John 11:1-45
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the
village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord
with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3
So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is
ill." 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead
to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified
through it." 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and
Lazarus, 6 after having 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 trying to stone you, and are you going there
again?" 9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight?
Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of
this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in
them." 11 After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has
fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." 12 The disciples said
to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." 13
Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was
referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.
15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us
go to him." 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow
disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." 17 When Jesus
arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now
Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had
come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha
heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home.
21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not
have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of
him." 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.
Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who
lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said
to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God,
the one coming into the world." 28 When she had said this, she went back
and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here
and is calling for you." 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and
went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the
place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house,
consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because
they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came
where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord,
if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw
her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly
disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, "Where have you laid
him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus began to
weep. 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 have kept
this man from dying?" 38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the
tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said,
"Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to
him, "Lord, already there is a stench because 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 looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard
me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the
crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When
he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44
The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his
face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him
go." 45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen
what Jesus did, believed in him.
…when
Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it
is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
·
The past few Sundays, we’ve been
talking about John and the “signs” in John’s Gospel. In the weekly Bible Study,
we’ve been discussing the Parables in Matthew. It’s odd to note that there
aren’t any parables in John; there are only signs.
·
Each sign points to the Kingdom
of God breaking into our world and our reality. Each of these signs
accomplishes something wonderful in itself, but even more wonderful in pointing
beyond themselves to what is to come and what is to be.
·
In his signs, Jesus turns water
to wine, heals a suffering person. He walks on water, feeds thousands with a
few loaves and a couple of fish, and finally raises his friend Lazarus to life
from death.
·
In each of these signs, these
deeds of power, the tables are turned. The thirsty revellers at the wedding now
have better wine to drink than they started out with. The royal official
receives his son back from a terrible illness, believing that Jesus’ word can
heal. A paralysed man walks at the command of Jesus only to be berated for
carrying his mat on the Sabbath. The small amount of food given over by a small
boy becomes enough to satisfy a large crowd.
·
Last week we heard of a man who
was born blind and who received his sight from Jesus. Those around him had
difficulty accepting his new health because they didn’t believe that things
could change and weren’t sure it really was him. Today we hear of a dead man
raised to life.
·
The common thread here – beside
the fact that Jesus performs these signs – is that they change everything
around them. When Jesus walks on the water, his disciples’ journey in the boat
is accomplished; What was a moment of terror becomes a time and place to move
on. A paralyzed man awaiting his turn to enter the healing waters of a certain
pool finds his own healing waters in the person of Jesus. A handful of bread
and a few pieces of fish becomes a massive feast with leftovers to spare.
·
With the man born blind, Jesus
shows that none are so blind as those who will not see, as the old saying goes.
The Pharisees refuse to see God working because it does not fit their narrow
understanding of how God can work. With Lazarus, Jesus shows that death does
not have the last word and that the power over life and death is not in the
hands of the so-called powerful. Those who can kill seem to be in control, but
the one who gives life is really in charge. In many ways, Jesus redefines what
living means. Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again
in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will
live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
·
Now the dead come to life and
those who appear to live come to understand just how dead they really have
been.
·
In raising Lazarus to life, Jesus
serve notice to all who assume that it is they who have the power of life and
death that their power is null and void and at an end; It is the Son of Man who
really has the power over both life and death. No king or judge or emperor can
give life, but Jesus can.
·
These signs in John's Gospel all
point to the Kingdom of God. And there is still one sign left to see in John’s
Gospel: the crucifixion and the Resurrection. Some scholars say this is really
two signs, but can those events ever be separated? This final sign, Jesus' own
death and resurrection turns the entire world over, death leading to a greater
life and humiliation leading to glorification. Those who have studied John's
writings call this part following the “Book of Signs”, the “Book of Glory” for
those chapters show Jesus in his glory, even though we might feel that his
humiliation, passion, and death is not glory. For John, it is.
·
All of these signs in John turn
things over. The old becomes new, the broken is mended, the blind see, and the
dead live. But still for new growth in the Spring doesn't the ground need to be
turned over?
·
So it is with the Kingdom of God.
For us who believe, it is our hope and our goal. This kingdom of grace is what
we count on, even if it seems topsy-turvy. What seems like defeat will be known
as triumph. What appears as sadness will be turned to joy. What is seen as
death will be turned into life. As it was for Jesus, so it will be for us. All
through the love of God.
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