Day 302 (John 11) - Year 6
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. John is the only gospel writer who records the remarkable story we read today. Jesus raised lots of people from the dead, but since John was a part of Jesus' inner circle, it's possible that this particular instance was more of a big deal to him personally, because he probably knew Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. By the way,

By the way, you may recognize Mary and Martha, the sisters we read about in Luke 10. But this Lazarus is different from the Lazarus we read about yesterday. Lazarus gets sick and the sisters sin for Jesus. But he just keeps at what he's doing and is like, I'm not worried about it. This illness isn't going to lead to death. It's going to be used to glorify God.

And technically, Lazarus does die, but he just doesn't stay dead. So Jesus still knows what he's talking about here. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Jesus doesn't go to their house right away. He stays two more days before heading there. His delay has to be excruciating for Mary and Martha and possibly confusing for his disciples. We'll come back to this, so put a pin in it.

The disciples don't want to go to Bethany where the family lives, because the people there are always trying to kill Jesus. It's just about two miles east of Jerusalem. But Jesus knows it's not time for him to die. And in fact, it's time for Lazarus to undie. So they pack up and head to Bethany. By the way, I love the statement from Thomas here. I can't tell if he's truly committed and is enthusiastic when he says, "'Let us also go that we may die with him.'"

Or if it's more sarcastic, like, let us also go that we may die with him. Like, you gotta be kidding me. Okay, pack up. I guess we're getting dragged to our deaths too.

I can relate to both options. When they arrive, Lazarus is four days dead. Mary stays inside mourning, but Martha, ever the doer, runs out to meet Jesus and asks him to do something, though she doesn't exactly know what. Then one of the most ironic moments in Jesus' ministry happens. You know how he's always talking about things on a spiritual and eternal level, but people think he's talking about physical things? Well, the one time he's talking about a physical thing, he still gets misunderstood because Martha thinks it's spiritual.

Jesus says, I'm going to raise Lazarus from the dead. And she's like, right, right, in the resurrection to eternal life. And I bet he wanted to be like, no, right now, go grab your camera. But instead, he reasons with her practically about what he's capable of and saves the surprise for later.

What I love about Martha's faith in Jesus is that it isn't specific to his ability to raise Lazarus. That hasn't even occurred to her. Her faith is just rooted in the fact that Jesus is good and strong and loving. It isn't entitled or demanding. It doesn't claim anything other than the goodness of God. That's where she drops her anchor.

Next, Jesus goes to talk with Mary, the more emotionally driven of the two sisters. You may remember that she's the one who sat at his feet listening to his stories while Martha was carving the turkey. She says the same thing Martha said, but Jesus responds to her in a totally different way. He weeps. I love how he meets people where they are.

His responses to people are so personal, specific, and attentive. Not only that, but we get to see his humanity here as well. He's moved by their pain. He enters into their grief. Even knowing he's moments away from raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus doesn't brush off the weight of what has happened. But even still, there are scoffers who like, if you really cared, you would have stopped this from happening. They don't understand his ways or his timing, and they mistrust his heart.

Jesus tells him to roll the stone away. Then he prays a prayer to the Father, thanking him, then calls Lazarus to come out of the tomb. If you're visualizing this, just know Lazarus probably has to hop out. No lie, he's basically mummified.

Some of the people who see this and believe worship Jesus. Others can't make that two-mile trip back to Jerusalem fast enough because they want to report back to the Pharisees. They're worked into a frenzy. They realize that if Jesus keeps doing these things, everyone will follow him. Then Rome will think the Jews are out of control and will oppress them and deport them. Caiaphas, the high priest, pipes up and becomes an unwitting prophet. He's speaking God's truth, but he doesn't know it.

He wants Jesus to die. So he says, it's better that one man die for the people than for all the people to die. And at that point, the religious leaders start plotting Jesus' death. He knew this, so he stayed low profile. But it's important to note, Jesus wasn't living in fear of his future. He was actively working things out to correspond to the Father's appointed timing for his death.

Speaking of timing, today my God shot was in Jesus' timing for coming to the village of Bethany. The text tells us that Jesus loved this family, so why did he hold off on rushing to them while Lazarus was sick? We know he's not a germaphobe, so that can't be it.

He's waiting for Lazarus to die. Because you can't raise a person who isn't dead. He intentionally designs a situation where things get far worse in order for his power to be made known all the more. But make no mistake, this isn't a selfish move on his part. This isn't Jesus trying to show off or look cool. Jesus doesn't rev his engine at a red light. This is always pointing to the Father in his glory, just like Jesus did in his prayer of thanks to the Father.

In fact, this miracle sets in motion the real effort to crucify Jesus. He knew this would be costly. I wonder if that's even part of what moved him to tears. The tomb and the stone and the grave clothes aren't too far off for him, and he knows it. He is about to finally put death to death, and this is just a preview.

There is so much beauty in this story everywhere I look. From his intentional timing that somehow always seems too late, to his sweet personal interaction with the sisters, to his power over death and the grave, he's where the joy is. ♪

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