“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.” -John 11:1-17
The first part of this narrative sets the stage for the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead in verse 43. However, before we get to that point, there are many things we should note in the context and dialogue between Jesus and his disciples before they ever reach Bethany.
First, for context, the Jews had attempted to stone Jesus the last time He had been in Judaea (John 8:59 and John 10:31,39). Jesus’s claim as God the Son was considered blasphemy by the Pharisees and they were so incensed by this claim that they ultimately demanded His crucifixion and the many persecutions of His church as recorded in Acts. The dialogue that takes place here between Jesus and His disciples show that His disciples were immensely concerned about the danger of returning to Judaea. They objected to the risk of the trip, “The Jews of late sought to stone thee; goest thou thither again.” They then objected to the necessity of the trip, “Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.” When they realized Jesus’s mind was beyond changing, Thomas expressed despair of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Jesus’s answer to these objections is one of faith, which gives courage, initiative, and discipline. He says, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.” This saying hearkens back to John 9:4 when Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” It is also the same sentiment that Jesus expressed in Luke 2:49: “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” In these texts and others, Jesus made it clear that not an instant of time was to be wasted of His life. It was wholly dedicated to performing His Father’s will, and the threats of man would not deter Him from His duty. There is an appropriate time to walk and work in light (day) and a time when the light is departed (night). As long as the time of Jesus’s crucifixion was not yet come, Jesus would continue working. If there are twelve hours in a day, He would not be content using only eleven; He would use all twelve. Therefore, even in the face of the difficulties of the situation, He was determined to demonstrate His love to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and perform this miracle. This serves as a bright example for us: we ought to be industrious in our service to God, serving unafraid and with all readiness to be in our place of service. In short, we should never let the fear of man deter us from walking in the fear of God.
Next, we will examine the statement Jesus made when He heard of Lazarus’s sickness, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” The obvious objection arises: Lazarus did die! This was a sickness unto death! In this miracle, though, Jesus proved His power over death and Lazarus lived again, healed from the sickness as if he had naturally recovered and had not died. To the Lord, this death was merely sleep. The raising of the dead was no more difficult than awaking a person out of sleep. This fact speaks to the glory of God because only God has this power. Just as the other miracles we have studied in this series prove that Jesus is verily God, this miracle makes the profound point that Jesus has the power to give life. Jesus intentionally was not there at the time of Lazarus’s death so that Lazarus would not be healed from sickness, but instead be raised from the dead. This was done expressly so that the witnesses of the miracle would believe (verse 15).
Finally, we notice the love that Jesus had for His disciples. His compassion has been a theme in every miracle we have studied in this series, and it is just as much a theme here. His love for Lazarus was known by the sisters (verse 3). His love for the family was reiterated in verse 5. Jesus addressed Lazarus as “our friend” (verse 11) when He was speaking with His disciples. Proverbs teaches “There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24), which describes the fact that bonds of friendship are frequently even closer than bonds of family kinship. There is no doubt that this is the type of friendship Jesus had in mind. His love was personal in that He called each member of the family by name. It was also publicly expressed in both word and deed. It is a love that is not diminished by separation of distance, time, or even life itself. This is the type of love Christ had for Lazarus, and it is the same type of love that He has personally for all of His people. Having received this love from God, may the Lord bless us to love Him more and reflect this love in our own relationships with our fellow man.