Lesson 32

Sickness For The Glory Of God

John 11:1-16

After a six week hiatus, we return today to our journey through the Gospel according to John.

Up to this point, John has presented the public ministry of Jesus, selecting those events, those personal encounters, those miracles which enable us to know who Jesus is. Time and again, the words and the works of Jesus have pointed to His deity. Jesus claims to be the Son of God and Jesus proves His claims. In John 9:37, Jesus said, in response to the question "Who is the Son of God", "You are talking to Him right now." He told the Samaritan woman that she was speaking to the Messiah (4:26). He said to their question "If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly", "I and my Father are one" (10:30).

His miracles authenticate His claims. He has the creative power of God turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, and in multiplying the fish and loaves for the feeding of the 5000. He has the healing power of God. He heals the nobleman's son who is near death in spite of great distance. He gives steps to the paralyzed man who had been waiting for a miracle for 38 years. He gives sight to eyes that had never seen the light of day. He has power over disease and even power over nature. He can walk on water.

Over and over, John writes Jesus claims to be the Son of God, that respected prophets like John the Baptist say the same thing about Jesus and that Jesus proves what He claims with incredible miracles.

There is another element to this story that John repeats again and again. That being, that the religious leaders and people of Israel refused to believe Christ's claims in spite of the miracles. They mocked his words (2:20). They challenged the truth that He did not allow the sabbath to prevent Him from healing (5:16). They persecuted Jesus (5:16) and sought to kill him (5:18). They tried to trap Him (8:6). They tried to have Him arrested (7:32). They argued with Him (6; 8:13ff). They called Him a demon-possessed mad-man (10:20) and said that it was blasphemous for Him to claim to be God (10:33).

By the time we reach the end of chapter 10, Jesus has presented Himself to Israel in a multitude of times, circumstances, words and miracles as the Son of God but they refuse to believe in Him.. An so, Jesus withdraws from public ministry and concentrates His efforts on training His disciples. He leaves Jerusalem at the end of chapter 10 in December and does not return until Passover.

We have reached a turning pointing in the Gospel according to John. The 57 verses that comprise John 11 all have to do with one event. The seventh and final miracle that John writes in his gospel, the resurrection of Lazarus. The resurrection of Lazarus is the climax of the miracles for in it is the greatest demonstration of Christ's divine power during His ministry.

The first 37 verses of John 11 set the background for the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. There are some important lessons for us to learn from the whole event. According to verse 4, this entire event happened for a purpose. Both the illness and the resurrection of Lazarus happened in order to reveal God's glory. In chapter 9, verses 2-3 the disciples wanted to know what had caused a particular man to have been born blind. "Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, "Neither this man hath sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." The miracles of Jesus give glory to God, v.40. And the condition that led to these miracles also bring glory to God. God is glorified because Christ's claims of deity are vindicated through the miracle, v.45-47. God is glorified because the faith of His followers is strengthened, v. 15. This miracle is an inseparable part of Jesus' journey to the cross (v. 53) and the cross of Christ brought the greatest glory to God. John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.

The Critical Man, 11:1-2.

The text puts the emphasis on the illness, not on the individual. Before ever giving us his name, John tells he was sick. Then John helps us to figure out who the guy is by speaking of his name (Lazarus), his village (Bethany, a tiny village just two miles from Jerusalem) and his sisters (Mary and Martha). In fact, John wants us to know that this was the Mary (v. 2) who had anointed Jesus' feet with oil and wiped it with her hair (12:3). At the time of John's writing, this Mary, apparently was well-known in the Christian realm. This is a family, two sisters and a brother. A family that knew and loved Jesus. A home where Jesus had gone to find rest and shelter from the pressures of ministry and the persecution of men. And now Lazarus is sick. The word for sick indicates that his illness was very serious. We might say that he is in critical condition.

The Concerned Sisters, 11:3-6.

Illness had come to the home, death threatened so the sisters immediately thought of Jesus. He had healed hundreds of strangers. Surely He would come to the aid of those He knew and loved. Their faith in Jesus' power to heal is evident, see v. 21; v. 32.

The Request. The message that Mary and Martha sent to Jesus is beautiful in its simplicity. There is no mention of symptoms, they didn't even ask Jesus to do anything. They simply sent a message informing Jesus that one whom He loved was sick. What humility! What faith! What love!

The Reply. Upon hearing the need, the reply that Jesus gave indicates that sometimes sickness is designed for the glory of God. Many people who have been sucked into the faith-healing movement feel that sickness is always a result of sin. That just isn't always true. The story of Job, the event recorded both here and in John 9 and the words of Paul concerning his thorn in the flesh all illustrate that God can get glory from sickness equally as much as He can be glorified from healing.

John wants to establish the true of Christ's love for this family (v. 5) before speaking of a two-day delay (v. 6). It's a strange kind of love that waits for two days before responding. But His delay did not mean that He didn't love them. Human love would have manifested itself by hurrying to Bethany, but divine love wasn't in any hurry at all.

Sometimes we are in a hurry and the Lord seems to be running late. But God is never late. Sometimes He makes us wait. When you worry because God doesn't immediately come to the rescue, realize that He often makes us wait before His love becomes visible. God wants us to learn to wait and to trust His timing. Isa 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted...

blessed are all they that wait for him. Sometimes God takes a while to wrap up all the packages the way He wants them to be delivered. Don't rush God. Don't interpret His love on the basis of time. The Lord knows what is best and He knows the right time. God operates on a different timetable than we do, calibrated to matters of eternal consequence rather than temporal. We focus on what is urgent. God concentrates on what is important. We concentrate on what is immediate; God on what is ultimate. A tremor of truth that ripples through this passage to touch our lives is that when delay occurs God has a better time and a better way. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path", Proverbs 3:5-6.

By the way, it was a day's journey from Bethany to where Jesus was. It would have taken a day for Jesus to get the message. Jesus waited two days. The fourth day he and the disciples traveled to Bethany. How many days had Lazarus been dead? Verse 39, 17 - Four days. (Jews did not embalm the corpse so that burial happened very shortly after death.) Lazarus died on the day that Mary and Martha sent the message. Jesus could not have been in Bethany before Lazarus died.

The Cringing Disciples, 11:7-10.

When Jesus announced to His disciples that they were going to Judea (v. 7), the disciples react with fear and confusion (v.8). This decision didn't make sense to the disciples. They had left Jerusalem and Judea because the angry Jewish leaders were attempting to arrest Jesus and stone Him (10:39; 11:8). Why would Jesus want to go back to where He had just escaped? Furthermore, their ministry beyond Jordan was apparently quite effective (10:42 - "many believed"). Why would they leave when things were going so well to go to a place where they were in danger? Finally, when they learned that Lazarus was sick, Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death" which they interpreted to mean that Lazarus wasn't sick enough to die, so what was the point of going?

The reassurance that Jesus gives His disciples comes in the form of an illustration in verse 9-10. Just as God has prescribed the amount of daylight and darkness that there is (because of Israel's location near the equator there is basically twelve hours of light and twelve hours of darkness year round) and we cannot make it stay light any longer or make it get dark any earlier, God has also set the boundaries of our lives. We will not live a minute longer nor die a minute sooner than God has determined. Our life span is under the control of God. Therefore, as Christians we do not have to fear death. We are not going to die until God says so. We don't know when that moment is, so this is not an excuse for risky behavior nor a fatalism but a reason for confidence in the face of fierce opposition. The Christian need not fear death.

The Confident Christ, 11:11-16.

It is with full confidence that Jesus speaks about Lazarus being asleep and His intention to awaken him from sleep. He is speaking metaphorically about death comparing it to a temporary sleep. Unfortunately, the men missed the metaphor. They took his words literally, that Lazarus was literally asleep and wondered if the rest wouldn't be good for sick Lazarus, vs. 12-13. And so Jesus clarified his metaphor in verse 14 - Lazarus is dead. Because Jesus had not been there and Lazarus died, now there was going to be resurrection instead of healing. The disciples had witnessed numerous healings. But by witnessing a resurrection there faith was going to be strengthened. They needed to know not only that Jesus has power over disease, He also has power over death. Which brings more glory to God - a healing or a resurrection? Which builds faith more - a healing or a resurrection? Which demonstrates the deity of Christ more clearly - a healing or a resurrection? Thus, the sickness and the death of Lazarus were to the glory of God.

I'm not exactly sure just how to take Thomas' statement in verse 16. On the one hand I see a strong commitment to Christ. Thomas loves Him so much that he is willing to die with him (or at least says he is). On the other hand, his faith leaves something to be desire. He sounds resigned to the fact that by going back to Judea would mean certain death.

For the Christian death is but a slumber. A Christian woman, facing the possibility of death, asked her pastor if he could explain what death was like for a believer. The pastor told her this story. When he was a small boy he had gone to work with his dad in a town that was several hours walk from their home. They had crossed a river early in the morning on the way to the town and the boy had been frightened by the slippery rocks and rushing waters. His father had taken his hand and they had safely crossed the river. They worked hard all day and when they began the walk home late in the evening, the little boy had been so tired. His dread of crossing the river had been intensified by his weariness. They hadn't quite got to the river - he couldn't see it but he could hear the rousing waters in the distance - when his father picked him up to carry him. And he said that he was almost instantly asleep in his father's strong arms. He described to the woman how that remembered just a momentary jolt and the next thing he knew, it was morning and he was at home in a warm bed fully rested. The pastor then explained, "That's the way I think death will be for the Christian. When we are weary from our life's work and headed for home, perhaps frightened about crossing the river, the Father will pick us up and we will go to sleep. We may feel a jolt or two, but the next thing we know, will be waking up warm and safe and rested and at home in the Father's house.

As Christians, we must not be anxious because of His apparent delays nor seized with fear of death. We must trust God, we must trust His timing, His judgments, His control of our life and seek His glory.