JOHN 11
Leading up to this we are made aware that Lazarus the brother of Martha and Mary had died and out of love Jesus came to Bethany with the intention of raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was first met by Martha who then goes to get Mary. So as we are reading this I just invite you to put yourselves in the shoes of Mary. To allow yourself to feel the emotion of just losing a brother and then having this encounter with Jesus.
28 Having said this, she(martha) went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
29 As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there.
32 As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!”
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked.
“Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?”
The Seventh Sign: Raising Lazarus from the Dead
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 “Remove the stone,” Jesus said.
Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” 43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”
45 Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him.
Hearing:
Notice how as Mary came to Jesus we are opened up to the reality that we are not alone in pain and suffering, but Jesus Himself was distraught as well and He cares about our pain. Jesus is not far off or distant, but seeks to meet with us in our anguish(Psalm 56:8). We also see how our presumption of His capabilities can lead us to assuming the outcome. In this text we do not once see someone ask Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead, but instead only that He could have prevented his death.
So as we move into a time of hearing I invite you to take up whatever posture is comfortable for you and..
In this time ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and specifically ask,
- In times of trouble, are you still living in obedience to Jesus(v.29)? In your frustration and anguish are you taking it up with Jesus or are you running to the world(v.32)? Are you being honest with Jesus about what is frustrating you?
- Are you allowing Jesus to be a part of the hard moments? Return to verse 35 and think about what is grieving you, or what you are frustrated about. Think about whether or not you are allowing Jesus to weep with you.
- Where have you assumed Jesus is done working(v.32,v.37)? What situation have you deemed too tough, illness too severe, or person too gone? Let this text serve as a reminder that there is nothing outside of His capability.
Response:
In Jesus’ display of extraordinary love He has shown us that He seeks to grieve with us and that there is nothing outside of His capabilities. So as we look out to those who many would say are too far gone we can take confidence that we serve a God who would disagree. We see here that Jesus is far more powerful than we can grasp, and through inviting Him into the tough moments, it saves more than just those who are directly affected.
In this time of response feel free to pray quietly to yourself, or out loud for the whole room.
- Invite Jesus into your hardship(vv.33-35). Pray that we would allow Jesus to be with us in our pain. Pray that we would run to Him and not away from Him.
- Ask God for a miracle. Intercede on behalf of those who we would say are too sick, too lost, or too troubled and that Jesus would do what we think is impossible(vv.41-43).
- Travail on behalf of those who are not alive in Christ. Pray that through witnessing the incomprehensible love of Christ they would come to believe(v.45)
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