When it's time, it's time....and it's time.

 

Time is a created thing.  To say, "I don't have time" is to say, "I don't want to."  --Lao Tzu

When an expectant mother says, "I think it's time," there is a paradigm shift.  Everything stops.  Everyone around drops whatever they are doing.  Nothing is more important than bringing the woman to the hospital or else bringing the midwife to the soon-to-be mother.

There are times in our lives when the status quo comes to an abrupt halt, when a single event alters our trajectory in such a way that we look back on that event as pivotal.  Before that singular event, we were one way; but after, we were forever changed.

There was a time in the life of Jesus and His disciples that was pivotal.  The meaning of "bringing people to Jesus" changed.  The meaning of ministry changed.  The meaning of discipleship changed.  And it all happened when Jesus said, "The time has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."

Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.  --John 12:20-26

 Jesus was spending His time teaching in Jerusalem, near the Temple.  Some men approached who spoke Greek, the predominate world language at the time.  Commentator David Guzik writes, "These Greeks had heard of Jesus, perhaps of His reputation as a teacher and worker of miracles. What they did know of Jesus made them want to know more about Him, so they came to Philip (the one disciple with a Greek name) asking to see Jesus."

Philip wants to check with the other disciples, perhaps to see if there is any conflict in Jesus's schedule.  Maybe it was someone that Peter knew, and not finding him Philip seeks out Andrew, Peter's brother.  We are not told of the details, but we do know that this was an established form of evangelism.  The New Cambridge Bible Commentary called it "social networking."  We have seen it before:  In the beginning of Jesus's ministry, Andrew brought Simon to Jesus and Philip brought Nathaniel.  Later in John's Gospel we see that the Samaritan woman brought the men of her village to "come and see."  We know that Martha brough Mary to Jesus.

Today, sadly, most of our evangelistic efforts stop at inviting people we know to church.  By contrast, effective evangelism is people going outside the church walls and giving testimony of Jesus to other people.  In the Great Commission, Jesus did not tell us to "go into all the world and invite all men to church."  He said instead that we should make disciples of all men.  We should bring them to faith in Jesus first, then help them find a local Bible-believing church to be involved in.

We see next in our passage that when the disciples try to introduce these Greek seekers to Jesus, He says, "My time has come."  We are reminded of the first sign miracle in John 2, when Jesus's mother tells the servants, "Do whatever He tells you."  Jesus said to Mary, "My time has not yet come."  In another passage in John 7 when the Jews tried to arrest Jesus, John said "no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. (verse 30)"  

Here we see a dramatic shift in priorities.  Like an expectant mom who says, "It is time!" Jesus expresses the same sentiment.  The difference is that instead of saying it is time to add one more convert, one more disciple, one more new life in the kingdom of God, Jesus says the time has come for Him to be glorified.

The Miriam-Webster dictionary says "glorify" has four distinct meanings: to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration; to light up brilliantly; to represent as glorious, i.e. extol; to give glory to, as in worship.  Here, Jesus says the time has come for the process to start, the end result of which will be His glorification.  However, the process is not yet complete; it is just starting.  

Jesus's words here can be seen as poetic.    In Jewish poetry, there is not so much rhyming words as rhyming ideas.  It begins with a statement, which we will call A, followed by another statement, called B.  Then the second statement is restated; let's call this "B prime" or B'.  The final line is a restatement of the first, called "A prime" or A'.  Let's look at Jesus's words in this context.

A.  The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

B.  Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

B'.  Those who love their life, lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  Whoever serves Me must follow Me, and where I am there will My servant be also.

A'.  Whoever serves Me, the Father will honor.

Assuming that "glory" and "honor" refer to the same value in antiquity, the two brackets (A and A') speak of divine honor shown, first to Jesus ("glorified") and then to His servants ("honor").  Why?  For walking the way described in B and B'.  The talk there is of dying and bearing fruit, hating and keeping, or becoming a servant and being honored.  All recognize this as the type of radical discipleship demanded by Jesus (see Mark 8:34-38).   --The New Cambridge Bible Commentary.

In short, in order for Him to be glorified, He must die.  Only then will He bear much fruit.

The same goes for us.  We must die to self in order to be like Him.  Romans 6 makes this clear.

What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised form the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  --Romans 6:1-11

Jesus foretold of His death when He spoke of a seed being planted and dying in order to produce much fruit.  It would not happen immediately; He must first go through the "labor pains" of a mock trial, of being whipped and beaten, of having a crown of thorns thrust upon His head and His being nailed to a cross.  The entire process would produce a paradigm shift.  No longer would God's mercy be limited to a particular nation, but grace would be available to the whole world.  No longer would we be bound by the Law, but by faith in Him we can find salvation.

The crucifixion and resurrection marked the beginning of a sea-change in history, a shift in cosmic order and religious freedom.  Even though secular humanists want to do away with historical designations like BC and AD, the truth is that even what they call BCE or "before common era" refers to history before Jesus, and what they call CE or "common era" refers to history after Jesus.  

Oh, and if you are still wondering about the riddle posed in the graphic above, the answer is it's time to get a new clock.

Shouts of Hosanna under a shadow of the Cross

 

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  --2 Corinthians 2:14

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, when Christians celebrate what we call the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  Wednesday is the beginning of Passover, when our Jewish friends celebrate God's power and mercy, in commemoration of the night before their ancestors who were slaves in Egypt placed the blood of a lamb on the lintel and doorpost so that the Angel of Death might pass over them.

There is a lot of crossover between the two religious celebrations.  Passover to the Jews is when a lamb is sacrificed, while Christians believe that Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God.  If you imagine the blood on the lintel dripping to the ground, you have four points of blood.  Draw a line from top to bottom, and from side to side connecting the blood on the left and right doorpost, and you have an image of the cross. Christians know that there was blood on the top from the crown of thorns Jesus wore, and blood on the bottom where His feet were nailed to the cross, and there was blood on either side where nails pierced His two hands.  

Hebrews 9:22 in the Christian Bible reminds us that, "Under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (ESV).  Bearing this in mind, we read about Jesus's triumphal entry with the foreshadowing of the cross.

John's Gospel describes it this way:

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: "Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!"  Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"  --John 12:12-19

The first thing we should notice about this passage is that it is in the context of Lazarus being raised from the dead.  We are told just before this passage, in verses 10 and 11, that the Jews were plotting to kill Lazarus because so many people were coming to see Jesus after hearing what He had done for Lazarus.  John records seven significant signs or miracles that Jesus did which point to Him as the Messiah.  The raising of Lazarus from the dead was the seventh sign, and the most significant.  John will later write in 20:30-31, "These signs were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God."

The crowd that had gathered to make Jesus their King were those who had heard the witness of Lazarus, as well as others that bore witness of Jesus.  I can imagine there might have been some in the crowd who were present at the wedding in Cana where Jesus had turned water into wine.  I'll bet the nobleman from Capernaum was there, whose son Jesus had healed with just His words.  I'd even be willing to bet that the man whom Jesus met at the pool of Bethesda, who had been infirm for 38 years before Jesus healed him--he was there, too.

You know that some of the 5000 whom Jesus had fed with the two fish and five barley loaves were there in the crowd shouting and waving palm branches.  And of course, the disciples were there who had witnessed Jesus's walking on the water through the storm.  There is even a high probability that the man was there who had been born blind, to whom Jesus gave the gift of sight, was there in the crowd shouting, "Hosanna!"  These, along with those who were witnesses of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, were all there, all bearing witness to these seven signs and wonders that Jesus had performed and that John had memorialized in his gospel.

What a glorious reception.  What a joyous occasion.  What a sight that must have been.

The second thing we see in this passage is the prophetic passages that were fulfilled when the crowd wanted to crown Him king.  Jesus was riding on the young donkey, just as had been written in Zechariah 9:9, where it says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey."

The word Hosanna is a Greek transliteration of a Hebrew phrase meaning "Save us, please" or "Save us now."  It is written in Psalm 118:25-26, "Save now (yasa na), I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.  Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!"  The crowd spontaneously spoke these words, perhaps chanting them together as Jesus passed.  Some of them may have remembered the words of the Psalm, but probably not all of them had this in mind.  John says in verse 16 that the disciples didn't put it all together until after Jesus had died and was resurrected.  It was only after Jesus had been glorified and ascended into heaven that they realized that the ancient prophesies had been fulfilled in Jesus.

There is a juxtaposition of Jesus's purpose and the crowd's chants.  Commentator Leon Morris wrote, “The ass was not normally used by a warlike person. It was the animal of a man of peace, a priest, a merchant or the like. It might also be used by a person of importance but in connection with peaceable purposes. A conqueror would ride into the city on a war horse, or perhaps march in on foot at the head of his troops. The ass speaks of peace.”  Yet the people wanted to crown Jesus King.  They wanted a political ruler to overthrow Roman rule.  FF Bruce wrote of this passage, "One who could summon a dead man back to life would certainly be able to deliver the holy city from the yoke of Caesar."

Which brings us to the third thing we see in this passage: the contempt of the Pharisees.  You will recall in the previous chapter John told us of the chief priests and Pharisees who gathered in council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.  If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." (11:47-48).  In the same way the Pharisees said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the whole world has gone after Him!" (12:39).

NT Wright in his commentary John For Everyone writes, 

The Pharisees, like Caiphas before them, speak a contemptuous word which John intends us to understand in a much more positive sense.  In verse 19 they scoff at Jesus and His ragtag following.  Just as in 7:49 they sniffed dismissively at the common crowd ("this rabble that doesn't know the law!"), so here they are determined to distance themselves from Jesus's supporters: "the world has gone off after Him".  The tone of voice can be imagined all too easily.  They regard themselves as infinitely superior to the common herd of people.  They, after all, know the Torah, and keep it to exacting standards that most people wouldn't even understand.  But John wants us to hear something else as well, which will then be developed in the next passage.  Jesus has come into the world because God so loved the world (3:16).  He has other sheep to find and rescue as well as the lost sheep of Israel (10:16).  His death will deliver not only the nation but also the children of God throughout the world (11:52).  It is no accident that immediately after this contemptuous statement of the Pharisees...that Jesus sees this as a sign that the moment is fast approaching when He will complete His work.  "When I am lifted up from the earth," He says in verse 32, "I will draw all people to Myself."

There is some hyperbole in the Pharisees' envy over Jesus's success, as well as some irony.  Clearly not everyone had gone after Jesus, but they had discovered that they were clearly not in charge of the situation.  There is, however, some ironic sweetness in their statement, "Look, the world has gone after Him!"  

May it ever be so.

Jesus bade us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.   His Great Commission was that we spread His word until the whole world knows.

Missing Jesus in all the drama

 

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.  --James 1:14-15

We are coming up on Easter.  Historically, Easter Sunday is the one Sunday when church pews are full.  The good news is that more people hear the Gospel from the pulpit on this one day than any other Sunday.  The bad news is that more people are distracted, too.  

They may watch their children sing in the kiddy choir, then sleep through the sermon.  They may be looking to see how all the other people are dressed--either looking down on those dressed more casually or looking with jealousy of those who may be dressed more nicely.  They may be thinking of the effort it took to get everyone up and dressed in time for church, or of the argument they had with their spouse in the car on the way to church and completely miss the message of Jesus.

In the twelfth chapter of John's Gospel, we see one of the greatest acts of true worship ever.  The disciples, however, may have missed it because of some drama going on.  Let's read it together.

Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.  There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.  Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.  And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"  This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."  Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.  --John 12:1-11

The remarkable act of worship

While Martha served, Mary bowed at the feet of Jesus.  This is reminiscent of the first time we met the two sisters, as recounted in Luke 10:38-42.  You probably know the story.  Martha was busy serving, but Mary sat at the feet of Jesus to learn.  Martha complained, and Jesus said that Mary had made the better choice.

Here in John's narrative, Martha was again expressing her spiritual gift of service, but Mary expressed her own spiritual gift of giving.  Here's what WJ Erdman wrote:

“The life of Mary is painted for us, in three memorable pictures, in each of which she is at the feet of Jesus.” 

Luke 10:39: Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and learned.

John 11:32: Mary fell at Jesus’ feet and surrendered.

John 12:3: Mary anointed Jesus’ feet and honored Jesus.

David Guzek in his Study Guide for John says this:

In the midst of the supper, Mary gave a remarkable gift to Jesus. It wasn’t unusual to wash the feet of a guest, but it was unusual to do it during the meal itself, to use very costly oil of spikenard to do it, and to wipe the feet with her hair, using the hair as a kind of towel.

• Mary’s gift was remarkably humble. When a guest entered the home, usually the guest’s feet were washed with water and the guest’s head was anointed with a dab of oil or perfume. Here, Mary used this precious ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus. She considered her precious ointment only good enough for His feet. “To attend to the feet was the task of the most lowly slave. Thus Mary’s action denoted great humility as well as great devotion.” (Morris)
• Mary’s gift was remarkably extreme. She used a lot (a pound) of a very costly oil of spikenard. Spices and ointments were often used as an investment because they were small, portable, and could be easily sold. Judas believed this oil was worth 300 denarii (John 12:5), which was worth a year’s wages for a workingman.
• Mary’s gift was remarkably unselfconscious. Not only did she give the gift of the expensive oil, she also wiped His feet with her hair. This means that she let down her hair in public, something a Jewish woman would rarely do.

The Distractions

She was showing out, unbecoming of a lady.

Not only did Mary sit at Jesus's feet, but she made an outrageous gesture.  NT Wright in his commentary John for Everyone says this about an observant Jewish woman of the day letting her hair down in a public setting: "That's roughly the equivalent, at a modern polite dinner party, of a woman hitching up a long skirt to the top of her thighs.  You can imagine the onlookers' reaction.  Had she no shame?  What was she trying to say--to Jesus, to the onlookers?  All sorts of disturbing thoughts must have been flying round the room."

She was being wasteful.

We are not told that the disciples confronted Mary about this brazen display.  We are told, however, that Judas excoriated Mary for wasting perfectly good perfume.

Come again?  That's what was wrong with this picture?

The perfume was apparently very costly.  Judas valued it at about a year's wages for a common laborer.  That Mary poured it out on Jesus's feet, and then dried His feet with her hair, so that the fragrance filled the house--this galled Judas.  She could have sold the perfume, he said aloud; that money could have been given to the poor.  As an aside, John explained that the disciples later understood that Judas, who was the group's treasurer, was skimming money from the offering box.  He wasn't so concerned for the poor as he was his own pockets.

Jesus stepped in to the controversy but was misunderstood (again).

Jesus tells Judas and the other disciples to calm down.  "Leave Mary alone," He told them.  "She is using the perfume to prepare Me for My burial."  This particular prophecy concerning His imminent death apparently went over everyone's head at the time.  What they likely heard was the next statement, that the poor would always be with them, but He would not always be there.  Again, Jesus was speaking of His death and burial, but the disciples likely took it to mean after Jesus was gone (at some point in the very distant future), then they could worry about the poor.

The Jews were there to see Lazarus, the "flavor of the day."

The crowds followed Jesus and His friends, mainly to see the miracles.  In this instance, they weren't there to see Jesus, but to catch a glimpse of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days then was brought back to life.  Yeah, yeah, we know: Jesus was the One who brought him back to life, but wow, look at Lazarus.  Doesn't he look healthy?  He doesn't look like a corpse at all, does he?

How many times do we travel to a distant city to see a famous preacher, but miss his message?  Like, we saw Billy Graham before he died; it was great.  Really? What did he preach about?  Well, I don't really remember, but it was really great to see him and hear him preach.

The Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus, and Lazarus too.

The chief priests saw the crowds around Jesus and Lazarus, and they felt threatened.  Remember what they had said in the previous chapter:   In John 11:48 they said, "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."  So they added Lazarus to their "hit list", as one who needed to be taken out of the picture, so that sanity could be restored and they could go back to their status quo.

Distractions from this passage even today.

There is disagreement among biblical scholars of whether this event is the same as is found in Mark 14:3-9 and Luke 7:36-38, or if it is a totally different event.  There are similarities between the two accounts--the costly perfume poured out on Jesus, the cost estimate of 300 denarii that should have gone to the poor, and Jesus's response that the woman did the right thing, and that the poor would always be with them.  There are also marked differences between John's narrative and that of Mark--the one says it was at the house of Lazarus, the other at the home of Simon the leper (whom Jesus had healed); the one says it was six days prior to Passover, the other says two days; the one says the woman poured the perfume on His feet, the other says it was poured on His head.

These differences lead some scholars to believe that they were two separate events.  The similarities lead others to think that they were the same event given by two witnesses with different perspectives.  Atheists and skeptics will use passages like this to say that the text is unreliable, that the stories contradict one another.

Just like the disciples missed the significance of the anointing of Jesus when they were distracted by Mary's actions and Judas's complaint against her, we sometimes miss the point of the Gospel.  Just like commentators argue about whether there was one event or two, we sometimes get caught up in insignificant details and forget the One who died for us and rose again on the third day.

We need to take our eyes off the drama going on around us and focus solely on Jesus.  Are we, like Mary, willing to do outrageous things for our Lord, or will we get distracted by the drama of controversies, complaints, and catcalls?  Are we willing to give up our pride, our reputation, and our standing in the community for the sake of the Savior?

Jesus asks that we follow Him, no matter what society says.

Isn't that ironic?

 

No doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!  --Job 12:2

In the movie The Princess Bride, there is an iconic dialogue between Vizzini, played by Wallace Shawn, and Inigo Montoya, played by Mandy Patinkin.  Vizzini has used the same expression throughout the film, saying, "Inconceivable!" when something unexpected happens or whenever his plans go awry.  At one point, Vizzini has cut a rope that the hero Westley is climbing up.  But when he reaches the edge and peers over, Vizzini sees Westley climbing up the cliff face.

"He didn't fall?" Vizzini says incredulously.  Then he exclaims, "Inconceivable!"

Inigo Montoya, who has heretofore been a loyal henchman to Vizzini, innocently says, "You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means."

In the Gospel of John, there is a scene involving the High Priest Caiaphas as he addresses the Sanhedrin that drips with irony when he says, "You know nothing at all!"  John was not a member of the Sanhedrin, so he probably heard about this council meeting from Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea (members of the Sanhedrin who later became Christians) after the fact.  Likely it was after the resurrection of Jesus, which made the exchange all the more ironic. Let's read about it, starting in John 11:45 and following:

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.  But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus did.  Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do?  For this Man works many signs.  If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."  --John 11:45-48

 After Jesus had opened the eyes of the man born blind and then raised Lazarus from the dead, many peopled believed that Jesus was the Messiah.  There was simply no other conclusion that could be drawn.  Commentator David Guzik points out that everyone in the council believed it, too.  Ironically, they had changed their opinion of Jesus, but it did not change their disdain of Him.  "First they opposed Jesus because they weren’t convinced He was the Messiah. Now they opposed Jesus because they were convinced that He was the Messiah. They admitted the miracles, but look how they treated the Miracle-worker:

• They denied Him.
• They opposed Him.
• They were afraid of His influence over the people."

The Pharisees were determined to hold on to their elevated place in society.  Even while under the rule of Rome, the Pharisees enjoyed semi-autonomy as leaders in the Jewish nation.  They wanted to keep it that way.  N.T. Wright, in his commentary John for Everyone, says, "Obviously, they thought, He was gathering support for some kind of prophetic or even messianic action, perhaps a march on Jerusalem itself.  Once that happened, if the Romans got wind of it they would call up the troops.  And that would be the end of any national hope they might still have.  As likely as not, it would be the end of the nation itself."

Ironically, this very thing would happen a generation later.  There would be a Jewish uprising in 70 AD that would result in the destruction of the Temple and would leave Jerusalem a smoldering ruin.  Reading the text 2000 years later, we know that this was not Jesus's intent at all, but the Sanhedrin's attempt to maintain the status quo was driving their decision making.

And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish."  Now he did not say this on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.  --John 11:49-52

Clearly, Caiaphas thought that killing Jesus would maintain social order and avoid the wrath of Rome.  Little did he know that he was prophesying that the death of Jesus, the Messiah, would in fact become the way of salvation for all people, not just the Jewish nation. Remember what John had recorded Jesus saying to Nicodemus back in chapter 3?  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  2 Peter 3:9 underscores this notion, stating that God "is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Alas, the Jewish leaders did not repent.

Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.  Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.  And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.  Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think--that He will not come to the feast?"  Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.  --John 11:53-57

This was the beginning of the end.  The Sanhedrin had issued an all-points bulletin, that if anyone saw Jesus they should report it to them, so that they could arrest Jesus.  

You will remember that John's entire Gospel centers around the feasts of the Jews. Jesus had always showed up in Jerusalem during the important Jewish feasts, even when He had told His brothers that He would not (see John 7:3-15).  So when the Jews started gathering in Jerusalem in the week leading up to the Passover, they wondered where and when Jesus would appear during this important feast. 

Little did they realize that this particular Passover would be the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant; that Jesus would become the Passover Lamb sacrificed for our sins so that the Angel of Death would not consume us.   He would be lifted up like the bronze serpent in the wilderness so that "by His stripes we are healed."  

All the Messianic prophecies point to Jesus alone.

The irony is that people don't see it. Or, like the Pharisees, they see it and reject it for personal reasons. They don't realize that rejecting the salvation offered by Jesus condemns them to everlasting punishment, which is not in their own self-interest at all.

When expectations are changed, then exceeded

 

He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.  And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."  --Romans 4:20-22

The Bible is full of narratives that have unexpected twists.  Things don't always go as we think they should.  One example of this is Abraham.  He and his wife Sarah were old and childless.  Abraham was all ready to leave his estate to his nephew Lot.  Then God appeared to Abraham and told him that he would have a son.

Abraham and Sarah did finally have their miracle baby and called him Isaac.  But then God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering.  Abraham obediently built the altar, stacked the wood, and raised the knife to slay his son, when God stopped him.  Abraham had proved himself faithful, and believed God would somehow work it all out for His glory.  Isaac was a miracle child after all, and Abraham believed God would raise his son from the dead.  

I often wonder what I might have done in that situation.  If God had given me a miracle baby to carry on my family name, and God had promised to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens, would I have obeyed God's command to offer my miracle baby as a sacrifice?

Probably not.

Often that's the way we sometimes approach stories we see in the Bible narrative.  We try to see the situation through our own eyes.  Sometimes we may judge the characters, saying things like, "Well, I would never have done that--Jesus was right there!  For the love of God, man, have faith!"  Other times we may approach the story line in humility.  We may bow our heads and admit, "I could not imagine myself in that situation.  I would not have trusted God the way they did.  God forgive me!"

Bearing that thought in mind, let's continue in our study of John.  You will recall that early in chapter 11, Jesus hears that His friend Lazarus is sick.  He takes that opportunity to teach His disciples a lesson on glorifying God.  Later in the chapter, we see Jesus interact with Martha and Mary.  It is a very emotional scene, as the sisters believe Jesus came too late to save their brother.  Even Jesus is moved to tears.

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"--John 11:38-40

Let's stop right here.  Jesus is still emotional.  He is groaning audibly.  When they approach the tomb, Jesus wants the stone covering removed.  Perhaps Martha thinks that Jesus is overcome with grief and wants to see his friend Lazarus one last time, maybe even hold him close like a friend and brother who had missed an opportunity to say goodbye.

It's a reasonable assumption.  From a human perspective, they knew that Jesus loved Lazarus.  They had already gotten on His case about not coming earlier, perhaps to heal Lazarus and keep him from dying; or, as an alternative, to be able to say a proper goodbye before he had passed away.  Martha may have misinterpreted Jesus's tears as tears of grief along with some shame or regret.  So when Jesus asked that the grave be opened, she spoke to Him, maybe to bring Him back to reality.  "Jesus, Honey, you don't really want to do that.  Four days in the ground is a long time.  There's going to be a smell."

Jesus's response whips Martha out of the physical reality of unbelief back into a spiritual reality of faith.  He had just told her in verse 23, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  

Moments before, Martha had expressed faith.  She told Jesus that she knew whatever He asked of God, that God would do it.  Now that they were at the grave, however, the reality of death sunk in, and her faith was shaken.  Jesus had to remind her that she needed to keep the faith, to believe and to glorify God.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." --John 11:41-42

Another plot twist.  Martha had indeed expressed some measure of faith before, saying that she knew that whatever Jesus asked of the Father, it would come to pass.  If Jesus was going to pray, He would certainly ask God to raise her brother from the dead.

But that's not what Jesus prayed.

Jesus said, "God, thank You for hearing Me."

Remember back in verse 6, when Jesus had received the news that Lazarus was sick?  It says He stayed there two more days.  Some commentators think that Jesus spent those two days in prayer, either asking the Father's guidance in this situation, or more probably, that God would be glorified in this situation.  Jesus likely knew that Lazarus would die, and that he would be resuscitated.  His prayers for this miracle may have happened in the two days that Jesus delayed His coming.

Today we may wonder why Jesus has delayed His second coming.  Our hearts' desire is to be with Him in His glory.  Romans 8:34 says, "It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."  Jesus is praying for us even now.

Other commentators say that when we see that Jesus was groaning in verse 38, that He was praying even then.  We are reminded of Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."  When Jesus prayed, "Thank You, God, for hearing Me," we can take heart.  God also hears our prayers.

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice," Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  --John 11:43-44

Jesus had the authority Himself to raise the dead.  When He called Lazarus, Lazarus came out, either hopping or penguin walking because of the graveclothes that bound him.  Jesus commanded those who were with Him to unbind Lazarus.

We were dead in our trespasses and sins.  Jesus called out to us, and we responded in faith.  We could only take baby steps because of the remnants of the grave still clinging to us.  We must rely on others who follow Jesus to free us from what binds us.  That's why we are encouraged to go to churc.  And when Jesus calls someone new out of the sepulcher of sin, we should not make fun of them; we should heed the call of Jesus to release them from the cloths (or chains, if you will) that bind them.  We should remind ourselves that where they came from, where they were when Jesus called them, we were there, too.  This is the ministry that Jesus calls us to.

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.  But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things that Jesus did. --John 11:45-46

You may recall that when Martha and Mary were sitting shiva in their house, that many Jews were with them.  The passage hinted that those same Jews were enemies of Jesus.  They knew about His past miracles, and whispered among themselves, "Could not this Man who had opened the eyes of the blind have kept Lazarus from dying?"

Jesus heard their murmurings against Him, which added to His emotions.  We don't like to think of Jesus as being angry at anyone, but He certainly was.  Part of what made Jesus so emotional perhaps was the specter of death that followed Him.  There was foreshadowing: 

• Lazarus was buried in a cave with a stone sealing the entrance.  Jesus was likewise buried in a carved rock enclosure with a large stone set in place at the entrance.
• The stone at the entrance had to be removed.
• Lazarus came out with the graveclothes still wrapped around him, and his face covered.  Jesus came out with the graveclothes still sitting in the tomb, and the face covering neatly folded and placed apart from the rest.

How could anyone who witnessed the miracle of Lazarus being raised up from the dead by Jesus not believe in Him?  Some did, but others went back to the Pharisees to tattle.  The Pharisees clearly did not believe.

How could anyone hear about the resurrection of Jesus and not believe in Him?  Some do, but others deny Him and even persecute those who believe.  Those who choose not to believe must have whiplash from all the, "wait, what?" moments in Scripture.  Their expectations are not met in the narrative, and they do not have faith to adjust their expectations.  For those of us willing to adjust our expectations, Jesus continues to exceed them.

All the feels

 

My enemies say of me in malice, 'When will he die, and his name perish?' And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.  All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me. --Psalm 41:5-7

Do you ever feel like an emotional wreck?  You are not alone.  We all have those moments when we lash out at others, lose our composure, and dissolve into a puddle of tears.

You know what?  That's okay.  It's called being human.

Would it surprise you to know that Jesus had a moment like that?  We read about it in John 11, when Jesus goes to Bethany where his friends Martha and Mary were grieving the death of their brother Lazarus.

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb."  --John 11:17-38a

 Jewish burial customs have not changed much since those days.  The deceased is buried before sundown on the day he died.  Then family members will sit shiva for seven days.  I only know about the Jewish custom of sitting shiva from the movies, but apparently close family members will sit, sometimes on low stools, and talk about their relationship with their dead family member.  Mirrors are covered during this grieving period, because they are supposed to be thinking only of the lost family member, not worry about their own appearance.  So no make-up, no fixing your hair, no concern about your own appearance.  You'd put on a hat or a head scarf and stay at home for a week.

Neighbors and family friends would come by to visit during this time.  The men would talk about their memories of the dead, and the women would bring comfort food and prepare meals.  It was likely a breach of protocol to get up and leave the house when guests were there for the purpose of comforting the grieved.  

When Martha got up and left, the comforters and other mourners in the house may have chalked it up to Martha's temperament.  She was a woman of action, after all, always saying or doing whatever was on her mind.  You'll recall the story in Luke 10:38-42 when Martha was found sitting at the feet of Jesus while He was teaching Lazarus and the other men.  Mary complained that Martha had broken several unwritten rules: first, she was sitting among the men listening to Jesus's teaching, when most women were illiterate and were not allowed to study the Torah for themselves; and second, that she had left Mary to do all the tasks of cooking, serving, and cleaning--tasks that normally fell to the women.

Later when Mary abruptly left the house, the guests followed.  Some mistakenly thought that Mary was so overcome by grief that she was running back to the grave to mourn the loss of her brother there.  Perhaps they were trying to be nice, because leaving the house without offering an apology or excuse was likely a breach of etiquette.

Let's take a closer look at each of the characters in this story, and examine more closely their emotions in the moment.

Martha

Martha is likely the one who had sent the urgent message to Jesus in the earlier passage we read.  When Jesus did not immediately come, she was likely a bit agitated but always looking on the horizon for His return.  As soon as she received word that Jesus had been seen entering the village, she ran to meet Him at the edge of town.

Yes, Martha was saddened by her brother's death.  We can also see that she was a bit put out with Jesus for not coming sooner.  "If You had been here, my brother would not have died."  This was less an accusation than a statement of faith, for she followed up with, "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, He will give You."

Jesus asked her to define her faith.  "Your brother will rise again," He said to her.  She replied that yes, every practicing Jew knew that we would all be together on the last day, at the resurrection of the faithful.  Jesus took her own words and stretched her faith.  "I am the resurrection and the life."  Those who believe in Jesus will live, even after death, and that life will be everlasting.

When asked if she believed His words, Martha affirmed that He is the Christ, the Son of God.  So her grief turned to hope, and her hope would turn to joy when Jesus raised her brother, as we will see.

Mary

Mary was more introspective.  She had heard the teaching of Jesus secondhand, as she was likely not in the room when He spoke as her sister had been.  She was also sitting with the Jews, some of whom may have been ready to pick up stones to throw at Jesus the last time He was in Jerusalem.

I believe she saw Martha leave, but could not bring herself to go after her.  Whether it was for appearances sake (not to appear rude to the guests) or not, we do not know.  We do know that she was grieving the loss of her brother, probably with tears.

Martha came back and whispered in her ear that Jesus had asked to speak with her.  Mary then got up and left, likely with Martha on her heels.  When she saw Jesus, her words were the same as her sister's, but probably with more of an accusatory tone.  "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  There was no follow up.  She was not exactly blaming Jesus for her brother's death but certainly showed her disappointment in Him that He did not arrive sooner to intervene for them.

Grief and sadness can sometimes cloud our faith, as well.  How many times have we blamed God for not answering our prayers in the way we thought they should be answered, within the time limits we have in our minds that He should have acted?

The Jews

When both Martha and Mary left the house, the guests must have looked at one another awkwardly.  They misinterpreted Mary's motive for leaving, supposing that she was going to the gravesite to mourn there.  They must have murmured among themselves as they followed at a distance.  "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"

This question leads me to believe that they either had first-hand knowledge of, or had heard about, Jesus healing the man born blind.  If they were there in Jerusalem on the Sabbath that Jesus had performed the miracle, then they could have been those that picked up stones to stone Him to death.  If they had only heard about it, then they heard it from those who had wanted to execute Jesus for blasphemy, so the story they might have heard would have been biased against Jesus.

So this question that everyone had about Jesus not being there when Lazarus died had most likely been a topic of discussion at the home of Martha and Mary.  Martha asked it in faith.  Mary asked it in doubt.  The Jews asked it in disbelief, almost as if Jesus had deliberately not intervened.  If that was the case, then Jesus was in effect guilty of killing Lazarus.

Nevertheless, they made a show of weeping loudly when they saw Mary's tears. “We must remember that this would be no gentle shedding of tears. It would be almost hysterical wailing and shrieking, for it was the Jewish point of view that the more unrestrained the weeping, the honour it paid to the dead.” (Barclay).  When Jesus started weeping as well, the Jews observed, "Behold, how He loved him."  They did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, but they did believe that He loved Lazarus.

Jesus

Jesus was no doubt exhausted from the 20-mile trek to get to Bethany.  He saw Mary crying uncontrollably.  He heard the weeping and wailing from the Jews.  He had likely heard their accusations, too; and knowing their hearts, that they did not believe in Him.  The repeated phrase, "If only...if only...if only."  If only He had gotten there sooner.  If only He had been able to heal His friend of this disease.  If only Mary believed like her sister.  If only.

The passage says, "Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled."   Alexander Maclaren writes:

So a great wave of emotion swept across the usually calm soul of Jesus, which John bids us trace to its cause by 'therefore' (ver. 33). The sight of Mary's real, and the mourners' half-real, tears, and the sound of their loud 'keening,' shook His spirit, and He yielded to, and even encouraged, the rush of feeling ('troubled Himself'). But not only sympathy and sorrow ruffled the clear mirror of His spirit; another disturbing element was present. He 'was moved with indignation'. Anger at Providence often mingles with our grief, but that was not Christ's indignation. The only worthy explanation of that strange ingredient in Christ's agitation is that it was directed against the source of death, —namely, sin. He saw the cause manifested in the effects. He wept for the one, He was wroth at the other. The tears witnessed to the perfect love of the man, and of the God revealed in the man; the indignation witnessed to the recoil and aversion from sin of the perfectly righteous Man, and of the holy God manifested in Him. We get one glimpse into His heart, as on to some ocean heaving and mist-covered. The momentary sight proclaims the union in Him, as the Incarnate Word, of pity for our woes and of aversion from our sins.

David Guzik in his Study Guide for John 11 writes, "Coming to the scene of Lazarus’ tomb, Jesus intensely groaned in the spirit. In the ancient Greek, this phrase literally means, to snort like a horse — implying anger and indignation."  The Greek word John uses here, embrimasthai, was also used by Judas when the woman broke open the jar of perfume to wash Jesus's feet.  Judas was indignant that the perfume had not been sold and the money given to the poor, as we see in Mark 14:4-5.  Jesus here was indignant that these people were making such a ruckus over the death of Lazarus, but in a few short days these same Jews would be cheering over the death of Jesus.

This is why Jesus wept.  Not just for the loss of his friend Lazarus, for Lazarus would soon be made alive again.  Nor did He weep for Martha, for her faith was strong.  Jesus became emotional and actually shed tears because of His indignation at the Jews, and that they would dare draw Mary into their darkened disbelief.

Jesus wept for the sake of those who would not believe in Him.  He wept for His own impending death, not from sorrow or loss but from a hatred of sin that caused Him to have to offer Himself as our sacrifice.  He wept for those who, after His resurrection, still would not believe in Him or follow Him.  Isaiah 53:3 says, "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."

Sadness.  Sorrow.  Anger.  Indignation.

All of the emotions overcame Jesus at this moment, and He silently sobbed.  Not a loud wail for show as the Jews had done.  Rather a groaning in His spirit as that of a snorting horse, followed by tears, followed by a second audible groan or growl of indignation, followed by the resurrection of Lazarus.

Who still thinks of Jesus as weak?  Emotional, yes.  Weak, no.

He was fully God, with all of the power and might and foresight we attribute to an omnipotent, omniscient Being.  He was also fully human, with all of the frailty and feelings and emotions that we share.  Think of that the next time you are overcome with emotion.  He is our comfort, yes, because He has shared in our emotions.

To the glory of God

 

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  --1 Corinthians 10:31

 Arguably the greatest musical composer of all time was J.S. Bach.  Not only was he quite prolific, writing over 1128 pieces during his lifetime, but each piece of music was unparalleled in it's technique and quality.  His works are still performed some 350 years after they were written.

Yet this musical GOAT did not write music for himself.  It was not composed for personal fame or fortune.  On every piece of music he wrote, Bach placed the initials SDG.  Soli Deo Gloria.  Glory to God alone.

In our ongoing study of the Gospel of John, we see that Jesus did all of His works for God's glory.  And as we will see in our passage today, doing things according to God's will and for His glory do not always appear to be logical, or in our best interest.

 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed Him there.  Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then, after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  --John 10:40 - 11:16.

 This story has a lot of moving parts, a lot of things going on in a very short time.  So let's break it down.

First, Jesus left Jerusalem, where the Jewish leaders had questioned Him relentlessly, and had tried to kill Him--twice.  After answering all of their accusations and miraculously evading their execution attempts, Jesus got out of town.  He went to the countryside, across the Jordan river to a place where John had preached.  It is implied that Jesus was doing miracles there beyond the Jordan.  Although the text does not specifically say that He was doing good works there, the people were flocking to Him and exclaiming that "everything John said about this Man is true."  They said John did not do miracles, so we can infer that Jesus was doing miracles there; either that, or word had spread of Him healing the man born blind in Jerusalem some time before that.  Given mankind's woefully short attention span (think "what have you done for me lately"), I believe Jesus was doing miracles there beyond the Jordan.  The Bible says many believed in Him there, because of His miraculous works.

What lessons can we draw from this?  Well, sometimes we might think we want to minister in the capital, in the center of commerce and industry.  After all, that's where all the people are, right?  If our mission is to take the Gospel to the most people, then it stands to reason we'd want to go to the place where more people are.  However, that's not always the case.  Sometimes God may be calling us to more remote areas, to minister where the nets can't be cast so widely, but the message can penetrate more deeply.  The worldly truism says, "Bloom where you are planted."  The deeper truth is that we should minister wherever God puts us, to His glory.

Next, they get word that Jesus's friend Lazarus was sick.  The two sisters Mary and Martha sent Jesus an urgent message.  The message did not say, "Come quick."  They thought it went without saying that Jesus would drop everything and run to help his friend Lazarus.  John doesn't say why Jesus didn't go right away, only that by delaying, God would be glorified.  Death would not win this battle.

A quick internet search says that Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan, where many think Jesus was staying at this time, was an 8 or 9 hour journey by foot.  If the messenger took a day to get to them, and Jesus delayed the journey two days and then set out on the third day, that's four days from the time that the sisters had sent their message to Jesus.  But we will see that when Jesus got there, Lazarus had already been dead for four days.

So perhaps Lazarus's death happened quickly, maybe even before the messengers could return home to Martha and Mary.  Maybe that's why Jesus didn't immediately go.  We don't know for sure.  Maybe the work He was doing at that place would not wait.  Perhaps the Jews were laying in wait for Him until the third day.  The text doesn't say.

We do know that Jesus explained it this way to the disciples: There are only 12 hours of daylight, and our work must be done then.  That way we don't stumble in the darkness, trying to make up for lost time.  Jesus is reiterating what He had said in chapter 9, where in verse 4 He said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."  He will say it again in 12:35, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going."

When Jesus repeats something three times, we ought to pay attention.  So we can take from this that we need to stay close to Jesus, who is our Light.  The further we get away from Jesus, the more we walk in darkness.  We should also work each day for the glory of God, and not put it off for another day.  Indeed, we do not know when our life will be taken from us, and we can no longer do what we were meant to do.

The third thing we see in this passage is Jesus explaining to the disciples that Lazarus had passed away.  At this point, Jesus was ready to travel back toward Jerusalem.  Bethany was just two miles away from Jerusalem, in the region of Judea.

It took a while for the disciples to process this information.  If Jesus knew that Lazarus had died, then there must have been a reason for His delay in returning.  Some of the disciples must have thought that the reason He did not travel back to Judea before was that there was a danger of Jesus being arrested and killed.  Well, if that was the reason Jesus did not go to Judea yesterday or the day before, why would they go to Judea today?  Wasn't it still dangerous?

One of the disciples named Thomas, the one called Didymus or "the Twin", said the quiet part out loud.  If Jesus goes back to Judea, that close to Jerusalem, He will surely be walking into a trap.  He would most certainly be staring at His death.  As a result, each of the disciples had a decision to make: were they going to continue to follow Him, even if it meant certain death? or would they let Him go alone?  Thomas made his decision.  "Let's go," he said, "that we can die with Him."

We know Thomas by a different nickname.  We don't call him "the Twin."  We know him as "Doubting Thomas," because after the disciples told him that Jesus was resurrected, Thomas couldn't believe his ears.  "I saw Him die," Thomas would say.  "Unless I see the nail prints in His hands and the mark of the spear in His side, I will not believe it."

I think we should call Thomas "the Brave Disciple," or "the One Willing to Put His Life On the Line for Jesus."  And I think this is what we need to take from this passage--that following Jesus may not always be the safe path in life.  It may lead to persecution or even death.  Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-25, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  Paul said in Philippians 1:21, "For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain."  Whether Jesus calls us to life or death, we obey for His glory.