Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die! (A Study of John 11) Part 25

As we look at this last section of John 11, we see that His intention in allowing His friend Lazarus to die (and then be gloriously raised to life by Jesus) resulted in two reactions: (1) belief on the part of some; (2) a prophesied plot to take Jesus’ life. Let’s read our section one last time …..

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.

Caiaphas was God’s messenger (without Caiaphas’ awareness or permission) in predicting the death of the Lord Jesus. Jesus has to withdraw from the public, spending time with His disciples.

Many tried to see whether Jesus would attend the Passover. But Jesus was a wanted man. The chief priests and the Pharisees wanted Jesus’ presence reported so He could be arrested.

And so ends John 11. We read in the next chapter of John: “9Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.”  Jesus’ plan worked to perfection! Many were believing in Him. Not all. But many. At the cost of Lazarus’ earthly life and at the cost of Jesus’ sacrificial death, belief in the Lord was the result. For some.

The religious leaders’ hatred of Jesus was so strong that now they wanted to kill Lazarus as well. Presumably, this man did die a second time, either at their hands or through “natural” death.  But it was well worth it.

 

 

Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die! (A Study of John 11) Part 10

In our next section, we learn a lot from the metrics of the situation. Let’s look at our passage . . .

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.”

We learn that Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem. So distance was not a problem. Jesus was not geographically prevented from walking to His friend’s bed of sickness and intervening. Walking two miles would take less than half an hour.  Rushing or running to the scene would have taken much less!

We also learn about time. When He arrived, Jesus learned that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days! Four days. Four days of mourning. Four days of thinking, “If only the Lord had come . . .”

The sisters loved their brother and don’t understand why Jesus did not rush to their aid. Martha goes out to meet the Lord and says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (v. 21).

She was certain that Jesus’ physical presence would have averted this tragedy, this ultimate disaster humans experience — death. She was right — and she was wrong. (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

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)

 

Friends Don’t Let Friends . . . Die? (A Study of John 11) (Part 1)

If you had the power to keep one of your friends from dying, wouldn’t you use it?  What could be more important than saving a friend from death?

In the passage we’re going to study for several posts, we see the Lord Jesus, the One who has the power of life and death, make a really strange decision.  Let’s look at the first part of 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.”

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.”

Jesus dealt with sickness wherever He went.  We read in Matthew 4 that “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” (v. 23)  Four chapters later in Matthew 8 we read “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” (v. 16)  In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 9 that “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (v. 12)

His ministry was to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and to heal “every disease and sickness” (Mt. 9:35). In fact, Jesus sent out the Twelve and “gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Mt. 10:1). He commanded His disciples to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons” (Mt. 10:8).

On one occasion Jesus saw a large crowd, and we read, “He had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Mt. 14:4). How is it He has no compassion for His friend who is dying? (to be continued)

 

Insight from a Blind Man (A Study of John 9) Part 28 (conclusion)

“What?  Are we blind too?”  I love how the Lord Jesus let people come to their own conclusions.  He doesn’t answer their question “Yes!” or “No!”  But He says, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin . . .”  So, in one sense, they were not blind.  Is Jesus saying that one’s ignorance of one’s sin means one is not guilty of sin?

“Your guilt remains.”  These last three words conclude this story of the man born blind.  The only other time we read of him is in John 11 where Jesus has allowed his good friend Lazarus to die so that He could raise him from the dead.  Before He calls forth Lazarus from the tomb, we read that “Jesus wept.”  Some respond to Jesus’ weeping by saying, “See how he loved him!”  Others said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” (v. 37).

The answer, of course, was yes!  Jesus could have kept His friend from dying.  But He didn’t.  There was something more important than Lazarus’ physical survival. The risen Lazarus becomes a reason for many to believe in Jesus — and “so the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well” (Jn. 12:10)!

There is a price to pay in following Jesus.  For the man born blind, it was excommunication from the life of Israel.  For Lazarus, it was a contract on his head because many were believing in Jesus as a result of his testimony.

For those of us whose guilt IS GONE, what price are we paying to follow Jesus?  I look forward to meeting this anonymous man born blind in heaven.  I want to thank him for his boldness, for his courage, and for his simple new life of following Jesus. (I’ve written up a fictional account of this man which tries to fill in some of the details of his story.  Let me know if you wish a copy).