John 12:27-36

Even though we saw yesterday that Jesus was reminded of His mission by the Greeks’ request and understood very clearly that He needed to die so that they could be included among the people of God, we find today that this was not easy for Jesus. He continues to talk to His disciples, saying, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But I came to this hour for this purpose!”

 

Jesus knew what He needed to do, but it wouldn’t be easy for Him. He was not looking forward to death. On the other hand, He knew that He had come for this very reason. What kept Him moving forward? Jesus says next, “Father, glorify your name.” That was Jesus’ passion. He was willing to die for others, and to call His disciples to lay down their lives for others, because this would bring glory to God!

 

“Father, glorify your name,” was Jesus’ prayer. Therefore, God spoke. “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” At this time when Jesus’ was struggling and troubled, God told Jesus that His goal would be realized; Jesus’ death would result in God’s glory. Knowing that His death would achieve God’s glory is what kept Him moving forward.

 

The crowd heard the response and tried to explain it. “It thundered!” “An angel spoke to Him.” But Jesus answered and explained the voice: “This voice did not come for me, but for you.” Jesus already knew that His death would glorify God; the crowd needed to be convinced of it, too. How would Jesus death glorify God?

 

“Now the judgment of this world is here; now the ruler of this world will be cast out! And if I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself.” God would be glorified as Satan was defeated. God would be glorified as His Son’s death drew men into a relationship with the Living God!

 

Jesus said “lifted up” to indicate the kind of death He would die. The crowd seemed to understand, but whether they did or not, they understood that Jesus was saying He would not be with them much longer; He would be lifted up, and whether this meant lifted into heaven or lifted on a cross, He would no longer be among them. This troubled them. “We heard from the law that the Christ will stay forever. How can you say that it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” They so wanted to believe that Jesus was their Messiah! But they thought their Messiah would stay with them. Jesus’ claim that He would be gone did not fit their understanding of the Old Testament. So they wanted to know whether they had chosen the right Messiah or not! Who is this Son of Man? Are you the Messiah, or are we supposed to wait for someone else?

 

Jesus continued to claim both that He was the Messiah and that He would be leaving soon. “The light is still among you for a little while. Walk as you have the light so that darkness will not descend on you. The one who walks in darkness does not know where he goes. As/since you have the light, believe in the light so that you may be sons of light.” Basically, Jesus told them that they had understood correctly. They had the light; their belief that He was the Messiah was right. At the same time, He would not be among them for long. They needed to walk within the light they had already; they needed to continue to place their trust in Him so that they would not be overtaken by darkness. If they placed their trust in Him, they would be sons of light! They would know the truth, and they could walk according to it!

 

Several points are important:

1. Jesus was troubled by His mission, but He knew that it would glorify the Father. This always kept Him going forward. We should move toward the Father’s glory, too.
2. God’s glory is certain. God had glorified His name and would do so again. This certainty should make us all the more careful to be among those who are striving to bring God glory, because it is reassuring to know that our efforts will pay off.
3. God would be glorified in two ways: 1. By the judgment of sin, and 2. By the drawing of all men through Jesus to God. I think the point here is obvious: which way would I rather glorify God? By being judged? Or by being reconciled to Him?
4. Jesus is the Christ. The crowd that saw Him as the Christ was right, even though His soon-to-come death and departure confused them. The Old Testament did predict that the Christ would remain forever among His people; the crowd at that time simply did not understand that this forever reign was still future. We who hope in Jesus the Christ can still look forward to His forever reign! Aligning ourselves with Him now keeps us in His light. We know where we’re headed, and it’s a glorious future!

 

Father, may I continue marching toward your glory even when I am troubled by the pain it will bring me. May I take pleasure in knowing that Your glory is certain, and that my troubles are not in vain. May I constantly come to You through faith in Christ, being faithful to You and bringing You glory by demonstrating Your redeeming grace. May I hold on to my King, Jesus Christ, and look forward to His return to reign among us forever! Keep my faith firm and my hope constant!

 

John 12:20-26

Among those who came to worship at the Passover Feast were some Greeks, and they wanted to see Jesus. So they approached His disciples and asked to see Him, and the disciples went and told Jesus that these God-worshiping Greeks wanted to see Him.

 

His answer seems strange: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” How does Jesus’ answer relate to the request?

 

On the one hand, we don’t see Jesus saying, “Sure, I’ll meet with them,” and going over to talk with these Greeks. But on the other hand, He doesn’t say, “No, I won’t say anything to them,” and turn away. Instead Jesus speaks of His messianic mission. Why?

 

Because it was Greeks who requested to see Him. Ultimately, this is the goal. Not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles are to call Jesus their King. Jesus refers to Himself here as the Son of Man, and the Son of Man is mentioned in Daniel as the one who comes on clouds to rule the whole earth, including Jews and Gentiles. Jesus is glad that the Greeks are coming to Him. Ultimately, Jesus is telling the disciples and all within earshot that the path allowing Gentiles to see Him as their King has come to its conclusion.

 

Jesus knows that He must die. His death will mean salvation not only for the Jews, but also for the Greeks. And He will be glorified, and all men will have Jesus Christ as their King. Jesus explains how this will happen in amazingly simple terms: He must die so that there will be a great harvest of life, just as a seed’s death produces many more seeds. Jesus’ life is concerned with producing many more seeds, and if He guards His own life, this will not happen. But as He gives up His life, hating it in this world, He will achieve the goal of His life. This is a pattern Jesus’ disciples will follow: “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.” And ultimately, it will result in great blessings for the disciples, too: “My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

 

We talk about how exclusive the good news is, because only those who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved. But this passage expresses the inclusive nature of the gospel. The gospel is not about self-preservation. It is not about maintaining a Christian clique. It is not about being comfortable in our salvation, rejoicing that we are saved and letting the lost stay lost. Jesus died to include Jews and Greeks in His kingdom. Yes, those who refuse Him will perish. But look how much He does to try to include everyone; see how much it costs Him to offer salvation to all. He dies! And His disciples are to follow Him. Jesus disciples should be where He is. On the cross, giving up their lives, sacrificing their desires and even their bodies to include more people in Christ’s kingdom. “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.” The gospel is not about staying alone; we should not be single seeds. We must give up everything to produce many new disciples of Jesus Christ. How? “But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” What will it take for the people who seem the most different from us, the most opposed to Christ – what will it take for them to be a part of His kingdom?

 

John 12:12-19

The day after Mary anointed Jesus, as He said, for His burial – the next day, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He walked into the face of death. But it did not look that way.

 

The crowds who were there for the Passover Feast heard that Jesus was coming, and they celebrated! They celebrated Jesus as the one who “comes in the name of the LORD,” and as “the king of Israel;” they celebrated Jesus as the Messiah! Jesus encouraged them to think of Him this way by riding into town on a young donkey. This action was attached to a Messianic prophecy from Zechariah 9:9: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look! Your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”

 

What were the people supposed to think? They were hoping for a heaven-sent Messiah to drive the Romans out. Then Jesus comes along, claiming to come from heaven, performing amazing miracles, and fulfilling prophecies in public view. Yes, it is true that anyone could have read Zechariah 9:9 and could have ridden into Jerusalem on a donkey, claiming to fulfill prophecy; and anyone could have claimed to be sent from God; but Jesus’ claims and prophetic fulfillments were backed up by miracles that only God could do! Of course the people thought that Jesus was the Messiah! What else could they think?

 

It makes me wonder what John means by verse 16 where he writes that Jesus’ disciples “did not understand these things at first.” What did they not understand? How could they miss the fact that the crowd was praising Jesus as the Messianic king of Israel? Did they perhaps not understand that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey specifically to fulfill prophecy? Perhaps John is looking ahead and foreshadowing Jesus’ death, saying, “At first the disciples did not understand that Jesus meant to serve as Messiah by dying rather than by driving the Romans out. We took this all as a sign that the Romans were done for; we didn’t understand it all until Jesus was glorified.”? John must mean either this last though or that the disciples did not connect Jesus’ donkey ride with prophecy; I can’t see how they would have missed the crowd’s shouts of Messianic praise. Regardless, despite their initial lack of understanding, John also writes that the disciples now understand. Jesus was fulfilling prophecy here, and despite His death in a few days, He was the promised Messiah! This is proved by His resurrection and glorification!

 

In this setting, the people who had witnessed Jesus’ miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead were testifying to others – to others who were already willing to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They were confirming Jesus’ Messianic powers. This was another reason that the crowd was so eager to go out to meet Jesus as He approached Jerusalem; they wanted to see the one who had defeated death by the power of God! If I were a Jew looking for freedom from Roman oppressors and a man who could raise the dead claimed to be the Messiah, I would support Him; I would join His army, because putting my life on the line wouldn’t matter if He could raise me up again! This crowd is certain that the promised Messiah has come!

 

Which is exactly what the Pharisees were afraid of (John 11:48). And though they had asked people to report Jesus’ presence to them so that they could seize Him (11:57), the whole city seemed to be supporting Jesus! There was no need for them to ask, “Where is Jesus?” Everyone knew where He was, and everyone was there to celebrate Him as the coming Messiah who would deliver the Jews from their oppressors. Because they believed that the Romans would respond violently and crush their nation, the Pharisees were understandably frustrated and said to each other: “You see that you (you and I/our efforts) are not doing any good! Look! The world has gone after Him!”

 

It looked like a good day for Jesus. He had the full support of the Jewish people to such an extent that the Jewish leaders did not know what to do! He did not just walk into Jerusalem silently; He fulfilled prophecy and rode in on a donkey to the cheers of the people! To the Jews at this point, it was clear that Jesus was the Messiah. The only Jews who opposed Him did so out of fear that Jesus would not be successful against the Romans.

 

Their testimony at this point is significant to us, or at least it should be. They knew the Scriptures. They heard Jesus’ teachings, and they saw Jesus’ miracles, and they were sure that He was their promised Messiah! It is true that many Jews ended up rejecting Jesus after His arrest; they were fair-weather friends and could not understand how the Messiah could possibly be subjected to humiliation by the Romans. But the Scriptures hadn’t changed. The teachings hadn’t changed. The miracles hadn’t changed. These things that testified to them that Jesus is the Christ are still valid for us today. It helps that we know the rest of the story and have never had to spend days thinking that Jesus is dead; we’ve never felt so let down as the Jewish people did when Jesus was arrested, abused, tried, and crucified. So I can understand why many of them could not bring themselves to believe in Jesus again after His crucifixion. But we should not be put off by it because we know that His death set the stage for His greatest miracle, for ultimate salvation and for the renewal of all things. What led the Jews to believe should still testify to us that Jesus is the Christ: His teachings, His actions and His miracles fulfilled the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, the book of God’s promises. We can trust the promises of God. Therefore, we can trust in Jesus Christ.

 

John 11:55-12:11

Apparently it was pretty public knowledge that Jesus had left the Jerusalem area to guard His life. The chief priests and Pharisees had ordered people to report Jesus’ whereabouts so that these religious leaders could seize Him, and many of the people who had gathered to prepare for the Passover wondered whether Jesus would dare to show up.

 

So six days before the Passover, rather than going into Jerusalem, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was living (since Jesus had raised him from the dead). It was near enough to Jerusalem that He could attend the Passover, but Jesus’ wasn’t yet making a public appearance in Jerusalem itself. They had a supper. Martha served, Lazarus reclined at the table with Jesus, and Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with extremely expensive perfume; this whole family loved Jesus dearly and was extremely grateful for His love toward them.

 

But one of Jesus’ disciples was not happy. He grumbled that Mary should not have anointed Jesus’ feet with such expensive perfume. He made it sound as if his cause was noble; the perfume could have been sold and the money could have been given to the poor. But John tells us that this disciple had been put in charge of the collections and, being a thief, would help himself to the money. This disciple was Judas Iscariot, and he intended to betray Jesus to the religious authorities – we’ll learn later that this was, again, for money.

 

Jesus knew His death was coming. He was not in Bethany to avoid death, but to prepare for it. Jesus answered Judas with His own coming death in mind: “Allow her to guard/designate it for the day of My burial. For the poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me.” Jesus’ argument was that the perfume was not being wasted, but was appropriately being used for the (general) purpose of His death. Not all wealth is intended for the poor; there are times in our lives when it is appropriate to be extravagant toward those we love. Goodbyes are one of those times, a time to communicate how valuable a person is and how much he or she will be missed. Mary probably intended her perfume to express her gratitude for Lazarus’ life, and for Jesus’ love that continued to bring Him back to them in Bethany despite the danger. This would probably count as another appropriate reason to be extravagant toward Jesus. But Jesus saw more going on, and He knew His death was approaching. The Passover was only six days away, and Jesus would be seized the night of the Passover. His death was truly near.

 

For all involved, the stakes were rising. Jesus knew that His death was approaching. The Jews found out that Jesus was in Bethany, and many went out to see Him, and not only Him, but to see Lazarus because Jesus had raised him from the dead; more Jews were believing in Jesus. The religious leaders felt more threatened because so many people believed in Jesus; they feared that the Jews would revolt against the Romans and that the Romans would crush them, and they now needed to kill both Jesus and Lazarus to keep this revolt from happening. Judas was preparing to betray Jesus. The disciples were (unknowingly) about to lose Jesus. The history of the universe was approaching its most decisive event. And all because Jesus was willingly walking straight toward death.

 

Father, Jesus is truly worthy of the best that I have – of all that I have. His love and obedience toward You led Him to this point. He did not flinch as He prepare to die to save the world – to save me. He was on a mission. He had counted the cost. May I see Him as He is and walk by faith with love for Him. May I respond the way that Lazarus, Martha, and Mary did, serving Him, fellowshipping with Him, lovingly spending my wealth on Him in recognition of all that He has done for me. May Judas’ legacy have no place in my life; may I never seek to twist my connection to Jesus into earthly gain, giving up all the blessings that Jesus has died to offer me.

 

John 11:47-54 - Will we be on Jesus' side, or on the side of people who oppose Him?

Jesus’ disciples had questioned the wisdom of His decision to go to Bethany for Lazarus because they knew that the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. It is plain that this desire was not merely held by the common Jew; the religious leadership was in on it, too.

 

When witnesses reported to the Pharisees that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, the Pharisees apparently did not know what to do. They did not believe that this miracle proved that Jesus was from God. Moreover, they felt that there were some greater concerns to deal with. They convened a council with the chief priests.

 

This was their concern: With Jesus performing so many miraculous signs, many people would believe in Him. They would believe that Jesus was the Messiah (horror of horrors!), and in the minds of the Jews at that time, this meant something specific: the Messiah was the one who would be enabled by God to throw off the Roman oppression. If the people believed in Jesus as the Messiah, they would want to start a revolt! This scared the chief priests and the Pharisees because the Romans were powerful, and they would not take a Jewish revolt lightly. They would send their powerful armies to destroy the Jews as a nation, and the Jews would be either killed or dispersed throughout the world. The religious leaders’ concern, in other words, was not purely religious; their concern was largely political. These political thoughts tied into their religion, because it would be impossible for the Jews to worship God appropriately, sacrificing in His temple and celebrating His feasts together in Jerusalem, if they were dead and scattered, or if the Romans destroyed the temple (as they did in AD 70). All in all, the chief priests and Pharisees were motivated by fear, and their fear kept them from appreciating the wonderful things Jesus was doing and teaching.

 

Caiaphas was high priest that year, and in the midst of their council he stood up and said that under such circumstances the nation would be better off if one man – Jesus – were to die. John tells us that this was prophetic, and that this prophecy extended not only to the Jewish nation, but also to the “children of God who are scattered abroad;” Jesus’ death would bring them all together. Now Caiaphas probably meant by this that Jesus’ death would benefit not only the Jews in Israel but also the scattered Jews, but the implications for the Gentiles are plain now that Jesus’ death has gathered us into God’s family.

 

The text concludes that from then on the religious leadership in Judea planned to kill Jesus, and that He therefore withdrew with His disciples to a city called Ephraim that was near the wilderness.

 

The danger to Jesus’ life when He went to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead was real, but Jesus went anyway. He loved Lazarus and Mary and Martha, and so He went for their sakes in spite of the danger to His own life. And despite Jesus’ miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, the religious leaders refused to rally around Him as the one God had sent – their Messiah. Why? Because of political fears. Their fear of powerful men got in the way so that they could not respond in faith to the all-powerful God.

 

Why do men scare us so much? We can be with God! Why does it scare us when men reject us, when they hate us, when even our most-loved friends and family and our most cherished relationships might be broken apart if we choose to follow Christ? Why do we value people more than God? God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit are infinitely valuable, infinitely powerful, infinitely loving! The blessings of a relationship with Jesus Christ go way beyond anything that any men can offer. Loyalty to sinful men for any reason is ridiculous when a perfect God calls us to be loyal to Him – and He made us! We owe Him everything… Everything!

 

Father, may my thoughts about what people might do never again keep me from acting on what I know You want done; may people never come between me and Jesus Christ!

 

Funny

Christy baked some fresh cheesy biscuits. Emma wanted one. She said, “Mommy, I want some bread.”

 

As she handed Emma a biscuit, Christy tried to teach Emma some manners and asked, “What do you say?”

 

Taking the biscuit, Emma replied, “It’s hot!”

 

1 Corinthians 10:1-11

Paul makes an amazing point here, one that is all too easy not to take seriously. A lot of people came out Egypt. They experienced various physical blessings based on their spiritual relationship to God through His promises to their fathers. They were baptized, in a sense, when they walked through the Red Sea and when the pillar of cloud covered them to protect them from the Egyptians. Not a bad physical blessing! They essentially walked into and out of the jaws of death as they went through the Red Sea; they came through completely unharmed. After that, they all participated in a sort of Lord’s Supper experience in the desert. They ate “spiritual” food and drank “spiritual” drink – manna and water from a rock! Now, neither of these were actually spiritual. What I mean is that they were both physical; they could be picked up, scooped up, tasted, chewed, cooked, drunk. The manna and water took care of the peoples’ physical needs.

 

So how were they spiritual? They were spiritual because of their source. Paul says that they came from Christ. In fact, Paul says that the rock from which they got the water was Christ. Now what does that mean? Was Christ physically present there in the desert, appearing as a rock? No. But Christ was with the covenant community of Israel. Whether they knew it or not, they were depending on Him. When they found manna on the ground as God told Moses they would, this physical blessing appeared only because of God – only because of Christ. The manna wasn’t there naturally; it showed up because Christ was providing for those He had covenanted to take care of. When water flowed from the rock – enough water to satisfy the whole community flowing from a rock that had not been the source of water just moments before – this was not natural; the water came by the hand of Christ providing for His covenant children. So yes, both blessings were physical. Even the baptism in the cloud and in the sea were physical. But who received these physical blessings, and how did they receive them? The Israelites! Only those who were a part of the Israelite community! Only those who were a part of the group leaving Egypt specifically because God was setting them free to worship Him. And how did they receive these physical blessings? They received them the only way they could: by the gracious hand of God. The Egyptians tried to take for themselves some of the blessings that God had promised only to His children; they tried to pass through the Red Sea in opposition to God’s covenant community, defying death as God had given only His community the right to do – and the Egyptians died. Even though these were physical blessings, they were not for everyone. They were spiritual physical blessings – physical blessings for God’s community only.

 

Today, baptism and the Lord’s Supper are still spiritual physical blessings. Anyone can take a bath and clean off; only for God’s community does a dip represent sharing in Christ’s death and resurrection. Also, God provides the blessing of nourishment to believers and unbelievers alike so that anyone can eat food; only for God’s covenant community, though, does eating food and drinking wine/juice mean spiritual fellowship with God and other believers through (and only through) the death of Jesus Christ. As believers, we should be very thankful that God has given us these spiritual physical blessings. They are a provision only God could provide, not because water and food are in such short supply, but because they teach us about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the only perfect sacrifice, whose righteousness only God could supply to us. As a community of believers, we are utterly dependent on Christ. We must remember this!

 

Because the fact that we have been baptized or that we eat the Lord’s Supper is completely unhelpful apart from complete dependence on Jesus Christ.

 

After describing the spiritual physical blessings the Israelites received, Paul points to the fate of those who rejected their spiritual relationship with God: they died. The fact that they were a part of this community was not enough to save them. The fact that they had experienced God’s physical blessings of protection by cloud, defying death through the sea, food for those willing to pick it up and water by the bucketful was not enough. When they forgot the spiritual meaning behind God’s provision, He killed them. When they rejected the spiritual relationship He had offered them by their idolatry, sexual immorality, grumbling and testing, God destroyed them.

 

Today among those who claim to be Christians it is the same. There are plenty (though I cannot tell who they are) who are glad to participate in the Christian covenant community and its blessings, but who will one day have people asking what went wrong. Perhaps they view the Christian community as a self-help plan. Perhaps they grew up in it, but don’t really understand it. Perhaps they do understand, at least intellectually, but don’t care anymore. Perhaps some of them have ulterior motives and think that they can manipulate the church for their own benefit. Who knows what all the options are? But these people get baptized and eat the Lord’s Supper without understanding that these physical blessings are worthless apart from Jesus Christ. It is only because of our relationship with the one who died for us and rose for us that there is any meaning in getting dunked or any significance in eating a tiny piece of bread and drinking a tiny cup of juice. Without that relationship, all the physical blessings are pointless! They cannot and will not save us. If we reject God by valuing what the world has to offer us more than what He has already given us, by being sexually immoral in blatant disobedience to Him, by questioning whether God is really with us, by complaining that He has not provided enough for us – if we do these things, God will destroy us whether we have been baptized in water or not. He will cast us away whether we have eaten the physical Lord’s Supper or not.

 

We must hold on to the spiritual side of our physical blessings. We must put our hope in Jesus Christ by faith.

 

John 11:38-46

While others were busy deciding whether Jesus genuinely cared about Lazarus and his sisters or not, Jesus was busy caring. He went to Lazarus’ tomb – a cave with a stone lying against it – and told the people to open it up. Martha protested this on the basis of the stench, but Jesus was focused on the glory of God. When He reminded the others that He had promised that they would see God’s glory if they believed, they were willing to remove the stone.

 

Jesus took great pains to publicly rely on the Father. He prayed, first thanking God for hearing Him; then continuing to say out loud that He knew that God always heard Him and had therefore prayed out loud for the benefit of those listening. Jesus was concerned that the people there would understand one thing: that the Father sent Jesus. Whatever He was about to do, Jesus would do in dependence on the Father’s power. In other words, if the Father did not approve of Jesus, Jesus’ ministry would be a failure; if the Father approved of Jesus, then something only God could do would happen in front of the people’s eyes. Jesus wants men and women to see the next event as God’s testimony that Jesus is good and that Jesus honors God.

 

And then Jesus spoke again. To the dead man, Lazarus. He didn’t say anything like what we often say when we visit the tombs of our loved ones. Jesus didn’t say, “Lazarus, you were a good friend. I miss you so much. I’m sure that you’re in a better place. Maybe one day we’ll see each other again. I wish we could have done more together.” With Jesus, there was no regret. Instead, Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out.” That’s not something most people would say at a gravesite.

 

Listen! What happened is this: Lazarus came out. He was still wrapped up, and apparently people weren’t sure what to do. Jesus had to tell them to unwrap him so that Lazarus could go away (maybe to wash up and get some nicer clothes on). But the point was that Lazarus came out.

 

If it means anything, it means that Jesus’ ministry was from God. The Father sent Jesus into the world. How else could Jesus raise a man from the dead? Only the power of God could do this.

 

Some people got it. Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in Him. They believed that this miracle was evidence from God Himself that Jesus was the one they should follow. Jesus’ teachings were trustworthy. Jesus really had a relationship with God, and He could definitely tell others how to have a right relationship with God.

 

But other people went and told the Pharisees. The text doesn’t say why. Maybe they wanted to get Jesus in trouble. Maybe they wanted to believe in Him, but they weren’t confident enough to say that this was a sign from God without having their religious leaders verify it. I’m sure that they were a bit scared, and more than a bit confused. They had just witnessed a miracle greater than almost anything in the history of the world! They knew that they had seen great power, but was that power good for them? Either they weren’t sure, or they had decided that Jesus’ power was bad. Not from God. So they went to their leaders for guidance.

 

Now I’m the first to believe that God gives us leaders for a good reason. Leaders are there to point people to God. We people doubt ourselves a lot. We disagree a lot. Leaders are supposed to help us get past our doubts and disagreements to see the truth and live by it. But there are some times when we don’t need human leaders. And one of those times is when God has personally shown us His power. We might still need the leaders to guide us in what to expect next. We might still need the leaders to remind us to be discerning. But ultimately, we have to make up our own minds. Have we seen God’s hand in our lives, or not? Did we hear God’s testimony about Jesus, or not?

 

If we believe that God has spoken, we must live like it. If we believe that God has powerfully changed our world, we must say so – whether the leaders agree or not. God must always be our ultimate leader, and if we can verify that we have His word and His power, we must follow Him. If our leaders are walking with God, then we will not face a division. If they reject God, whose side should we be on? I hope the answer is obvious.

 

John 11:30-37 (If you don't read another one, read this one)

Martha had told Mary to go to Jesus. The Jews who were consoling Mary did not know yet that Jesus was there; when Mary rose to leave, they assumed she intended to weep at the tomb, so they followed her.

 

This whole crowd of people approached Jesus and witnessed Mary fall at His feet weeping. She repeated the statement of confused faith that Martha had said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She believed this! And it grieved her to think that Lazarus could still be alive had Jesus only come before he died.

 

Jesus was not a stoic, uncaring man. He saw how deeply grieved Mary was, not to mention the whole crowd of mourners. And He cared. This whole, painful scene was deeply troubling to Him. He asked where Lazarus had been laid, and when they responded, “Come and see,” before even getting to the tomb, Jesus was overcome with the sorrow of the moment and cried.

 

The first evidence that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus was that He chose to go to their village even in the face of violent Jewish opposition (verses 7-8). Here is the second evidence: he broke down with sadness at the thought of seeing Lazarus’ tomb. He mourned the death of his friend. He mourned the sadness and loss of Mary and Martha. Jesus knew the pain of human death, human loss, human sadness. He saw. He understood. He cared.

 

Some of the Jews recognized his sorrow as genuine. They could tell that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. “Look how much Jesus loved him,” they said among themselves.

 

But some of the Jews questioned Jesus’ love. Ironically enough, they questioned His love because of His power. “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have kept this man from dying?” In other words they were saying that Jesus had no reason to cry. He could have kept Himself from crying just by healing His friend. If Jesus had that kind of power, how could anyone really think that He loved Lazarus? He let Him die!

 

People ask the same question today. If God’s so powerful, then why is there so much pain in the world? He claims to love us! How can we reconcile His love with His power, when He’s not using it to keep us from pain? People conclude either that God is not powerful or that He does not really love us. He allowed Hitler to slaughter millions. He allowed World Wars I and II. He allows personal tragedies: car accidents, divorces, rapes, fires. There are many reasons for people to question God’s love or power. In every one of these cases, the people involved could either say, “God must not love me,” or, “God must not be powerful enough to stop these things.”

 

What if we’re overlooking some of the evidence? What if we’re forgetting something? What if God is willing to let us go through these terrible and traumatic physical sufferings, but is trying to protect us from something worse? What if it’s true that we’re all sinners, all on our way to hell? And what if God really sent His one and only Son to live sinlessly among us and to die an excruciating death on a cross for us? What if the evidence that God loves us is His own suffering, with us and for us? What if the greatest evidence that God loves us is that He paid the price so that we could have eternal life without pain, without sin, in a totally redeemed world – a gift we do not have yet only because it’s not ready yet?

 

Some of the Jews scoffed at the evidence that Jesus loved Lazarus. They decided that His tears didn’t mean anything because He hadn’t kept Lazarus alive. They decided that Jesus’ willingness to risk His life to come to Lazarus’ town didn’t mean anything because Jesus had allowed Lazarus to die from his sickness; Jesus had allowed Mary and Martha to suffer the death of their brother. But the story wasn’t over yet. Jesus’ love was real. He had already shown it by coming to Bethany, even in the face of danger. And He had shown it by His tears. As to Jesus’ power, He would soon use it in an unexpected way. Jesus was both loving and powerful. And He still is.

 

John 11:17-29

I’m trying to read this story as if for the first time. So far in John’s gospel, Jesus has done some pretty amazing things. But it really looks as though He’s fouled this whole situation up. So what if He loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha enough to travel near Jerusalem again, risking His life? By the time He arrived (after a two-day delay) Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days! Is this just a case of good intentions gone bad? What hope can Jesus offer in this scenario?

Many people have already heard about Lazarus’ death since Bethany is so near to Jerusalem. But as Jesus approaches, only Martha goes out to meet him. At least initially. Martha is struggling, caught between her sadness over her brother’s death and her faith that Jesus is Christ. Both come through: “Lord, if you were here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give to you.” What a statement of faith! Faith confused by death, but still… faith! First, Christ would have prevented Lazarus’ death had He been there (both a statement of faith and, perhaps, a question as to what took Him so long). Second, an uncertain statement regarding what will happen next. Martha makes it clear that she will continue to trust in Jesus, and that she knows that God will do whatever He asks. But she doesn’t even dare to speak about what she would like Christ to ask for; she may not know whether Jesus considers it a possibility that Lazarus could or should be raised from the dead.

Then Jesus speaks words of reassurance: “Your brother will rise again.”

Even then, Martha does not dare to hope that Jesus means for this to happen now. She affirms that Lazarus will rise again in the last days. But Jesus quickly reaffirms that the power to raise people is in His own hands: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me – and even dies – shall live! And everyone who lives and believes in me will certainly not die forever. Do you believe this?”

Martha did. “Yes, Lord. I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God who was coming into the world.” After saying this, Martha went to Mary to send her to Jesus, and Mary got up to meet Him.

What an amazing story of faith! Jesus is making promises about Lazarus’ resurrection here, but so far no one is making it plain that this will happen before the final resurrection of all the dead. Yet Martha is willing to keep trusting in this Jesus – the Jesus she believes can prevent death, the Jesus she believes is the Christ, the Jesus she believes God sent into the world, and the Jesus who (for some reason she can’t understand) arrived too late to keep Lazarus, her own brother, from dying.

Life sends confusing circumstances our way pretty often. People move away just when we were hoping to be closer friends; we get sick on the very day we were scheduled for a promotional interview; stable companies collapse, laying off thousands of us employees; our country gets attacked by terrorists and throws us into doubt regarding our personal security; spouses walk out on us; children run away; cancer strikes. Isn’t all of this supposed to be in Jesus’ hands? Why does He let these things happen? It’s all extremely confusing. Doesn’t He care?

But Martha’s example is worth following. She did not know what would happen next, but she trusted what she knew. She knew Jesus. She knew He loved her and her family. She knew that He was the Christ. She knew that He was the Son of God. She knew that God sent Him into the world. She knew that He would one day raise Lazarus from the dead. And that was enough. It would have been nice to know for sure that Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead that day, but she didn’t know this; she was willing to wait for the last day. Even this way, there is hope!

Father, when we are confused and even hurt, please remind us to trust. Remind us to trust in what we know – even if it isn’t much. Help us to find our hope in Jesus – our Messiah, our Savior from heaven! Thank You so much that there is hope in Jesus. Whether Your good promises come to us today, tomorrow, or at the end of the world, Jesus is worth trusting!

John 11:9-16

Although the disciples were concerned that Jesus planned to return to Judea, where people wanted to kill Him, Jesus was confident that He could do so. He had already stated that Lazarus’ sickness would result in the Father’s and His own glory, so He viewed this trip as part of His work. His work was not yet over; it was still “daytime” for His work. So Jesus could travel to Lazarus, confident that He would be able to overcome or avoid the obstacles.

 

After alluding to Lazarus’ death by calling it sleep and finding that the disciples were confused by this, Jesus told them plainly that Lazarus had died. He also said that He rejoiced for their sakes, that they might believe. Their belief would be bolstered because He had not been there, yet knew that Lazarus was dead. And their belief would also be bolstered by what they would witness when Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ tomb with them. But Jesus did not tell them what He intended to do (yes, Jesus had already alluded to it by saying that He intended to wake Lazarus up, but the disciples had not understood that, and Jesus apparently did not try to tell them His intentions in plain language. They probably would not have understood, anyways). It is striking, though, how Jesus was concerned for His disciples’ faith!

 

It is not hard to see their confusion, though. After Jesus says, “Let us go to [Lazarus],” Thomas says to the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” They thought Jesus intended to commit suicide!

 

The disciples’ confusion reminds me of our own confusion today. So often we really do not know what Jesus intends to do. We do not know why Jesus is leading us in certain directions. We may mis-read His intentions, even, and get depressed! But Jesus is bringing us toward glory – toward His glory and the Father’s! Jesus is leading us to life! There may be difficult circumstances. But Jesus is working through them for our faith even now. He cares for His disciples. He loves them dearly. What Jesus has in store for us, His disciples, is beyond our imagination! We must learn to follow Him with hope rather than fear. He is our God, and He is good. Let’s trust Him as we follow Him into what confuses us.

 

John 11:1-8

We now learn that Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, was sick. These people are close to Jesus, and so the sisters send to tell Jesus that someone he loved was sick, knowing that Jesus would care.

 

Jesus’ response is interesting. He says, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Even though I know the story, it is worth pausing here to realize that Jesus thought of this sickness as an opportunity for glory – both for the Father and the Son. He specifically says that the sickness will not end in death. So Jesus is speaking words of hope. These people believed in Jesus and had seen His healing in other people’s lives. I don’t know whether the messengers returned to Mary and Martha with this message or not – the text doesn’t say. But John records Jesus’ words of hope and His prediction of God’s glory – and of His own.

 

The next verse continues this theme of hope. “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” Good! He’s going to take care of them! He loves them!

 

But then it gets a little confusing. “Therefore, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, then He stayed where He was two days more.” What? How does this demonstrate love? Most translations make it sound this way, though. Jesus loved them, therefore He didn’t go to help.

 

There’s a little word (men) that gets left out of most translations, though, because it’s hard to know exactly how to phrase things. But here’s the idea. Instead of what we’ve just seen, the translation should continue into verse 7 saying something like this: “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. Therefore, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, although he stayed where He was two days more, then after this He said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’” His love was not demonstrated by the fact that He stayed two days longer where He was, but by the fact that He went to them!

 

But so what? Shouldn’t a friend go to his friends when they need Him? Why is Jesus shown to be especially loving by going to His friends after a two-day delay, knowing that they needed Him?

 

The disciples’ response makes the answer clear: “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You! You’re going there again?”

 

Yes, Jesus delayed two days. But He chose to go to Martha, Mary and Lazarus in the face of danger! Because He loved them, Jesus went to them.

 

This is the kind of love Jesus has demonstrated repeatedly. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who puts His life on the line for His sheep. God sent His Son into the world to save the world through Him! Jesus put His line on the line for us, too! And when He did it, just as we’ll see happens with Lazarus, Jesus’ loving self-sacrifice resulted in glory to the Father and to Jesus. This is our God!

 

John 10:40-42

“And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. And many came to Him and were saying, "While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true." And many believed in Him there.”

 

Jesus had just eluded Jews who wanted to kill Him because He claimed to be God. He went away from Jerusalem and crossed the Jordan, stopping where John had baptized and staying there. Jesus’ defense of His deity had involved the Scriptures, Jesus’ own claim to have been sent into the world from God, and the good works He was doing – works that only God could do. But these arguments had been rejected by some in Jerusalem.

 

Still, many people came to Jesus in the wilderness area. Those who came remembered John. They remembered that John had pointed to Jesus as the one whose sandals John was unworthy to untie, the one upon whom John had seen the Spirit come to rest, the one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. And as they considered what John had said, they thought of how John’s ministry had been unspectacular. John’s ministry was a simple ministry of proclamation and water baptism. But they also considered John’s claims about Jesus.

 

And just as others had rejected Jesus’ claims, not accepting the Scripture’s testimony, or Jesus’ teachings, or Jesus’ works as validations of Jesus’ deity – just as others had looked at all that Jesus taught and did and had rejected him, these people also made a choice. They chose to believe.

 

It was as simple as that. The Bible never makes it seem as though everyone will respond to Jesus the same way. Jesus has always faced rejection by some, acceptance by others. The apostle John writes hoping to persuade men to believe in Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). We must choose to believe – and to keep on believing. Let’s press on, trusting in Jesus even if all others reject Him.