John 4-11:1 NIVUK
[1] Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay ill, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) [3] So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is ill.’ [4] When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This illness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’ https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.1.NIVUK
The country of Malaysia has a interesting set of national holidays. Ostensibly, it is a Muslim country. However, due to its scattered geography and incredible diversity, the nation celebrates the religious holidays of all the major religions. So, in a country where the Call to Prayer can be heard clearly ringing throughout its capital, the major holidays of Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity are also celebrated – and even marked with Bank Holidays.
However, I am going to say something now which will jar that sense of diversity: not all religious holidays are equal. Some measure significant battles, or the birth or death of great teachers and preachers, but there is only one – just one – that celebrates a resurrection from the dead.
That holiday is Easter.
Easter stands alone as it is the religious holiday above all others. It is the religious holiday that proves the supremacy of Jesus Christ, above all human beings who ever lived, completely and unequivocally.
I have no problem with anyone celebrating it and getting a day off work. Of course not.
But you need to understand what it means.
When you celebrate Easter, you are recognising, by implication, that it is worth celebrating.
You are recognising that Jesus stands unique.
You are recognising that Jesus is Lord. And that there is no other.
You are also recognising a very key element of Christian teaching – one that is utterly unique.
You are recognising that there is hope in Jesus Christ: a hope that no other religion or philosophy or system can offer or replicate.
Because you are recognising that Jesus rose from the dead.
I don’t know how much you know about Easter. It is a wonderful festival. There is so much to be happy about. However, the days and weeks leading up to it deal with some of the most extreme situations in human experience, and some of the most powerful emotions. The culmination of this is the most utterly violent and singularly unjust act in human history, followed by the most remarkable thing that every happened and ever will.
The message of Easter is that Jesus is unique, Jesus is superior. Jesus is Lord. But it is also that there is hope – there is always hope – because Jesus is unique, superior and Lord. Because He has conquered death. Because He is alive.
But that doesn’t mean that Jesus, and His followers and friends, do not pass through events that, on the outside anyway, appear to be deeply painful and tragic.
However, they were not a tragedy.
The Oxford dictionary defines tragedy as ‘an event causing great suffering, destruction and distress’. In literary terms, a tragedy is a piece that ends sadly, normally with the death of the main protagonist. There is a sense of finality about a tragedy. A tragedy signifies the death of all hope – the sense that life is bad and that is all there is.
There is no such thing in Christianity.
This is when many people sit bolt upright and start shouting at me, ‘What about deadly accidents, or sudden illnesses, or debilitating conditions, or war, famine, disease, or terrorist attacks, or the sudden loss of a child? Aren’t these tragic?’
They are sad. Unbelievably so. And I don’t exist in a theological bubble. I have seen other people suffer from terrible losses. I have experienced them myself. They are horrible.
But, for a Christian, they are not tragic.
Why?
Because for a Christian there is no sense of them being the last word. There is no finality.
There is no sense of there being no hope.
For a Christian there is always hope. That is why there is no tragedy.
However, and we must deal with this deeply painful reality, circumstances in our life can become so painful, so deeply hurtful, that it feels like the end.
These verses, spoken by Jesus, came at a time when some of His closest friends were facing a situation that shook their faith to the core. On the surface, it was tragic – there us nothing more tragic than the sudden loss of a loved one, no matter their age. And yet, in the midst of their sorrows and pain, this situation was not tragic at all.
We will explore this using three startling points to show how God is at work when in circumstances that are apparently tragic.
The first of these is The one who is loved is ill:
John 3-11:1 NIVUK
[1] Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay ill, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) [3] So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is ill.’
Now this is quite a surprise. It’s the only time in the Gospel of John where this turn of phrase is used to refer to anyone except John himself (see John 13:22-25 for an example).
So why did Mary and Martha use it?
Could it be because they wanted Jesus to come quickly?
Possibly. Jesus did have a habit of confounding other people’s expectations of him and doing things on his own schedule (see John 7:1-10 for an example).
However, this was Lazarus. And it was Jesus. I don’t think either Mary or Martha would have felt the need to somehow manipulate or emotionally blackmail Jesus into coming quicker.
I think an alternate explanation could be true.
It is quite possible Mary and Martha found it hard to believe that someone whom Jesus loved could be sick at all.
There was, after all, a pernicious lie that people suffered because of their sin – either theirs or someone else’s (see John 9:1-7). Therefore if people were doing well in life, then automatically God was blessing them, and if they were not doing well, then God was cursing them because of sin.
Since Jesus could not love sin, it would therefore be inconceivable that a good man like Lazarus, loved by Jesus, could possibly be ill.
This lie still does the rounds today. It is still as pernicious. And still as evil – and just as destructive to faith.
Yet there have been strong arguments against it even from the earliest days of the Old Testament. Yes, Adam and Eve were punished because of their sin, but Job experienced severe hardship and this was not at all related to anything wrong he had done (see Job 1 and 2). As we saw earlier, Jesus Himself, the very Son of God, refuted it. The New
Testament is filled with His suffering, yet Jesus Christ did not wrong (Isaiah 53:8-9). The sufferings of the Early Church are writ large, and yet it did not come as a result of their sin, but of their allegiance to the One who bore their sin (1 Peter 4:12-16).
So yes, Lazarus was ill, and yes, Jesus loved him, but no, this is no contradiction. Sometimes the people Jesus loves suffer. That is reality, especially in a fallen world such as ours. This is something we must understand before we proceed with this study.
But we move on from the one who is loved is ill to something really quite baffling: The one who loves tarries.
John 7-11:5 NIVUK
[5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was two more days, [7] and then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’
This really is one of the most vexing sets of verses in all of Scripture.
The one Jesus loves is sick, but Jesus does not attend to him.
The one Jesus loves is dying, but Jesus does not console him.
The one Jesus loves dies, but Jesus does not comfort his bereaved.
The one Jesus loves is buried, but Jesus does not attend his funeral.
To Mary and Martha, this must have been shocking behaviour – absolutely out of character from the Jesus they knew.
It also seems to be utterly at odds with these verses:
Matthew 40-25:34 NIVUK
[34] ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. [35] For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, [36] I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was ill and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” [37] ‘Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? [38] When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? [39] When did we see you ill or in prison and go to visit you?” [40] ‘The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Jesus had comforted and healed so many people, including even foreigners (Mark 7:24-30) and hated Samaritans (Luke 17:12-19). Yet here was a friend – a dear friend – more than that, someone Jesus loved, and they were also loved by Him, and yet He didn’t show up?
The whole situation must have been deeply confusing for them.
Jesus was something of an enigma. Even those closest to Him hadn’t quite figured out who He was or what to expect from Him, but to be absent in their time of deep and desperate need would be galling in any culture.
And yet this is a familiar emotion in Scripture. They would not be alone in feeling abandoned by God:
Isaiah 49:14 NIVUK
[14] But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.’ https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.49.14.NIVUK
Lamentations 2:7 NIVUK
[7] The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his sanctuary. He has given the walls of her palaces into the hands of the enemy; they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord as on the day of an appointed festival.
Psalms 22:1 NIVUK
[1] My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? [2] My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
But here is the thing: Jesus knows exactly how this feels. We see this as He was dying on the cross:
Matthew 46-27:45 NIVUK
[45] From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. [46] About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’). https://bible.com/bible/113/mat.27.45.NIVUK
So here is the wonder of the Gospel. When we feel completely alone, as if even God has abandoned us, even there – even in that most darkest of places – we are not alone.
Psalms 12-139:8 NIVUK
[8] If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. [9] If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, [10] even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. [11] If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ [12] even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. https://bible.com/bible/113/psa.139.8.NIVUK
Jonah 2-2:1 NIVUK
[1] From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. [2] He said: ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.
We are never truly alone.
And yes, this situation is awful. And yes, it is hurtful. And yes, it is painful.
All of the above, and more. A lot more.
But we are never truly alone!
As if this was not enough, there is a heart-breaking verse in this story:
John 11:21 NIVUK
[21] ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.21.NIVUK
‘If only you had been here.’ ‘If only you had helped me.’ ‘If only you had saved me.’
Do you recognise those sentiments? Do you feel the pain that Martha feels?
Yet she goes on to say this:
John 11:22 NIVUK
[22] But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’ https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.22.NIVUK
Although her faith is small, and subsequent verses show her inner struggle with the sheer awfulness of their situation, Martha still believes. She still believes that out of the ruin and distress of their lives, Jesus is still able to do some good.
Even if He has been absent.
But having seen that the one who is lived is sick, and the one who loved tarries, now we come to what seems to be the final straw: the one who is loved is dead.
By the time Jesus shows up in Bethany, Lazarus is dead. And not just dead – dead for four days. All the funeral rites are now completed. In Jewish thinking, Lazarus’ spirit has left his body.
Nothing more can be done.
It’s over.
And Jesus has only just showed up.
Look how the Jews who were there reacted:
John 11:37 NIVUK
[37] But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’
As far as they were concerned, Jesus had tarried too long and nothing more could be done. Lazarus was dead, and Jesus was at fault.
Unlike Martha, there is no shred of faith. There is no sliver of hope.
Only criticism. Only negativity. Nothing else.
Have you ever been there? Have you hit rock bottom and heard other people blaming God for your predicament, wait as Job’s wife did?
Job 2:9 NIVUK
[9] His wife said to him, ‘Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!’ https://bible.com/bible/113/job.2.9.NIVUK
But before we join in the finger-pointing and the blaming, we need to remember two key verses from earlier on in this event:
John 11:4 NIVUK
[4] When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This illness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’
Jesus had not provided His disciples with any assurance that Lazarus would be healed. Instead, He said that Lazarus’ illness would not end in death. That is a key difference.
He had already told them that death would not be the end.
What we do see is that it will end in glory – for God and for His Son Jesus.
That is a real head-scratcher. How can the death of someone Jesus loves result in glory for Jesus, when Jesus could have healed Him?
That part of the story is still to come.
Jesus goes on to tell the disciples that this situation will end in faith:
John 15-11:14 NIVUK
[14] So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, [15] and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.15.NIVUK
So we have an unbelievably difficult situation: the sickness and apparently preventable death of a loved one. Yet Jesus says that it will not end in death, but in glory and faith.
How?
Through the greatest pre-crucifixion miracle recorded anywhere in Scripture.
Firstly, Jesus stands beside the bereaved. He even cries with them (John 11:35).
Do you want to know where Jesus is when you have hit rock bottom?
He is standing beside you, weeping with you.
Secondly, He stands away from the naysayers. They criticise Him (John 11:37). He does not react to them. He seems to simply ignore them.
Thirdly, He stands before the tomb. He goes to the place where the problem lies, quite literally. He does not flinch. He does not waver. Even if the stench is foul (John 11:39-40).
Fourthly, He summons the dead. That voice that summoned creation out of nothing calls for life in a dead man. And that summons is answered.
Lazarus walks from the grave.
Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that every situation will end like this. I am not in any doubt that Jesus walked past other tombs to reach the one where Lazarus was buried. Those corpses did not rise. Lazarus did.
I believe that there was a very specific purpose why this miracle took place. Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. Jesus would be there for three. It seems entirely logical that Jesus would use an outstanding, undeniable miracle like this to prepare His followers for the horror of His own crucifixion and death, to prevent them from losing faith while He spent those three days in the tomb.
However, there is a vital principle we can take from this. Lazarus’ death seemed like a tragedy – and a thoroughly preventable one at that. Mary and Martha would have been devastated, and understandably so. Even more so because of who Lazarus was and what He meant to Jesus. It must have been so confusing when the one Jesus loved was sick, Jesus tarried and Lazarus died. We can fully understand their struggle.
But Jesus explained a critical point to His disciples. Lazarus’ suffering would not end in death. And neither does ours:
Romans 5-5:1 NIVUK
[1] Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. [3] Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; [4] perseverance, character; and character, hope. [5] And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
2 Corinthians 18-4:16 NIVUK
[16] Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. [17] For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. [18] So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. https://bible.com/bible/113/2co.4.16.NIVUK
Hebrews 39-10:32 NIVUK
[32] Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. [33] Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. [34] You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. [35] So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. [36] You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. [37] For, ‘In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.’ [38] And, ‘But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.’ [39] But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
It is because of this that the Christian life is never a tragedy, no matter what happens. God had the first word. He will have the final word. And we will hear it in Heaven. With Him.
Alive.
Recently I watched a cooking show. I don’t often do it. Most of them are deadly boring.
But this one was interesting for a good reason.
The Hairy Bikers are known, and loved, in my country, for their friendly manner and nice recipes. But they hadn’t been on our screens for two years, and the reason why was sad.
One of them, Dave Myers, was battling cancer. Unfortunately, the cancer took his life.
To see a beloved celebrity in that state is sad, and something of a shock. To hear of them passing is very sad.
Tough times like cancer or any other illness, or financial or relational woes, or sudden bereavements, are no respected of class, wealth or fame. They happen to us all.
For those who have no hope, they are tragic. Such people know that one of these tough times will likely finish them. And that will be it.
But for the Christian, no such tragedy exists. Because even the very worst life can throw at us will not end in death. It will end in glory.
And that glory will make everything worthwhile.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, forgive me for the times when I am hit by difficulty and I feel like giving up. Help me to see that even the hardest of times will not end in death. Amen.
Questions
1. For a Christian, nothing in life is tragic. Why?
2. What three things happened to Mary, Martha and Lazarus that could have been perceived as tragic? Why weren’t they? What was God doing through them?
3. Where did Jesus stand when He arrived in Bethany? What happened as a result? Why is this important?
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