Category: John 11

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John John 11 Luke 19

A cleansing that goes beyond the surface

The gospels

Right after Jesus’ parable about those who were determined to reject him as king, we see the actual people whom Jesus was speaking of.

Jesus was fast approaching Jerusalem, and a lot of people were already there to celebrate the Passover. And everyone was asking,

What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the Feast at all? (John 11:56)

But the Pharisees and chief priests had already given orders that anyone who found Jesus should report him to them so that they could arrest him. The irony of all this?

Before celebrating the Passover, people had to purify themselves, that is to have a ceremonial cleansing. (John 11:55)

But while these priests and Pharisees may have been outwardly clean, their hearts were full of murder.

What can we learn from all this? A spiritual cleansing goes beyond ritual. It goes beyond doing a lot of good things.

A spiritual cleansing starts by receiving Jesus as your King. It starts by saying, “I can’t cleanse myself. All my efforts, all the religious rituals that I do can’t cleanse me. Lord Jesus, help me.”

John tells us in his first letter that in the end, it is,

the blood of Jesus, [God’s] Son, [that] purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

There is no other way for us to become right in the sight of God. We must come to the cross of Christ and accept the work he did for our salvation.

Only by putting our faith in him will we truly become clean in the eyes of God.

How about you? Are you truly clean before God?

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John John 11 John 12

Recognizing truth when we see it

John

I’ve mentioned the problem the Pharisees and the priests had where they saw all that Jesus said and did, and still did not believe.

It all comes to a head here. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and there was absolutely no way to refute it. Not after Lazarus had been dead for four days and buried in the tomb before Jesus came.

As a result, people were coming to believe in Jesus left and right.

The Pharisees’ and priests’ response?

“We know what he’s doing. We can’t deny it. But we will not believe.”

All the evidence was there that Jesus was the Messiah, but they would not believe in him.

Instead, their sole concern was that their nation would be taken from them by the Romans if the people tried to declare Jesus king.

The irony of the High Priest Caiaphas’ thoughts on the matter was not lost on John. Caiaphas said,

You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. (John 11:49-50)

What Caiaphas meant was that it was better for Jesus to die than to have the nation taken away from them by Rome.

But John commented,

He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. (John 11:51-52)

These men were so blinded by their pride and ambition, they could not recognize the truth though it was literally coming out of their mouths.

How about you? Can you recognize truth when you hear it? When you see it staring you in the face?

Jesus said, “I am the truth.” (John 14:6)

If you are ever going to see truth, it starts with recognizing one thing. That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Until you admit that, you will be forever blind.

How about you? Have you come to know the Truth?

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John John 11

The one who calls forth the dead

John

Yes, we will eventually finish this chapter. But not today. It’s a passage that is so totally rich in truth.

When Jesus told Martha that her brother would rise again, she said,

I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. (John 11:24)

But Jesus answered,

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 11:25-26)

In other words, “The resurrection is not simply a time in the future when the dead will be raised. I am the resurrection. I am the one that raises the dead and gives them life. And if you believe in me, you will never truly die.”

Jesus proved that moments later by raising Lazarus from the dead. And just as he called Lazarus out from the grave, so will he call all who have put their faith in him.

The apostle Paul tells us,

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

And again,

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

Lazarus was only raised temporarily. He would die again.

But when Jesus raises us, we will be raised in an immortal and incorruptible body.

How about you? Do you know what will happen after you die? Do you know that you have eternal life?

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. If you believe in him, you will never truly know death. Only a new beginning.

Jesus asks you the same question he asks Martha. “Do you believe this?”

May you answer as she did,

I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God. (John 11:27)

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John John 11

Uncovering our pain before Jesus

Mary of Bethany
www.LumoProject.com

So often in our lives, we go through pain and hurt, but instead of dealing with it, we bury it.

We try to ignore the pain. Or we cover it over with other things, busyness, food, pleasure, or whatever else we can find.

But the pain becomes like a rot in our souls, eating away at us from the inside out.

What can we do?

Mary and Martha had to go through that. Their brother had died. Worse, they knew that if Jesus had only come sooner, Lazarus wouldn’t have died. But for reasons they couldn’t understand, Jesus delayed his coming.

And so they went through feelings of pain at the loss of their brother, and perhaps feelings of betrayal by Jesus.

Both said the same thing when they finally came face to face with him. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, it is possible that when Martha said this, she meant it not in an accusing manner, but as a way of saying, “I still believe in you. I’m not turning my back on you.”

With Mary, however, I don’t think there can be any doubt that she said it with lots of pain and hurt in her voice. And when Jesus saw this, John tells us,

He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. (John 11:33)

Why? Part of it may have been the empathy he felt for Mary. But another part of him may have also been hurt by her lack of faith in him.

We see the same response in verse 38 when other people started to question his failure to come in time to help Lazarus.

So he went to the place where Lazarus was buried, and he told Martha,

Take away the stone. (John 11:39a)

Martha’s response was very understandable.

But, Lord… by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days. (John 11:39)

But Jesus replied,

Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? (John 11:40)

Martha was reluctant. There seemed no point in rolling away the stone. Lazarus was dead and gone. But she obeyed, and Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

What can we learn from this?

What hurts or pains have you buried in your heart? What bitterness do you hold to in your heart because of it? Bitterness toward others? Bitterness even toward God?

Jesus says, remove the stone. Uncover the pain and bitterness in your heart. It’s rotting there. So uncover it.

And if you will just believe in Jesus, you will see the glory of God in your life.

The question is: “Will you?”

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John John 11

Walking by the light

John

When Jesus made the decision to go back to Judea to see Lazarus, his disciples objected, saying,

But Rabbi… a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there? (John 11:8)

Jesus’ answer is very striking.

Are there not twelve hours of daylight?

A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light. (John 11:9-10)

What is Jesus saying here? As long as he followed his Father’s will, he would be fine. As long as he trusted his Father’s leading, he would not stumble. It’s the person who fails to do either that falls into trouble.

It’s the same with us. We talked yesterday about how Jesus wants more than anything is for us to trust him.

When we choose to believe him and follow him, we’ll see things as they really are. We’ll see his love for us clearly despite our circumstances. We’ll see our trials for the temporary things that they are.

But when we walk apart from him who is the Light of the world, we find ourselves stumbling around in discouragement and despair because of all the trials and hurts that we go through.

How about you? How clearly are you seeing?

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John John 11

That we might believe

John

This is one of the most famous miracles Jesus performed, and I’ve spoken on it at church more than once. But as I read it through this time, these words strike me:

So that you may believe. (John 11:15)

We see this theme again and again throughout the passage, and it was the whole purpose for everything that Jesus did in it.

In this story, he challenged Martha,

Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? (John 11:40)

Again, when he prayed at Lazarus’ tomb, he said to his Father,

I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me. (John 11:42)

And at Lazarus’ resurrection, John tells us,

Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. (John 11:45)

If there is one thing that Jesus wants us to learn, it’s to trust him. And all that we go through in life, with all the struggles and pain we endure, is directed toward that end.

Sometimes we ask God, “I love you. Why is this happening to me? Do you really love me?”

That’s what I see in the first part of this passage. It talks about Mary’s great love for Jesus. That she was the one who would later pour perfume on him and wipe his feet with her hair.

And because she loved Jesus and thought he loved her, she immediately called for Jesus when her brother Lazarus got sick. She had no doubt that he would come.

And indeed, it said, Jesus loved her, her sister Martha, and Lazarus. So… he stayed where he was another two days.

The NIV says, “but he stayed.” But it is probably more accurately translated, “So he stayed,” and most literal translations (KJV, NASB, ESV among others) do translate it that way.

Why did he stay? Because he wanted all those involved to learn to trust him.

By waiting and letting Lazarus die, everyone’s faith was taken to a higher level when Jesus raised him from the dead.

Sometimes we wonder why God remains silent. Why our prayers seem to go unanswered. Mary and Martha probably felt that way.

“Why isn’t Jesus coming?”

Yet Jesus wanted to challenge them to trust him even more than they already did.

I look at Martha’s words. I’ve always thought that her words were a bit bitter that Jesus had waited. Now I’m not so sure. Could it not be that her words were of pure faith?

That she was saying, “Jesus, I know that you could have healed my brother had you been here sooner. But I still trust in you. Even now, I believe God is with you and will do anything you ask.” (John 11:21-22)

Was she saying that she believed Jesus would raise Lazarus? No. Her later words (John 11:39) prove otherwise.

But I think she was saying, “Even though you didn’t do what I had hoped this time, I will still come to you with my needs in the future. I haven’t lost faith in you, Jesus.”

But Jesus challenged her, basically saying, “Have you already given up on this situation? Don’t. Your brother will rise again.

I am the giver of life, and have power to give it to anyone I please. He who believes in me, though he may die, will live. And whoever believes in me will never truly die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:23-26)

Martha answered yes, but I don’t think she had a clue as to what Jesus meant. Even so, she said, “I believe in you. I believe you are God’s Son.” (John 11:27)

What do we call that kind of faith? The faith of a child.

We will not always understand Jesus’ words. We may not always understand his actions (or lack of them). But will we still say, in the face of our confusion, in the face of our disappointments, “I still believe in you?”

Martha had to come to grips with that question at Lazarus’ grave. “Do I trust Jesus enough, despite all that happened, to do what he asks.”

But when she did, when she decided to put her trust in him, she saw God’s glory.

And so will we. The same question Jesus asked Martha, he asks us.

Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? (John 11:40)

How will you respond?