1 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.
The introduction to this portion of Scripture is important. Anyone who wanted to question the veracity of John’s Gospel when he wrote it would have no problem finding people who could verify the events. Though John wrote the Gospel a long time after the events, a skeptic could find the village of Bethany and find these three people if they were still alive. If not, then there would be relatives and other villagers who could testify to the events.
Notice also how the three people are identified. Lazarus is of Bethany. Mattha is Mary’s sister. But Mary is singled out as if the village belonged to her. This emphasis must demonstrate the high regard that the people had for her and for her relationship to the villagers. Now if that isn’t enough, John includes that she is the one who anointed Jesus’ feet with ointment. When Matthew includes this incident in Matthew 26:6-13, her name isn’t mentioned, but Jesus said what she had done would be told in memory of her. It looks like John wanted to make sure we knew her name.
The question for us is, how will we be remembered? Will we be known just as a memorable person in our neighborhood, city, or beyond, which is admirable? Or will we strive for higher praise that comes from God for being a person who has served our Lord?
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. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
We don’t want to rush past these verses. They provide the goal for Jesus’ actions in the context of his relationship with Lazarus and his sisters. We note that there is a mutual love between Jesus and these three people. This would make it all the harder for Jesus to do nothing. Yet he did nothing knowing that what he would do in the future would bring glory to God.
This presents us a picture of redemption. We were all dying from sin or more accurately, we were all already dead in sin before we knew Jesus. Jesus knows which ones of us he will bring to life and when he will do it. The goal is to bring glory to God. Our salvation is not ultimately about saving us but bringing glory to God.
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.”
The disciples are expressing some good worldly logic. They are concerned for Jesus’ welfare and what they say makes perfect sense. They can’t see the future; they haven’t tuned into Jesus’ words that explained he must suffer and die. Now they are at the verge of asking him if he is crazy. How are we any different? While we need to be concerned about our safety and other things, we also know that our Lord is sovereign. It doesn’t mean we take unnecessary risks, but we should also show our confidence in what the Lord has in store for us.
Jesus’ answer is obtuse. Very often Jesus takes what seems like a straightforward question and turns it on its head. He sees beyond the question to give us wisdom that we weren’t looking for and sometimes didn’t even want. Case in point was Nicodemus back in John 3 where he simply starts a conversation with Jesus about him being from God. Wham! Jesus is talking about salvation.
In this case Jesus may very well be telling us that each of us have a certain amount of time in this world. We must use the time given us by living according to the light he has given us. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12) and we must walk in his light. When we do, we won’t fall into the traps of the world, such as avoiding responsibilities because of fears of being stoned or other things.
Without Jesus in our lives, we are just like someone walking in the dark. Having Jesus’ light also implies that we will use that light. When we don’t use it, we are disobedient. If we don’t live in obedience to the Lord, then there is no doubt that we will fail and stumble into sinful attitudes and behavior.
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.”
Again, Jesus does not speak plainly to the disciples. He continually tries to get them to see things from a heavenly perspective instead of the earthly. Jesus knows that Lazarus is dead and yet speaks only of him being asleep. We should not view death as the end of our existence. From our biblical viewpoint, death should be no worse than being asleep. But this does not mean that when we die, we lapse into some kind of coma where we do not experience anything until the resurrection when Jesus awakens us, as some people claim. This is called by some, soul sleep.
This concept of soul sleep has been promoted by some Christians because the Old Testament seemed to lean in that direction. A verse that would promote this is Daniel 12:2, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (NASU). There are many other verses that also speak using the metaphor of sleep for death. I counted thirty-six verses from 1 Kings 2:10 – 2 Chronicles 33:20 (ESV) that used the words, “slept with his fathers” to chronicle the death of the kings of Israel and Judah. But what do you believe? Is this only a metaphor, or do these verses literally say we are unconscious until the resurrection?
What did Jesus say about the dead when he disputed with the Sadducees over the resurrection? “And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt 22:31-32 ESV). Clearly, Jesus said that the patriarchs were still alive though not in this world. Also, we have evidence when Saul had a medium bring Samuel from the dead in 1 Samuel 28:8-19. If Samuel was supposed to be asleep until the resurrection, how could he have talked to Saul? We also have the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration showing that they were not asleep (Matt 17:3-5). If that isn’t enough, the Book of Revelation depicts the souls of martyred saints crying out for vengeance (Rev 6:9-10). Finally, Paul clearly explains that when we die and go to heaven, we will be with the Lord and will in fact have a heavenly body of some sort.
We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.
Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 2 Cor 5:2-3, 8 (NLT)
Other translations do not make it this clear, but on analysis, I believe the NLT express the correct meaning of what Paul wrote. Being with the Lord and having heavenly bodies (see Moses and Elijah’s description on the Mount of Transfiguration) clearly would refute any idea that we are sleeping and unconscious until the resurrection.
16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
We focus too often on Thomas being a doubter because of his doubts after Jesus’ resurrection (John 20:25). This is a different side of Thomas, and he puts the other disciple to shame. Of course, we must understand that his courage isn’t Spirit filled courage. It is human bravado. He joined with the other disciples in affirming his ability to die with Jesus rather than deny him (Mark 14:31). Yet it was only a few hours later, “And they all left him and fled” (Mark 14:50 ESV).
The only reason we can confidently say that we are willing to die for the sake of Christ is because he grants us the ability to do so. I hear many well-meaning Christians piously saying they don’t know if they could suffer persecution and not deny Jesus. I say to them, you don’t know the power of God and his promises to hold you to the end. You must believe what Paul told us, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Phil 1:6 NLT). You must believe Jesus’ promise, “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28 NASU). Jesus was clear when he said, “But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Matt 10:33 NIV). If you really know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then it will be impossible for you to deny him or his promise to keep you will prove false.
For those who believe you can lose your salvation, this must be frightening. They never know whether they will hold up under persecution. It is possible that they live in constant fear that they could possibly deny Jesus and be forever lost.
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