Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die! (A Study of John 11) Part 2

The Lord Jesus came to heal the sick! Part of His mission was to “heal every disease and sickness among the people” (Mt. 4:23). He said that His ministry was not to the healthy, but to the sick (Mt. 8:12). He commanded His own disciples to go and “heal the sick, raise the dead” (Mt. 10:8)!

But when He hears that His friend Lazarus is sick, what does Jesus do? Let’s look at our portion of John 11 again ….

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.”

If someone sent word to you that “the one you love is sick,” what would you do? You’d drop everything, take a personal day off of work, and immediately go to that person you love. Right?

When Jesus is informed that the one He loves is sick, what does He do? He makes an astounding prediction and an amazing declaration. He says, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (v. 4).  The astounding prediction is that “this sickness will not end in death.”  Only GOD can make that kind of statement!  The amazing declaration is that “it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”  There is a purpose in Lazarus’ sickness; his illness is not meaningless.

But here we have Someone who has the power over life and death and who can guarantee that His beloved friend will not die!  So what does Jesus do?  We read, “He stayed where he was two more days.” (v. 6).  Why would He do such a thing?  (to be continued)