Jesus - The Resurrection And The Life

John 11:17-44

One of the most heartbreaking times in life is when someone close and dear to us suddenly or unexpectedly dies.  Perhaps an accident takes them, or a quick and fatal illness. Around the world right now, so many families are going through this with the world-encompassing COVID-19 illness, with family members once alive and healthy, now suddenly lying dead.  We might then question God with why. “Why did You let this happen? You could have kept them from dying! Don’t You care? Don’t You love us?” In today’s Scripture passage we read about the death of someone close and dear to Jesus.

In addition to the twelve apostles, Jesus had many other disciples and followers.  Among them was a small family, a brother and two sisters, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.  They lived in Bethany, a small village about 2 miles east of Jerusalem. The three were some of Jesus’ closest friends, and He often stayed with them when He was in Jerusalem.  Then one day Lazarus fell very gravely ill of some undisclosed illness, and the sisters sent immediate word to Jesus that His dear friend Lazarus was ill, and would He please come to bring him healing.  When Jesus received the message, He delayed several days in leaving to go to Bethany (John 11:1-6).

Martha and Mary’s grief must have grown when Jesus did not immediately respond to their call.  God’s silence is difficult to accept. We need to remember that He promises to meet our needs. His silence has a purpose.  God is always with us. His silence won’t last forever (Psalm 38:15, Hebrews 13:5). Jesus wanted to bring the sisters to a personal trust in Him, Who alone can raise the dead.  Resurrection and eternal life does not exist without Jesus (vs. 25-26). Jesus is life, and He can restore life.

When we go through a devastating loss, such as the death of a loved one, we may feel as if Jesus doesn’t care.  This must have been so puzzling to the sisters, that Jesus hadn’t come immediately. As Mary stated to Him, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (vs. 32).  As they saw, and we can read in Scripture, Jesus does care.  He does love us.  Unlike some religious philosophies that teach that God has no emotions, and doesn’t get involved with humans, Jesus showed emotions - compassion, indignation, and sorrow (vs. 33-38).

Most of us are familiar with verse 35, the shortest verse in the English Bible.  Only two words - Jesus wept. Jesus was not mourning the death of Lazarus in the same way that Martha and Mary were.  Jesus knew He would be raising him from the dead in a few moments. Jesus was, though, grieving for a fallen world filled with sin, sin which had entered into the world and which causes sorrow and death, like what had come to the family of His friends.

Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying, but He chose to do something far better, even though this caused momentary great grief.  Sometimes what we go through seems unbearable, but God has a greater purpose in mind. The sisters benefited far more when they witnessed Jesus’ power over death.

Standing outside of the tomb, which was a small cavern carved into a rocky area, with a large boulder over the entrance to protect the body from wild animals and grave robbers, the people were mourning, and wondering what Jesus would do.  The body had lain in the tomb for four days, not just a few hours, and would have started to decay. Jesus, though, was looking with the eyes of faith, not with human eyes. He did not see a stone in front of the tomb. He did not see that it had been four days.  He did not hear the wailing mourners. Death had to flee when Jesus looked past the natural and operated in the spiritual. He tells us in His Word to walk by faith, not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7). Believe in God, and believe that His purpose and plan is bigger than our problems.  He makes the impossible possible.

As mentioned earlier, “Jesus wept” is the shortest verse in the English Bible.  Two words. There is another short, 2-word verse in I Thessalonians 5:16. “Rejoice evermore”.  Jesus wept so that we can rejoice evermore. Jesus wept so that we don’t have to. Death does not have the last word.  Jesus does.