208. "I Am the Resurrection"

John 11:1-44

Key Verse: Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die."

John 11:25-26A

Yesterday, we left Jesus with His disciples, back across the Jordan River, after His last encounter with the Jewish leadership, during Hanukkah. There is no way to know with certainty how long Jesus remained there, but we can guess that since the next big event is the triumphal entry and Passover, Jesus probably remained where He was about two to three months.

What brings Him back, besides God's timing, is the result of a simple prayer from Mary and Martha from Bethany. "Lord, the one You love is sick." (John 11:3B) This prayer showed such faith. Of course, Jesus would come running and heal their brother Lazarus as He had healed so many others. After all, He loved Lazarus. They had an ongoing relationship.  What might the sisters have thought if they knew Jesus' real response? "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days." (John 11:6)

This is not the response any of us want from God, to our prayers for help. How often God's timing remains a mystery to us as we wait and suffer and grieve. Yet, Jesus had assured His disciples that Lazarus illness is, "for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."  (John 11:4) Oh, the economy of God to not just bless a few who pray but to bring God's glory into focus as well. It was the same with the man Jesus had healed in John 9. That event too, Jesus had declared, was for God's glory.

When Jesus finally arrives, by man's timetable, too late, we aren't surprised that Martha, always the proper hostess, rushes out to greet Him. Martha pretty much scolds Jesus for His tardiness. She is glad He has come, but if He had been earlier, He could have actually done something about the situation. Of course, she knows that Lazarus will rise again at the end of all things. Jesus, however, declares that the resurrection is not an event, but a person, namely, Him. "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die." (John 11:25-26) “Don't look to an event at the end of time, look to Me. I am here! Take Me to him.”

Martha brings Mary who, again, finds herself at Jesus’ feet in worship. Even she, however, cannot hide her disappointment in Him. "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:32) Jesus responds with compassion, moved by her broken heart and weeps Himself. This is not how it was supposed to be. Death was not a part of the original plan in the garden. Death is the result of sin, but not from an angry God, but from a compassionate God who came to take on death for sinners so that these grave side scenes could be gone forever for those who accept His price.

It is thought that Jesus may have waited for four days because of the Jewish belief, at the time, that the spirit still stayed near the body for the first three days after death. By now, however, there was no doubt that Lazarus was dead and decay had set in. Poor Martha, is aware of this and fears humiliation when Jesus orders that the stone be removed and the grave opened. "But Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days!" (John 11:39B)

I remember hearing a pastor say once that the reason that Jesus called specifically to Lazarus is because, if He had just said, "come forth," the whole grave yard would have emptied out. Since He is the resurrection itself, I suppose this is possible. What we do know is that Lazarus obeyed, even in death, and as Jesus had designed, God was indeed glorified.

Hymn: "The Day of Resurrection"

Link to first century burial practices