The Resurrection and The Life

John 11

​If someone says that a Christian walking with the Lord can’t become ill or contract a disease, that person is simply wrong. Lazarus’s sickness was not a means of punishment, not a sign of rebellion. Rather, it had a spiritual purpose.

“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” John 11:1–5 (ESV)

The sisters, Mary and Martha, sent their message to the Lord because they knew He was concerned about them and possess much love for them. God’s love keeps His ears open to our cries.

“What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. ​16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.” Ps. 34:12–16

Often, we think that love must act immediately, but sometimes delay brings a greater blessing: “God’s delays are not God’s denials.” Jesus gave them a promise to encourage them while they waited. The promise seemed to have failed, but Jesus knew what He was doing.

“So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11:6–16 (ESV)

Dr. Harold Wilmington writes, “Though Jesus had a deep affection for this family from Bethany, he remained where he was for two days. When he finally announced his plans to go to Judea, where Bethany was located, his disciples tried to discourage him, remembering previous trouble there. Jesus then told them that Lazarus was dead but that he intended to raise him. The deliberate two-day delay may have been in response to a Jewish superstition that a person’s spirit hovered over the body for three days after death and that resurrection during that time was at least remotely possible. Jesus wanted to be sure that there could be no such erroneous explanation for his raising of Lazarus. Death for the believer is a peaceful sleep; however, it is not an unconscious “soul sleep” shows Christ’s omniscience.”

“Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” John 11:17-27 (ESV)

Dr. Tony Evans writes, “Resurrection isn’t just an event; the resurrection is a person. The Son of God has “life in himself” and can give life so that a person may “live forever”. Jesus himself is the basis of eternal life. That’s how he can say that the one who believes in [him] will never die—that is, he will pass from physical life immediately into eternal life. The present tense (lives and believes in me) also shows that Jesus is a right-now deliverer, not just a future one.”

“Though she still didn’t comprehend everything or know what exactly was going to happen, Martha trusted Jesus and confessed Him as the Messiah, the Son of God. Choose to hang on to that conviction when your own world is rocked by grief. When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So 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 also have kept this man from dying?” John 11:28–37 (ESV)

Jesus then saw Mary, who also expressed regret over His delay but didn’t share Martha’s hope of resurrection. During a previous encounter with Christ, it had been Mary who demonstrated the greater faith. As Jesus watched Mary weep, He too was moved to tears and was “deeply troubled, angry, or scolded.” This suggests Christ’s grief and anger over death itself, the tragic result of Adam’s sin.

“Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” John 11:38–44 (ESV)

Jesus called Martha to demonstrate her faith in Him by her action—allowing the stone to be removed. Faith must precede sight if we want to see God’s supernatural intervention in our circumstances. We’ll never know what God plans to do until we obey what he has clearly revealed. He could’ve showed up on time and conducted a private miracle to heal Lazarus. Instead, He arrived late to put on a public, supernatural display, validating His messianic identity and sparking faith in a mass gathering of people. The latter, though it resulted in temporary grief, would produce tremendous spiritual impact and bring God greater glory. Jesus’s prayer for His Father’s supernatural intervention illustrates His current intercessory work of deliverance for believers when we respond in faith and obedience. This is why we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus. This scene is a foretaste of what is to come. And though Lazarus would physically die again, those who believe in Jesus will take part in the everlasting resurrection and live forever.

Do you trust Jesus with your eternal future? How do you respond to God’s delays in answering your greatest needs, desires, and difficulties? Do you trust in His promises? Do you see yourself more like Mary or more like Martha?
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Today, know that in Christ, you have inherited eternal life and He is the resurrection and the life!

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