(1) v.1-6
The repeated words are: sick, love, glory. The family was loved by Jesus and the natural thing for Jesus to do when He heard that Lazarus was sick was to go there and heal Him. However, in v.4, Jesus did not mention love, but glory.
11:4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death, but to God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Jesus announced that "this sickness will not lead to death. However, Nazarus would die, but Jesus would also resurrect him from death. When Martha, Mary and the disciples saw that Lazarus had died, could they trust Him?
The glorification is linked to the fact that the death/resurrection of Lazarus led to the death/glorification process of Jesus v.45-53, 12:9-10. The Jewish official decided to kill Jesus because of this miracle.
11:6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days.
His action may seem contradictory to the love He has for them, but perhaps it is necessary to wait until Lazarus died before Jesus got there so that He could resurrected him from death.
His action may seem contradictory to the love He has for them, but perhaps it is necessary to wait until Lazarus died before Jesus got there so that He could resurrected him from death.
Reflection: Can we trust Jesus? We know that He loves us and therefore He could do things that I do not understand and I still trust Him?
(2) v.7-16
The disciples were not mentioned at all after this passage. According to v.15, the whole miracle was for them.
11:14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 11:15 and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe.
(NET) It seems necessary to understand the disciples’ belief here in a developmental sense, because there are numerous references to the disciples’ faith previous to this in John’s Gospel, notably 2:11. Their concept of who Jesus really was is continually being expanded and challenged; they are undergoing spiritual growth; the climax is reached in the confession of Thomas in John 20:28.
(NET) It seems necessary to understand the disciples’ belief here in a developmental sense, because there are numerous references to the disciples’ faith previous to this in John’s Gospel, notably 2:11. Their concept of who Jesus really was is continually being expanded and challenged; they are undergoing spiritual growth; the climax is reached in the confession of Thomas in John 20:28.
There were 2 factors that encouraged the faith of the disciples: 1. the resurrection of Lazarus 2. the fact that Jesus was dare to go to Judea again where the Jewish leaders were just now trying to stone Him to death v.8.
Reflection: What did God show you to encourage you to grow in your faith? It may not necessarily be a miracle. Perhaps it was the courage that Jesus had or other believers had that move you.
Audrey
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