At the end of John 10 the Jews tried to kill Jesus. They picked up stones to stone him (v31) and again in v39 they tried to seize him. The reason why they were so hostile to him was that he claimed to be God and that his miracles were the evidence. Very soon after that attempt to kill him, he gave them a further striking evidence that he was divine. He raised Lazarus from the dead. He had raised other people from the dead but he raised Lazarus to life after he had been dead for four days.
Lazarus lived in the village of Bethany, slightly less than two miles east of Jerusalem, situated on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives, on the road to Jericho. He lived there with his sisters Mary (John 12:1-10) and Martha, but became very sick.
A. True believers may be sick
This must be stressed for two reasons. Some misguided Christians tell us that if we are true believers, if the Lord truly loved us, we would never be sick. The devil says the same sort of thing at times and as a result we are depressed. Lazarus was a true believer (v25-26), and the Lord loved him (v3&5) but he was sick. We recognise that the Lord does sometimes send sickness to awaken someone to the fact that they are a not a Christian or are a wayward Christian (1 Corinthians 11:30), but sickness does not mean of necessity that we or a sick loved one are unbelievers or wayward Christians.
The word ‘look’ which should be in v3 ‘Lord, look, the one you love is sick’ indicates that Mary and Martha were perplexed. (See 2 Corinthians 5:2, Romans 8:23).
B. True believers know where to turn when they are faced with family sickness (v3)
Jesus was across the other side of the Jordan (10:40) at the place where John the Baptist had baptised people, a place which was also called Bethany - Bethany Bethebara. They sent word to Jesus there. They didn’t understand why this sickness had hit their brother, but in all their perplexity they still knew that Jesus was their Lord and Saviour and friend (1 Peter 5:7). Like them, we can tell the Lord about a sick loved one or our own failing health. Turning to and trusting the Lord, however, does not
mean that we should shun medical help (1 Timothy 5:23). Asa (2 Chronicles 16:12) was condemned not because he sought help from the physicians, but because he did not seek the Lord.
Notice the message they sent to Jesus. They didn’t demand healing for their sick brother. We have no rights. He has never promised that he will heal all our illnesses and the sicknesses of all our loved ones. The two sisters just told the Lord what the situation was and left the matter there in the sure belief that he would do what was best.
C. True believers often face an even greater perplexity than sickness (v5&6)
You would have thought that Jesus would have immediately rushed down to the other Bethany, near Jerusalem but he deliberately stayed two more days. It SEEMS, at times, as though the Lord is unconcerned. That obviously perplexed Martha (v21). We have to face the fact that the Lord sometimes deals with us in a strange and perplexing way.
But in our perplexity there are solid facts that we need to remember:
Mary and Martha didn’t know the end of their story but we do and we know that everything worked out for them in an amazing way. Jesus did come to Bethany, performed one of his greatest miracles, Lazarus was raised from the dead, Mary and Martha’s faith was strengthened. In addition the 12 disciples had their faith strengthened too. In fact, that was one of the reasons why Jesus delayed going to Bethany until Lazarus had died. He wanted to strengthen the faith of his disciples (v14).
D. True believers are sometimes led by the Lord into demanding, dangerous situations (v7&8, see John 8:59, 10:31).
The disciples were scared. Thomas, certainly was (v16) but don’t be too harsh, he was willing to go with Jesus, though he feared the worst.
In v9 Jesus answered his troubled disciples by quoting a well known proverb. The point he makes is that his God allotted time on this earth is as fixed and certain as the 12 hours of daylight in Judea and no one can shorten it. He can continue his journey as safely as the man who walks in brilliant daytime sunshine. Or to use another well known saying, ‘Every one is immortal till his work is done.’ That doesn’t mean that we can be fatalistic and foolhardy: but it does mean that we need not be fretful.
E. True believers can be sure that death is not the last word for them
‘This sickness will not end in death’ (v4). Lazarus did die and his body was put in the tomb but that wasn’t the end of the matter. As we shall see next week, the Lord Jesus Christ raised him from the dead and as a result God was glorified and the Lord Jesus was gloried too. Death is never the end for any Christian. You may be very sick and the long term prognosis is pretty grim. But however serious the sickness, however grim the prognosis death won’t be the final word. When we die as Christians our souls go immediately to be with the Lord in heaven. The body is laid to rest. Or to use the word that Jesus used about Lazarus in v11 ‘Lazarus’ body has fallen asleep and I am going to wake him up.’ The disciples misunderstood that but Jesus was using the word ‘sleep’ as the Bible often uses it to describe death for the believer. Our bodies fall asleep but will be ‘awakened’ and reunited with our souls. The final outcome will be everlasting glory for God and God’s Son and we will share in that glory.