Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
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John 11:1-16
The Death of Lazarus
1Now 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 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
7Then 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.”
Like several of the stories in the Gospel of John, the death and resuscitation of Lazarus is a long and complicated story. Jesus says things that people misunderstand, so he needs to explain what he means. And like other stories in John, there’s not really one single lesson in this story – it sheds light on several aspects of our lives as followers of Jesus.
As the story begins, Jesus and his disciples are away from Jerusalem. They are somewhere near the River Jordan where John the Baptist had been conducting his ministry. While they’re in that place, a messenger arrives from the town of Bethany, were Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus lived.
The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus loved this family. And the Greek word that’s translated as “loved” in the story isn’t agape, which is the Greek word most commonly used for love in the New Testament. Agape means a concern for the welfare of another person, whether you like them or not. But that’s not the word the Gospel of John uses to describe Jesus’ relationship with these three siblings. The word that John uses is phileis, which means to love someone like a brother or sister. So we’re meant to understand that these people were like family to Jesus.
In fact, it’s interesting that John tells us that it’s the Mary of this family who will later pour perfume on the feet of Jesus and wipe them with her hair. It seems to me that John wants us to understand that there’s a deep affection between Jesus and the three siblings. In fact, I think you could probably make a case that this story goes more deeply than any other story in the gospels into the emotional life of its characters — including the emotions of Jesus himself.
After the news arrives that Lazarus is gravely ill, Jesus doesn’t leave right away for Bethany. That seems strange. On one hand, Jesus clearly knew how the story would end. But on the other hand, it would have been equally clear to Jesus that this drama that was playing out would bring great heartbreak to Mary and Martha, who were also beloved friends of his. So imagine how heartbreaking it must have been for him to delay his return to Bethany, knowing what the two girls were about to go through.
But Jesus did what he needed to do, knowing that these events were unfolding for a greater purpose: What was happening here was for God’s glory, and to lead others to believe.
When we think about how this story added to God’s glory, our first thought might be that Jesus would be ‘glorified’ as a miracle worker for bringing Lazarus back to life. But in the Gospel of John, the ‘glorification’ of Jesus usually refers to his death on the cross. So some Bible scholars say that what Jesus really had in mind was that by raising Lazarus from the dead, he would force the hand of the Jewish leadership. They already wanted Jesus eliminated, and if he was seen by the population as someone who could raise the dead, the leadership would have no choice but to maneuver even harder to get rid of him.
And Jesus’ disciples seem to sense what was happening. When Jesus announces that time has come to return to Bethany to play his role in this tragic situation, the disciples remind him that the Jewish leadership had already been plotting violence against him. But Jesus tells them that it’s time to do what has to be done – that’s apparently what he means when he talks about the twelve hours of darkness and light.
Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus is asleep. Of course, we know that he’s speaking metaphorically – we know that Lazarus is dead by this time. But as often happens in the Gospel of John, Jesus is misunderstood. The disciples just figure that if Lazarus is asleep, he’ll wake up. But Jesus has to spell it out for them: No, Lazarus is dead, but things will be all right in the end, because their faith and the faith of others will be strengthened by what happens.
So Jesus and his disciples set out for Bethany. And it seems worth noting that it’s Thomas who speaks up and encourages the other disciples to get up and go with Jesus, even if it means going to their death. That’s the Thomas who will go down in history as “Doubting Thomas.” But in this story, he’s ‘Courageous Thomas’ – the disciple who calls the others to follow their master into the heart of hostile territory, even if it means they all might wind up dead.
In tomorrow’s reading, Jesus and the disciples will arrive back in Bethany, walking into the scene of chaotic mourning.
Let’s pray. Lord, we are touched by the thought that Jesus shared in human friendship, that his relationship with humankind was not “just business” to him. And we thank you for this powerful story, in which our master was willing to set aside his love for dear friends for the sake of bringing about his ultimate glory – and yours. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
(The other readings for today are Psalms 1 and 33; Job 30:1-31; and Acts 14:19-28. Our readings come from the NIV Bible as posted on Biblica.org, the website of the International Bible Society.)
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