Mathew 11:14-15
Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
15 “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him”
They knew that He could keep someone from dying, by healing him. They had seen that before. But they had no clue that He could raise someone from the dead. Jesus waited until Lazarus was dead and buried. Why? So that they may believe. Martha and Mary believed that Jesus was the Messiah. But could they imagine that He could raise their only brother who was in the tomb for four days?
The case study of believing in this event is heavy. The testing of faith here is high level.
Just listen to these lamentations in John 11.
Verse 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Verse 32 Then, when Mary came to 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.”
Verse 37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, Who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?
All these people limited the power of Jesus to healing. Because they had seen Him heal before.
Now listen to Jesus talking to Thomas
John 20:29,
‘Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Here is the beauty of the love of God in Jesus Christ. When we are not able to believe, He does not give up on us, because we are just humans. Jesus knows us exactly as we are.
This is what Romans 4:3 says about believing’
For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
This is the point; you believe Jesus and He will take you to heaven. If you do not believe Him, you will have to believe the lie of the devil and he will take you to hell. There is no middle ground.
A point to note is that, Jesus does not reprimand them for not believing that He is able to raise Lazarus from the dead. Instead, He mourns with them. Just listen to
John 11:33,
‘Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled.’
In John 11:35, it is recorded that Jesus wept. I wonder why He wept, since He knew that He would raise him up. But one thing is clear. When He saw Mary and the Jews who came with her weeping, He became emotional. He also has tears. He wept.
We have a wonderful Savior Who is so concerned about our state of being. The Lord Jesus, will cry with me, laugh with me’ He is so soft, so human, so gentle yet so powerful. One minute He is weeping, the next minute He is raising Lazarus from the dead. He surely overwhelms us. I do not know how to describe Him. Surely, You are the love of God that came down from heaven. We bow down to adore Him, praise and glorify Him. May He teach us to know Him; that is my heart’s desire.
Back to Lazarus in the tomb
Lazarus is the only bother these two sisters have. They have no parents. Therefore, the death of Lazarus means the end of that family. This is quite a blow to Martha and Mary. When Jesus told them to remove the stone, Martha said that there is a stench. She cannot stand the stench of her brother, her only brother.
Listen to what Jesus said to her
John 11:40,
“Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
Lord Jesus, thank You very much for loving us so much. You are so patient with us. A few minutes before, He had told Martha to believe. Now He is saying the same thing again. As if that is not good enough, He raises a prayer to the Father about believing:
John 11:41-42
‘And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard me.
Verse 42 And I know that You always hear me, but because of the people that are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”
Thank You Lord Jesus for Your commitment to see that we believe. In verse 42, You are raising a prayer to the Father, not that You needed anything, but that we may believe the He sent You. You are raising Lazarus from the dead, so that we believe You. You are so determined to see that we believe and not unbelieving.
But Lord Jesus, how many times did you tell people to believe, to have faith, in the three years of Your ministry on earth. They are many. And You still said, “O you of little faith” even to your own disciples. Lord Jesus, this lesson of believing is heavier than I imagined. Give me I pray, wisdom to believe at Your standards.
Back to Lazarus in the tomb
John 11:43-44
Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”
Why did He have to call Lazarus with such a loud voice; I am just wondering? Perhaps so that many people in Bethany would hear, so that they may believe. Lord Jesus, give me grace to believe you without You screaming.
Verse 44
‘And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.”
Just like that Lord Jesus? You do not celebrate Lazarus’ resurrection? You do not welcome him back to life, or hand him over to his sisters? You are so unpredictable. You amaze me and I receive this amazement with gratitude, and lots of love.
How grateful were these two sisters, to receive their dead brother alive?
How confused was the crowd? Some believed in Him, just like He had prayed. Others went to the high priest to report the great miracle. Let us read verse 47 and 48 together.
’47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a counsel and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.
48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.’
Some believed in Jesus, others did not, even after such a great miracle. That is the way of the world. There are only two sets of people. Those who will believe in Jesus and He will take them to His Father in heaven. The others will have to believe Satan, the thief who came to steal and to kill and to destroy. He will take them to the hell fire, made for him and his angels.
Choices do have consequences. I choose Jesus, to take me to His Father in heaven. I invite you to believe in Jesus. Just listen to Him calling you,
“Come to me all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mathew 11:28-30)
He came to seek and to save the lost
. He came that we may have life and life more abundantly.
