In our home group church we ending up looking at John 11 last week. This is the story of Lazarus’ death, and Jesus raising him from the dead. It is a story though, that doesn’t go quite as we might expect, and certainly not as his disciples expect. Here are the first verses of the story in John.
11 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.”
The family of Lazarus, Martha and Mary are mentioned elsewhere, and in other gospels also – and the similarity in portrayal of the sisters between Luke and John, despite their different styles is one good argument in favour of the authenticity of the gospel accounts. They are clearly supporters of Jesus’ ministry, whom Jesus visited on a number of occasions and Lazarus, along with Martha and Mary is loved by Jesus.
It is that detail that struck me when I read the passage out. Look at v5-6 again:
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick he stayed where he was two more days.
Notice that word. So. Lazarus is Jesus’ friend. Lazarus is sick, sick enough for word to be sent to Jesus. Jesus has the power to heal him. But, Jesus stays where he was for two more days – long enough, we will discover for Lazarus to die. Jesus loves this family. He loves Lazarus, and he loves his sisters. But because he loves them, he stays where he is. He doesn’t do anything they might want.
We’ll see how the story unfolds and how this makes sense. But I think it is worth pausing and reflecting on this reality. Jesus’ love is not immediately understandable or demonstrated. His love is true. His power is real. But he doesn’t use that love or power to solve the problem in any way that makes sense to his friends.
As I thought about that I thought how often I think Jesus could show up and demonstrate his love and power in a meaningful way. Perhaps by providing full healing from a sickness. Perhaps by straightening out a vicious spiral of thoughts someone suffers from. Perhaps by depositing £500 or so extra into the bank every so often. Perhaps by convincing people of his reality in a way that means they choose to believe in him.
So many different ways we want Jesus to act. And yet he doesn’t. In John 11 it is his love that means he chooses not to act in the way that his friends want him to. We can’t conclude from looking at our lives or our world that Jesus doesn’t care – even if we can’t see what he is doing.
In this story in John’s gospel, having delayed initially, he confuses his friends still more by the decision to then go – this is how they react:
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[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
His disciples don’t seem quite concerned about Lazarus at this point – rather they are worried about how the Jews (John’s shorthand either for the Jewish leaders, or specifically the people who live in Judea, rather than Galilee where Jesus comes from) will act towards them. The disciples remember how these people wanted to kill Jesus. But now Jesus is heading back to danger.
And Jesus words in v9-10 don’t seem to explain his reasoning in any kind of immediately understandable way. They seem more like a generic parable of light, bringing understanding, and darkness leading to stumbling. He follows those words by explaining that he is going to wake Lazarus up from sleep. The disciples don’t understand these words either. If he sleeps, he will recover.
Then Jesus speaks plainly (sort of), as he explains that Lazarus is dead, but that he is glad for their sake, that he was not there so that they may believe. Somehow Jesus’ absence from being with Lazarus will lead to the disciples belief. And so now Jesus calls the disciples to go with him.
Thomas’ reply seems somehow a fitting climax to this somewhat confusing conversation. If Jesus is going back to those who wanted to stone him then the disciples should go to, and die with him. Here Thomas somehow both lives up to the “doubting Thomas” name he has been stuck with, and yet displays great courage. When we don’t hear the tone of voice it is hard to hear if this is whispered courage or ironic resignation.
But either way his words bring us to the hinge of the story. The ‘cliff-hanger’. Jesus loves Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Jesus has the power to heal. But he delayed long enough that Lazarus would die. So now Jesus heads back to danger, and back to his friend, and somehow Jesus is calling his disciples to follow so that they will see something that will cause them to believe.
At this point to a character within the story it looks like Jesus has callously neglected his friends whom he loves in Bethany, and that now while it is too late to be any use he is heading to Bethany, where he will meet people who want to kill him – and so he risks pulling more friends into danger.
We’ll see how resolution comes as the chapter continues. But for now we can place ourselves with the disciples journeying to death, or with Mary and Martha weeping as they wonder what Jesus is really up to. Life is like being in this story very often. We cannot see the end from the beginning. Sometimes situations happen where hope seems to desert us.
And it feels like these situations get bigger. They happen to those we love fiercely who we would do anything to help. We love them, so we would stop the hurt. We love them so we would fix the pain. That accentuates our confusion and hurt at the God who could stop the pain with a word.
Yet Jesus stays. Jesus waits. Jesus confuses. All while, we are told in this story, Jesus loves, and Jesus has the power. God is good. God is sovereign. Evil rampages. This chapter is one story encapsulating the age old problem of suffering.
I want to look more at how the end of the chapter encourages those of us who live in the midst of these baffling verses in John 11. But I want to say now that this story encourages all of us to face the reality of life in this world. There is no sugarcoating or quick fix. Lazarus is dead. And yet Jesus is on the move. And Jesus loves.
Joshua's Tree Rooted 