Reaction In the Face of Death. (John 11:1-16)
Transcript.
I am supposed to have the gift of gab, a typical preacher, never supposed to be at a loss for words.
The first time I was called to minister to someone who’d lost a loved one, I don't recall ever being totally without words in my life. I mean, what do you say to comfort a young widow. Words somehow just seem empty and meaningless to a wife who has just become a widow.
I think a lot of people are at a loss to know what to say in the face of death, not just the death of someone else but even their own. On one occasion in my life, I thought I was really going to die I was only around 17 or 18 and someone put a gun in my face and I really though my number is up and this is it?" As a Christian are supposed to know what to think on such occasions, I strangely just froze and laughed, not sure why I reacted to that situation, in that way to this day.
In all the passages in the Bible, there is one in which Jesus Christ was faced with death, not His own, but in it He had an opportunity to talk to several people about it.
By looking at that passage, I think we can glean several lessons about how to face death—not just our own but the whole subject of death, ours and someone else’s.
What do you do and say when someone else is bereaved? And how should we approach our own mortality?
I think there are lessons in this opening part of John chapter eleven that will guide us in todays episode of TBPDP….
Today in John Chapter 11 is the story of the death of Lazarus. There is an introduction in the first six verses, then the Lord has a conversation with His disciples, then with Martha, and then with Mary.
Then tomorrow we will finish this story by seeing what Jesus response and action was in the face of death.
Because tomorrow we will look at the resurrection of Lazarus.
So, let’s begin by looking at the introduction.
Remember prior to this, there has been a growing hostility and antagonism toward Jesus Christ. Because of that, John told us in chapter 10 that Jesus Christ withdrew. As a matter of fact, in chapter 10, verse 40, it says that He went back beyond Jordan to the place where John had first baptized Him, and He stayed there.
That departure from Jerusalem was because of this antagonism towards him.
As the story opens, Jesus is beyond Jordan. The Bible tells us in verse one...
The Death of Lazarius.
1 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.”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 said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
(John 11: 1-16)
Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem. It was a little village a little further down the Jordanian valley, just outside of Jerusalem.
So, there were about 60 miles separating the two place involved in this story. John tells us that Lazarus of Bethany was sick. In verse 2, he specifies that it was Mary whose brother Lazarus was sick.
Mary story and relation to Jesus was obviously well-known by the time John's Gospel was written, so he identifies her in this way. At any rate, it tells us, "His sisters sent to Him, saying, ‘our brother Lazarus who You love is sick.'"
So, she sent a messenger about 60 miles, or probably even longer, to see the Lord and to tell Him that Lazarus was sick. She reminds the Lord that this is the one whom He loves. The word translated "loved" used here is the word, "phileo," which talks about a warm emotion of friendship and affection. More than just an acquaintance.
You need to note that she did not technically invite the Lord to come and heal him. She had seen the Lord heal others but was probaly aware of the antagonistic atmosphere in Jerusalem. So perhaps she did not invite Him to come for fear of what that might mean for Him.
She just sent a messenger to tell Him what was going on. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He said, " This sickness will not end in death. It is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it." This means that Lazarus's illness would ultimately glorify God and reveal Jesus’s glory.
The text then tells us He stayed two more days in the place where He was. One might have expected Him to immediately try and be there by the bedside, but that’s not what’s going on. Rather, it simply says He loved Lazarus, and then He waited.
This is a curious introduction to the story, but you need to understand a couple of things. By the time the Lord got the message, humanly speaking, Lazarus would have been probably assumed to be already dead.
Something to note here is that God’s timing is perfect to accomplish His purpose. To us, it may appear that He is sometimes late. If He had arrived earlier, perhaps this could have been prevented Lazarus’s death. But from God’s point of view, the purpose of all of this was for His glory and the sisters and the family’s spiritual growth.
From that point of view, He deliberately delayed his journey to accomplish His purpose.
The next time you feel that God is late, don’t allow the seeming delay to cause you to doubt His love. The text clearly says the Lord loved Lazarus. That doesn’t just mean He had a great deal of emotion for him, though He did have that. But the point of the delay means Jesus was choosing to do what was best, and because of that, He delayed His departure.
So don’t allow the seeming delay in an answer to your prayers cause you to doubt God’s love.
With all that in mind, the story begins. Now, let’s look at the various conversations that take place throughout this chapter.
Verse 7 says, "Then after this He said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.'" The disciples immediately object, aware of the atmosphere of anger, hate, and hostility. They say, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, surely you are not going there again?" "They tried to stone you recently, and it’s still going back. To go back up there is an act of suicide."
Jesus replies by essentially saying, "As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work."
Today, we simply turn on the electric lights and keep working if we want to. Back then, they didn’t have such conveniences. They could only work while it was day.
So, Jesus is saying it's day, meaning I'm still alive meaning I still have the opportunity to do God’s work. I'm going to work while I have the time.
The night signifies his death, in which he will not be able to work.
Jesus then says to the disciples, "Lazarus is asleep; let's go wake him up."
Again, what He means is Lazarus is dead. The word "sleep" is again a reference to death. The word "sleep" is used 18 times in the New Testament, and in about 15 of those, it refers to death.
The word used is the word from which we get the term "cemetery" literally means "sleeping place." Now, this has caused no end of confusion among some people. Some are aware that the Bible refers to death as sleep and have concocted a doctrine of soul sleep. That is not at all what the Bible means by it—not at all.
So, when the Bible uses the term "sleep," in this way it does not mean that people are unconscious.
This has been misunderstood today, and it was misunderstood on this day in John 11. Look at the next verse. The text tells us in verse 12, "His disciples said, 'Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well.'" They didn't understand. They thought Jesus was talking about natural sleep as well. Which is why in verse 13 it clarifies that, "Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep." Then Jesus tells them plainly, "Lazarus is dead."
So, He says, "Lazarus is dead, but I am glad this has happened because the purpose of all of this is to manifest my deity and to help you believe." It is rather interesting. In the Gospel of John, we see miracles that Christ performed. The first was changing water into wine in John 2, and this is the last recorded in John 11. There are similarities between these two miracles—the first and the last. Both involved a family—a wedding and a funeral. Both were done to glorify Jesus Christ, as stated in both passages, and both were done so that the people who witnessed them might believe.
In John 2, the disciples believed, building upon what the already believed in chapter 1. Here, He says this is done that you might believe, but again they already believed. Therefore, these two miracles were done not just to produce initial faith but to help produce a growing faith.
So, Jesus is saying, "Look, Lazarus is dead, and the reason he is dead is so that so when you witness what will happen your faith will grow even more." The Bible tells us in verse 16 that, “Thomas said to the rest of the disciples, “Let also go, that we may die with him.” You have to remember that the backdrop to all of this is the antagonistic, charged atmosphere that I pointed out from chapter 10, verses 39 and 40. The disciples are convinced that going back to Judea is an act of suicide. Thomas says, "Let go anyway even if we die with him."
Thomas looks at the situation and sees imminent death. He doesn't see the potential for a miracle or the opportunity for growth in faith. He sees doom ahead.
This shows that sometimes crises have the potential to destroy us can develop us.
Thomas represents those who are inclined to see the worst in every situation. Thankfully there are always some very optimistic folks around, eagerly anticipating what the Lord is going to do, seeing things from God's perspective to help balance us out across our church and faith communities.
I'd like to say to you: don't hang around people who are constantly negative. The book of Proverbs warns us not to hang around an angry person, lest we learn their ways.
My observation is that the same holds true for someone who is negative toward Christianity. Negative people influence you. Avoid letting their negativity cloud your faith. Instead, surround yourself with those who encourage and uplift, who see God's hand in every situation, and who trust in His timing and purpose.
In this case, Thomas didn't even get an answer from Jesus. So, it seems to me that when people are constantly negative about your faith, there are times when you shouldn't even answer them. You may find yourself in situations where you can’t break off or leave them, (like family) so just ignore them. Do not let their negativism affect you. The Lord didn't engage with Thomas' negativity he just moved on with the conversation.
Next, let's look at the conversation with Martha that takes place in verses 17 to 27.
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus.
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 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.”
(Luke 11: 17-27)
So, by the time Jesus arrives Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days," and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed at home.
Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
We need to be careful about this verse; it can be easily misunderstood. She did not say, "If you had come when the messenger reached you, and if you had listened to the message, all this would have been prevented." That is not what she says, nor is that the point.
This is not a reproach; rather, it is simply a factual statement. I would imagine that Mary and Martha had been sitting around talking, saying, "You know, we saw Jesus do miracle after miracle after miracle. He healed sick people, and if he had been here, this probably wouldn't have happened." So, she's not blaming the Lord; she's simply making a factual statement. It is perhaps a statement of regret, not a statement of reproach.
But then she says, "But I know that even now, whatsoever you will ask of God, God will give it to you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
Jesus knows what's going to happen, but she doesn't, nor does she get the point yet because she says to him, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus says to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
You need to underline these verses in your mind because this is the heart of the whole chapter. This is the point of the whole incident. Jesus turns to her and says, "I am the resurrection and the life." He does not say that you need to look forward to the last day to experience this resurrection into new life. He says, "I am the resurrection right now." He does not say that you need to pray to procure this blessing in the future; He is the blessing in the present. And He says, "I am the resurrection and the life."
What follows, there is an explanation of this statement. Look at the text carefully. He says in verse 25, "He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Alright, He says that if you believe and then die physically, you will live eternally. So that is the part of it, but he amplifies and explains the resurrection is more than the resurrection of the dead person. Jesus Christ is the resurrection to new life today.
He is no longer talking about the deceased guy in the tomb; He is talking about this to those who are with Him now.
I believe think this little phrase, "I am the resurrection and the life," applies to the person who has departed (Lazarus) but also to the people who remain alive.
To the deceased, He is the resurrection from physical death. To the living, He is spiritual resurrection to eternal life.
He then turns to her and says, "Do you believe this?" She says to Him, "Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God."
This is one of the clearest statements in all of the Gospel of John of an affirmation on the part of anyone of the deity and messiahship of Jesus Christ. There is a sense in which, at this point, we have reached one of the apexes and climaxes of the Gospel of John, which was written so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and you might have life in His name.
And out of the mouth of Martha comes that very statement: "I believe that you are the Messiah. I believe that you are God, the one that should come into the world."
So, in his conversation with Thomas, Jesus confronts doubt.
In his conversation with Martha, He confirms faith.
That is exactly what He wants.
The second conversation was with Martha. The third conversation is with Mary, starting at verse 28 and going all the way to verse 37.
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?
(John 11: 17-37)
When Jesus encounters Mary, who by the way is weeping profusely, he is deeply moved by her sorrow and the sorrow of those around her. The Greek word translated as "weeping" suggests loud, uncontrollable crying, indicating deep emotional pain and mourning. This display of raw emotion is significant because it shows Jesus' empathy and compassion for human suffering.
Jesus' reaction is described as "groaning" in his spirit, which signifies anger and indignation, likely directed at the pain and death that he knows is caused by sin and the fallen state of the world. This emotional response highlights Jesus' humanity and his deep connection to those he loves.
Verse 35, the shortest verse in the Bible, simply states, "Jesus wept." This verse, though brief, is powerful. It conveys that Jesus, despite his divine nature, he still expresses genuine human emotions. The word for "wept" here indicates a quiet, controlled shedding of tears, contrasting with the loud wailing of Mary and the others around Him.
The people witnessing this scene are divided in their reactions. Some see Jesus' tears as a sign of his deep love for Lazarus, while others question why he did not prevent Lazarus' death if he had the power to do that sort of miraculous thing. This skepticism reflects a lack of understanding of Jesus' greater purpose and the significance of what is about to unfold.
When Jesus arrives at the tomb, he instructs that the stone be taken away. Martha hesitates, pointing out that Lazarus' body would have begun to decompose after four days. This practical concern underscores the reality of death and decay, setting the stage for the miraculous demonstration of Jesus' power over death that will follow.
The Jewish custom of burying the dead on the same day and the belief that the soul lingers near the body for three days highlight the urgency and significance of this moment. Martha's concern about the stench of decay reflects her struggle to balance her faith in Jesus with the harsh reality of death.
Jesus' command to remove the stone is an act of faith. It challenges those present to believe in his power and authority, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. This moment emphasizes the necessity of faith and trust in Jesus' words leading to action.
This passage not only showcases Jesus' miraculous power over death but also calls for faith in Jesus' power and authority, empathy and presence in times of sorrow, and the recognition that Jesus' actions are driven by deep love and compassion for humanity.
As the story of Lazarus' resurrection unfolds, it reinforces the core message that Jesus is the source of life and hope, even in the face of death.
So Jesus will now issue a call to action, to those gathered around the grave side, and to Lazarus himself, but we shall look at that tomorrow.
