John 11:1-45 (NIV)
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (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.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 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.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” 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. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” 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.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
On March 29th, 2020, we were all still dealing with COVID-19. Still sheltering in place, social distancing, staying away from crowded areas, keeping our distance (you know the 6 feet apart thing), quarantining, and staying home. I often wondered during that time how family and friends were doing. Were they in need? Were they stressed and/or anxious? The one thing I knew I needed was the Lord. I needed to know that family and friends were okay. During times like that people get stressed. They get anxious. It was a difficult time. It seemed as if we were living in ghost towns.
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Through it all, I found peace in the fact that all my trust is and was in God. Matthew 6:26-34 tells us: Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
I’ve always believed those passages. It’s not to say I’ve never been stressed or anxious or worried, I have. But I’ve recognized over the years that when I do these things, it changes nothing other than my blood pressure. So I hang on to these passages, and they give me peace.
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In the 11th chapter of John, we see Lazarus as a foretaste of Easter. Jesus dearly loved Lazarus and his family. When He hears of Lazarus’ illness, he waits a couple of days before going to see him. By this, Jesus is showing how God’s glory must be revealed. This points us to the reality of Jesus.
Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” This is such a powerful question. Do you believe this? This is also the question of our time.
Do you believe it when times are bad? Or do you only believe it when times are good? Do you believe Jesus is who He says He is when it feels like all is lost? Martha and Mary felt that Lazarus wouldn’t have died if Jesus had been there.
Looking back at the pandemic, I wondered how we were supposed to deal with this “new” so-called normal. The “new normal” never sat well with me. It tasted bitter in my mouth. Simply put, it begged the question, did we still believe at the time that Jesus was and is the resurrection? When you were going through all of that uncertainty, did you believe it or not? As for me, yes, Lord, I believed, and I still believe.
Martha said, yes, in the face of her brother’s death. Do you know if we had that kind of faith in the midst of COVID? Did we put our trust in Jesus? Then Mary hears that Jesus is there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Then we read the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept.
The word “wept” carries with it a punch. What it really means is wailing in despair. It’s gut-wrenching. Heartbreaking. Have you ever just wept in despair? I remember weeping in despair when my mother passed away.
She lived with us at the time, and I never saw it coming. She’d had a slight upset stomach during the day, which was not unusual. She’d had that feeling many times in her later years when her stomach wasn’t quite at ease. We treated it the usual way, and she’d begun to feel better and urged me to go to bed. I did, and the next morning, when she didn’t come down for breakfast, I went to her room to find she’d passed sometime during the night or early morning hours. I’m convinced now that she knew all along that her time had come. That’s why she urged me to go to bed when I really wanted to stay and stand watch to make sure her stomach had settled completely. I wasn’t ready for her to go. It seemed as though there was still much to do. Much to say. But God knew best. I know this.
John shows us in these passages who God is through Jesus. God cries with us in our times of sorrow. God feels our anguish. The gods of the Greeks had no emotions. They never cried when humans cried. But our God is a God of compassion. When we hurt, God hurts with us.
Tears, however, are not the last words. John tells us: Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. Doesn’t this remind you of Easter? Jesus wanted the people to know that He was who He says He was.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
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Jesus wanted them to unbind him—unbind Lazarus. God is the God who raises the dead and brings them back to life. Do you sometimes feel bound? Bound by sin, sadness, depression, or addiction? God can unbind you during any type of trouble. God showed us that He could unbind us even in the midst of a COVID-19 world.
Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, writes about James Stockdale, who was a Vietnam POW in the Hanoi Hilton for over seven years. In this book, Collins interviews Stockdale about his ordeal. Stockdale relates how he survived this time from his ability to acknowledge his situation, which was dire, and his ability to balance it with optimism. Sounds a bit off balance, right? This type of thinking became known as the Stockdale Paradox. This allows great leaders to make it through hardships and how they reach their goals. You must confront the brutal facts of your situation, but you do so with the unwavering determination that in the end you will prevail. You must hang on to the belief that you will prosper through God.
Jesus is a Messiah who unbinds us. We serve a risen Savior who frees us during uncertainty and fear. He stands with us in hope. Jesus is always at work in our lives. He is a God of resurrection.
Claim the faith that will see you through.
And that’s what I learned in Church……see ya next time!
