John 11 and Some More on the Move

John 11

This chapter is one of my favorites in the book of John, actually in the whole Bible. By this time, Jesus had brought people back to life. Lazarus was different. He was a friend, the brother of Mary and Martha. Lazarus became sick. Mary and Martha must have seen Jesus heal the sick countless times. That they sent for Jesus, telling him their brother was sick, was no surprise. What was a surprise was that Jesus delayed coming to see his friend even though the Scriptures are clear that “Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.” He waited two full days and headed for Judea.

Now, this was a dangerous thing to do, because a few days before, the people in Judea were trying to stone him. But he knew Lazarus had died. In fact, by the time they arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been in the grave for four days.

A lot of mourners were there when Jesus and the disciples arrived. They had come to console the sisters over the death of their brother.

When Martha heard Jesus was coming, she ran to meet him. Mary stayed at home. Martha showed a lot of faith when she told Jesus that if he had been there Lazarus would not have died. Then she said, “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

Martha obviously believed in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus tells here he is the resurrection and the life, that anyone who believes in him will live, “even after dying.”

Martha knows Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. She goes to get Mary and they go to Lazarus’ grave, where Jesus is. Mary says the same thing Martha did, “Lord if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Did you ever wonder what God thinks or how he feels when he sees one of his children weeping? In this case, “a deep anger wells up within Jesus and he was deeply troubled.” He asks where Lazarus was buried and they tell him.

“Then Jesus wept.”

When Jesus has them roll the stone away from the tomb, he is still angry. Martha tries to stop them rolling away the stone saying that by now the smell will be terrible.

You know the rest. They roll the stone away and Jesus thanks the Father for hearing him. He shouts for Lazarus to come out and Lazarus comes forth, hands and feet bound in graveclothes.

Why do you suppose Jesus was angry?

We aren’t told what went on between Lazarus and Jesus and Mary and Martha. It must have been a wonderful time of celebration with lots of hugging and smiling and crying for joy.

Not so for the priests and Pharisees, though. They were determined to kill Jesus and started to seriously plot his death.

Tomorrow, we’ll read Luke 17:11 – 18:14.

Some More on the Move

Today, my house became a little more settled. My cousin Richard gave me a bookcase, which happened to be the first one Mark and I ever bought together. He also gave me a chest of drawers, which happened to previously belong to my mother. It’s an almost perfect match to the dresser my niece and her husband gave me. Richard also gave me a brown sofa consisting of two recliners.  Once again, I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. To top off the day, I got a box with Ida Red apples and Wegman’s cheddar cheese from my brother-in-law Don and sister-in-law Rose.

Oh, I put my camper on craigslist and already had an email about it.

It’s pretty late so I’d better get to bed. I’ve got to go to the chiropractor tomorrow morning.

Until next time…