11:49-52 NRSV
About Me
- Pastor Bill
- I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ, a happy husband, father and grandfather!
4 comments:
What an amazing display of compassion.
Jesus wept.
He had a traitor within his circle of students, He had Jewish leaders looking for excuses to kill Him at every turn, a family that thought he was insane, and He was facing a historical beating and a gruesome time on the cross.
Yet Jesus wept for a friend.
How dare I look at my own challenges and weep when there are so many others suffering so much more than me.
I need to keep my eyes on the prize and strive to be more compassionate - like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Lord help me to die to myself.
I love and adore You.
Mark,
You are an inspiration and a good friend! Your insight into the bigger picture that swirrled around Jesus shows that you have suffered, and more importantly that you hav a deep love for our savior.
Bill
This passage was just in the lectionary too. This time around, i was struck by the fact that Lazarus was still bound up, even with his face covered, when Jesus called to him. He still had to respond, get up and walk out of the tomb, before he could be totally freed, unbound. Even in this gift of new life, a response was required. Sometimes I think we'd like to be passive receivers of a new life - but Lazarus had a part to do here, and I think we do to - we have to get up and get going, even if we still feel bound up and blind!
Hey there,
This is such a great story. Jesus was so confident in the power of God that he didn't rush off to hope that things would work out, he just waited until he was done with what he was doing, and then went to fix things with Lazarus. He's amazing that guy.
Then, the all telling verse, 35, two simple words that speak volumes Jesus wept. It's so incredible to think of the all-powerful God of the universe crying. It goes to show how much he really cares, and how he has feelings too. The God of the universe, all-knowing, life-changing, but still able to weep. I love Jesus.
I thought it was interesting with this Mary and Martha thing. There's a story in Luke 10:38-42 of Mary and Martha. In this story, Martha is the one that is too busy with her preparations to listen to the Lord, but Mary is listening at his feet.
In John 11, Mary stays home and Martha runs out to Jesus. Interesting comparison.
I bet Jesus couldn't go to this feast at the end of the chapter because "his time had not yet come..." Just the way his life worked out was so incredible and perfectly aligned with the scriptures. What a blessing for us as we study and profess our faith.
HooRah! :-)
God Bless, all!
Marshall Bailey
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