Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur
Cincotti. 03/24/2024
Listen to our Bible
Study Discussion at: Lazarus Come Forth Podcast
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Lazarus Come Forth
“His disciples said to
Him, ‘See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Jn. 16:29
One can only imagine how
challenging it was for the disciples to really understand what Jesus was
telling them. Simply on the level of intellect, we have the Son of God, in Whom
and through Whom all things were created, chatting with fishermen and at least
one tax collector. But this was not a battle of wits. He purposely chose the, “foolish,
weak, base, things of the world, and the things which are despised” I Cor.
1:26-31
How could we grasp the full
extent and majesty of His plan?
He uses contrast to magnify it!
In John 11 this principle is
on full display. In several instances during these brief exchanges, the
disciples and His close friends fail to fully grasp Who Jesus is and what He is
doing.
It’s very difficult to get an
accurate timeline as to the events of John 11. From the other gospels, we
gather that Jesus and the twelve were in Jericho, about 20 mi. from Bethany,
when He received news that Lazarus was sick.
It must have gone right over
the disciple’s heads when, in vr. 4 He says, “This sickness is not unto death, but for
the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Can you just hear them say,
“yah, right?”
By this time it had become
status quo for Jesus to heal the sick. Most likely it was the second half of
the verse that they didn’t fully grasp.
vr. 5 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and
Lazarus.”
John’s gospel is called “the
personal gospel” because of the volume of personal engagements and
conversations Jesus has in it.
To say that, “Jesus loved
Martha and her sister and Lazarus” is an
understatement because Jesus loves everybody. “God so loved the
world…” Jn. 3:16
But to highlight that Jesus
loved three people personally, is powerful. This leaps off the pages of
Scripture into the midst of our lives and circumstances.
vr. 6 “So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two
more days in the place where He was.”
This must have been confusing
to the disciples, but remember that God is always on time. Jesus is in perfect
awareness and alignment with the plan even if the people around Him don’t get
it. When He says, in vrs. 4, “[this] is
for the glory of God,” He might as well said, “this is for dramatic effect
so that you will get it!”
How often we just don’t get
it until the end of things is at hand.
vrs. 7,8 “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?’”
How quickly they forgot about
poor Lazarus. Perhaps they thought that He would just “say the word…” as
He did for the centurions servant in Lk. 7.
How cluttered with all the
possibilities our minds become when faced with a problem. But God not only has
a plan, as we like to use as a Christian cliche, but He has a very direct and
unswerving plan which will bring about the fullness of His desired outcome.
vrs. 9,10 are classic Jesus answering a question with another
question. And what a seemingly dis-related statement this seems to be. Can you
not just see the blank stares from the disciples faces?
How often have we stared
blankly into the word of God looking for direct answers to pressing matters
only to receive poetry and open ended promises.
This drives us to trust
and wait for that perfect, direct, unswerving plan to unfold and manifest.
vrs. 11-15 further demonstrates the disciples disability to
grasp what’s going on. This is not the first place that Scripture uses,
“sleeps” or “fallen asleep” to signify death. Surely their confusion is flowing
from fear of going back to Judea.
Thomas spills the beans in vrs. 16.
Is this the same fickle and
forgetful Thomas who later refuses to believe the resurrection? Who said, “Unless
I see in His hands the pront of the nails, and put my finger into the print of
the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Jn. 20:25
We would do well to consider
the obstacles to our belief in what God
says.
vrs. 17-24 are those beautifully human verses that display the
tension between belief and unbelief and how we often try to justify, our
thinking, or buttress our theology.
How unsatisfying is Martha’s
response in verse 24. I think we might
paraphrase it to say, “yah, yah, yah, I know. He’ll rise again in some distant
time in the future, after we have all croaked and rotted in the grave.
vrs. 25,26 Jesus beautifully subdues this sentiment with a
statement that washes over our souls. “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?”
vrs. 27 is still a qualified response. It must break Jesus
heart. He’s trying to tell us something. He’s trying to speak truth. And we “understand
in part.” Martha’s response is a true statement, but it lacks power. But
she is about to witness the power of the Truth.
There is an overwhelming
sense here, in much of this exchange, that seemingly, nothing has changed. II
Pt. 3:4 announces the rant of the masses,
“Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
In the entirety of this
narrative is revealed a pattern to us of how He brings us up to the edge of our
unbelief, religious notions, and even our fleshly strivings, to essentially set
us up for a powerful, personal, promised encounter with Him.
The entire exchange with
Lazarus and his sisters and all the onlookers was a precursor, a warm up if you
like, to the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
These previous events magnify
the resurrection because they are so close together and similar.
It says, in essence, “you
think this is awesome? Just wait!
The Scriptures are replete
with similar narratives in order to demonstrate the pattern so that we would
recognize God’s hand when it happens to us, and give Him glory!!!
Rom. 15:4 says, “For
whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we
through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
We know God by revelation and
He continues to reveal Himself as His plan unfolds before us!
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
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