Lazarus

I've been thinking and contemplating John 11:1-44.  Earlier this morning, I read through the first third of our Ladies Club Bible study book, Refresh My Heart by Claudia Barber.  Our lesson tonight is having a peaceful heart.  We all want more peace...maybe in the form of peace & quiet...or peace with a friend or family member. 

I know that I love to have peace in my workplace - not that it's tumultuous all the time.  It's just tense right now as we gear-up for big projects and I am forced to work with a procrastinator.  I don't like to procrastinate.  Infact, not procrastinating was one of my 2012 resolutions and I must confess, only by God's grace did I not procrastinate too much last year.  :)  Too much might be the key phrase. 

Here's what happened in John 11.  The Angie paraphrase is...

Lazarus, friend of Jesus, was sick. He lived in the city of Bethany with his two sisters - Mary and Martha.  If you read verse 2, the Bible tells us this very Mary was the one who anointed the Lord's feet with ointment.

Mary and Martha knew Jesus could heal their brother, so they sent word to him - most likely via a messenger.  "Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick."

When Jesus heard the message, He said "This sickness is not unto death..." (verse 4).

I love verse 5....  "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus."

When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He did not drop what He was doing and go attend to Lazarus.  Verse 6 says that He stayed another two days where He was when He received the message.

After two days, He said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judaea." 

Imagine the disciples shock when the Lord told them Judaea.  You see, by going there, the disciples knew the Jews had attempted to stone Jesus during the previous journey. 

Jesus knew His mission and it was to travel to Judaea so he explained to the disciples that they needed to go there because men are walking around in darkness (spiritual darkness) and they need THE LIGHT.

Jesus went on to tell them that Lazarus sleepeth.  When He used the word sleepeth, He wasn't referring to a nap or slumber.  Jesus was referring to Lazarus' death.  He even went on to plainly say that he is dead (verse 14). 

In verse 15, Jesus explained why they needed to go...

"And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him."

Jesus is telling them that something BIG is going to happen and I don't think that disciples fully comprehended what was about to take place.  The magnitude of what they would witness.  In verse 16, Thomas basically told the others, "Let's go with him so that we can die too."

The journey must've taken them two days since when Jesus received word of Lazarus' illness, He stayed two more days before going to Judaea.

Jesus enters Bethany to see a great group of professional mourners.  The first time I ever heard about this - I was amazed.  People were hired to come and cry and wail and mourn.  Basically they were paid actors/actresses. Paid to grieve.  If you are paid to grieve, how sincere is your grief?  Not very, I would think.

Mary, Martha, and the mourners were gathered.  Mary stayed in the house while Martha ran to meet her Lord.  Mary immediately declared, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."

God oftentimes does not remove us from trials and make our way paved with yellow bricks.  No, He sometimes leads us through storms and the brambles to teach us to trust Him more. 

Jesus tried explaining to Martha that she would see Lazarus again, when He said, "Thy brother shall rise again."  Martha thought He meant in the resurrection of the saints but Jesus was speaking plainly.  Your brother is going to live again...TODAY!!!!!

Jesus delivers a powerful I AM statement in verses 25 and 26, "I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live.  And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  Believest thou this?"

Martha answered that she does indeed believe and then in verse 28, she exits stage left and goes to find Mary.  Martha informs Mary of Jesus arrival and Mary arose quickly and came unto Him.

Verse 30 gives us some useful information.  Martha had met Jesus when He wasn't in town yet; therefore, when Mary went to find Him, the crowd thought she was going to Lazarus' grave to weep.

When Mary found Jesus, she fell down at His feet and told Him that had He been there, Lazarus would still be alive.  Jesus saw her weeping.  He saw the crowds weeping.  What sadness.  In verse 35, we see His compassion - Jesus wept.  I speculate that He wept for their unbelief and for their sadness.  Do you ever  cry when you see someone else crying?  I do...and for the longest time, I thought (and was told) that being too compassionate was a bad thing.  It's not.  The world needs more compassionate people.

When the Jews saw Jesus weeping, they said, "Behold how He loved him!"

The next scene takes Jesus to the cave where Lazarus was buried.  There is a stone.  Jesus commands the stone to be rolled away.  The sisters point out the fact that Lazarus is going to stink!  (It's what sisters do - state the obvious.  I think it's our sisterly duty!) 

Jesus then said, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?"  Basically - if you were to only believe, then you would see the blessing of the glory of God!

They removed the stone.  Jesus then prayed to His Father and then in a loud voice, Jesus commanded, "Lazarus come forth!"  Can you even imagine what it would've been like to be gathered with Mary and Martha and see Lazarus come out of the cave? 

Imagine sharing this story with others...
Neighbor:  "What did you do yesterday?  Me - not much.  Fixed the wagon wheel."
Me:  "I saw Jesus and He raised Lazarus of Bethany from the dead!  I SAW IT!"

We can share with others the wonderful miracles that Christ has done in our lives.  How He's transformed us from an old creature and made us to walk in newness of life.