“Glory Through Tragedy” – John 11:1-16

September 6^th, 2020

“Glory Through Tragedy”

John 11:1-16

Call to Worship: Psa 130

Aux. text: Exodus 14:1-4, 10-14, 21-31

 

Service Orientation: God’s glory and our faith grow when God turns tragedy into Triumph in His good time.

 

Bible Memory Verse for the Week: Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. — 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

 

Background Information:

• John selected this miracle as the seventh in the series recorded in his book because it was really the climactic miracle of our Lord’s earthly ministry. He had raised others from the dead, but Lazarus had been in the grave four days.  It was a miracle that could not be denied or avoided by the Jewish leaders.  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 169)
• The account of the raising of Lazarus is the climactic sign in the Gospel of John. Each of the seven signs illustrates some particular aspect of Jesus’ divine authority, but this one exemplifies his power over the last and most irresistible enemy of humanity–death.  For this reason it is given a prominent place in the Gospel.  (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 114-5)
• Up to this point in John’s Gospel, Jesus has presented himself as the giver of life to various people:

* to Nicodemus, he offered eternal life (3:16)

* to the Samaritan woman, the water of life (4:14)

* to the official’s son and the lame man, the restoring of life (4:50; 5:5-8)

* to the hungry multitude, the bread of life (6:35)

* to the believers in Jerusalem, the rivers of living water (7:38)

* to the blind man, the light of life (8;12; 9:35-38)

* to the sheep who followed him, the abundant life (10:10-11)  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 223)

• The events described in Lk 13:22-17:10 occurred between chapters 10 and 11 of John. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 224)
• The raising of Lazarus is not mentioned by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This has stumbled many persons.  Yet the omission of the story is not hard to explain.  Some have said that Matthew, Mark, and Luke purposely confine themselves to miracles done in Galilee.–Some have said that when they wrote their Gospels Lazarus was yet alive, and the mention of his name would have endangered his safety.–Some have said that it was thought better for the soul of Lazarus not to draw attention to him and surround him with an unhealthy celebrity till after he had left the world.–In each and all of these reasons there is some weight.  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 263-4)

(v. 1) Lazarus is a shortened form of the Hebrew name Eleazar, which means “God has helped,” or “helped by God”–a fitting name in light of this story.  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 453)

• (v. 1) This Bethany, lying on the east side of the Mount of Olives less than two miles from Jerusalem along the road toward Jericho, has not been mentioned in the Fourth Gospel before, and must be distinguished from the Bethany of 1:28 and that alluded to in 10:40-42. That is why John characterizes it as the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, 405)
• (v. 1) The Lazarus of Luke 16 was a beggar, whereas everything goes to show that the Lazarus of John 11 (cf. 12:2, 3) was a man of means. The Lazarus of Luke 16 was uncared for, for we read of how the dogs came and licked his sores; but the one in John 11 enjoyed the loving ministrations of his sisters.  The Lazarus of Luke 16 was dependent upon the “crumbs” which fell from another’s table; whereas in John 12, after his resurrection, the Lazarus of Bethany is seen at “the table” where the Lord Jesus was.  The one in Luke 16 died and remained in the grave, the one in John 11 was brought-again from the dead.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 563)
• (v. 1) There are two principle words in the Greek to express sickness: the one referring to the disease itself, the other pointing to its effects–weakness, exhaustion. It is the latter, that was used here.  As applied to individual cases in the NT the word here used implies deathly-sick–note its force in Acts 9:37 and Phil 2:26, 27.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 567)
• (v. 1) It is an interesting coincidence, though no more than a coincidence, that the three names (Mary, Martha, Lazarus) were found in 1873 in ossuary inscriptions in one tomb near Bethany. (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 240)
• (v. 1) Although in these verses Mary is mentioned first, as if she were the more important, everywhere else throughout the narrative precedence is given to Martha, who would appear to have been the eldest of the family, as Lazarus almost certainly was the youngest; and indeed, in Lk 10:38 we are told that the house was hers. (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol 8, 636)
• (v. 2) John identified Mary with an event described in the next chapter (12:1-7) because Mary’s display of love for Christ was well known to the first-century Christians (Mt 26:6-13; Mk 14:3-9). (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 224)
• (v. 3) Jesus was at Bethabara, about twenty miles from Bethany (Jn 1:28; 10:40). (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 170)
• (v. 3) There is no request that Jesus should come to them. Doubtless the sisters were well aware of the dangers that would beset him if he were to visit them, and they do not ask him to imperil himself.  Nevertheless their words are in effect a plea for help.  Jesus was resourceful, and they look to him for aid without specifying ways and means. (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 478)
• (v. 4) He speaks loud enough for His disciples to hear. Recall how similar words were given on the occasion of the blind man and how that event was used so mightily to reveal the glory of the Son.  We enter now upon another remarkable incident, calculated to reveal the Deity of the Lord in spectacular fashion.  (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 187)
• (v. 5) It is one of the most precious things in the world to have a house and a home into which one can go at any time and find rest and understanding and peace and love. That was doubly true for Jesus, for he had no home of his own; he had nowhere to lay his head (Lk 9:58).  In the home at Bethany he had just such a place.  (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 80)
• (v. 5) This family was very dear to our Lord. He had a unique personal affection for them.  We know from the other Gospels that our Lord liked being in their home.  It was a place where he could slip off his sandals and relax and, humanly speaking, be himself.  The hospitality of this little home was famous with the apostolic band.  (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 281)
• (v. 5) The separate mention of the three persons is probably meant to put some stress on Jesus’ affection for each one individually. He did not simply love the family.  He loved Martha, he loved Mary, and he loved Lazarus.  It may be that John has prefaced verse 6 with this note to make it clear that Jesus’ failure to move immediately was not due to any lack of affection for the family.  (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 479)
• (v. 5) This parenthetical statement serves two purposes: (1) it affirms Jesus’ love for each member of the family, and (2) it serves to explain that it was not lack of love that kept Jesus from going to them. Humanly speaking, Jesus would have wanted to go to them immediately.  But he was constrained by the Father’s timing.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 226)
• (v. 6) All through the Gospels one is struck by his eagerness to help. However tired he was, no new claimant was ever turned away.  Often before the petitioner could state his case and make his plea, he was already on his feet suggesting, “Let us go at once.”  That was his nature.  (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol 8, 639)
• (v. 6) His response, however, was quite different from that in the case of Jairus’ daughter, when he acted promptly (Lk 8:41-42, 49-56), or in the case of the widow of Nain, whose son he raised when he met the funeral procession on the way to the burial ground (Lk 7:11-16). (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 115)
• (v. 6) One day, a messenger arrived with the sad news that our Lord’s dear friend Lazarus was sick. If the man had travelled quickly, without any delay, he could have made the trip in one day.  Jesus sent him back the next day with the encouraging message recorded in Jn 11:4.  Then Jesus waited two more days before He left for Bethany, and by the time He and His disciples arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days.  This means that Lazarus had died the very day the messenger left to contact Jesus!  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 170)
• (v. 6) We must recognize that we never comprehend his workings in their completeness. When delays and hardships come to us, we cannot expect to know all the details, all the answers, all the reasons.  If we spent all our time asking why, we would be using our time very unprofitably.  (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 282)
• (v. 7) We might have expected him to say, “let us go to help Lazarus” or, perhaps, “Let us go to Bethany.” But in saying “Let us go back to Judea,” he was deliberately choosing a word that would remind the disciples of what awaited them in the area of the capital.  This was where Jesus’ enemies lived.  It was here that he had almost been stoned.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 832-3)
• The Jewish hour = 1/12th of daylight, not 60 minutes.
• (v. 9) The Jewish day has twelve hours. Whether it be winter or summer it always has exactly twelve hours, though the length of the hour differs, ranging all the way from (what with us would be) 9 hours and 48 minutes to 14 hours and 12 minutes.  Thus the Jewish hour, being stretchable, differs from ours which is always of the same duration.  Yet even with us there are, on an average, twelve hours in the day, so that the saying of Jesus remains true for all time.  (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 141-2)
• (v. 10) In Jesus’ day there were no streetlights to illumine the cities. In fact, there was little artificial lighting of any kind.  So when the day ended, a man’s work had to be done.  To be abroad after nightfall was to stumble and risk injury.  On this level the words encourage a person to use time wisely.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 835)
• (v. 11) Many among ourselves, perhaps, are not aware that the figure of speech exists among us in full force in the word “cemetery,” applied to burial ground. That word is drawn from the very Greek verb which our Lord uses here.  It is literally a “sleeping place.”  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 282)
• (v. 16) The disciples knew the dangers of going with Jesus to Jerusalem, so they tried to talk him out of it. Thomas merely expressed what all of them were feeling.  When their objections failed, they were willing to go and even die with Jesus.  They may not have understood why Jesus would be killed, but they were loyal.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: 230)
• (v. 16) The disciple here named is also mentioned in Jn 14:5, and Jn 20:24-26, 27. On each occasion he appears in the same state of mind,–ready to look at the black side of everything,–taking the worse view of the position, and raising doubts and fears.  In Jn 14:5, he does not know where our Lord is going.  In Jn 20:25, he cannot believe our Lord has risen.  Here he sees nothing but danger and death, if his Master returns to Judea.  Yet He is true and faithful nevertheless. He will not forsake Christ, even if death is in the way.  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 286)
• This is the last of the signs preceding the passion of Jesus in which the divine glory was manifested through him, and it is this aspect of the incident that is uppermost in the Evangelist’s account throughout. (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 240)
• In this last and most dramatic sign, the One who is Life confronts death and overcomes. This event is the doorway through which we enter the passion of Jesus.  It is as if the glimpse of splendour seen in the raising of Lazarus is but a foretaste of that greater glory which breaks forth when Jesus steps forth in radiance and power on resurrection morning.  (Roger L. Fredrikson, The Communicator’s Commentary: John, 191)

 

The question to be answered is . . . In what ways does this passage show how God’s glory and our faith grow?

 

Answer: God’s glory and our faith grow when “In Christ” our tragic story ultimately moves to triumph; we learn to be like Jesus when we are guided by the Light and not by circumstances; and believing that “In Christ” means the death of death.

 

When anything in creation fulfils its purpose, it brings glory to God.  (Rick Warren;

The Purpose Driven Life, 55)

 

“Glory” means God’s display to his creatures of the perfections that are his–the wisdom, power, uprightness, and love that, singly and combined, make him praiseworthy. (J. I. Packer; Rediscovering Holiness, 259)

 

God’s glory is the beauty of his manifold perfections.  It can refer to the bright and awesome radiance that sometimes breaks forth in visible manifestations. (John Piper; Desiring God, 43)

 

The most important theme in the universe is the glory of God.  It is the underlying reason for all of God’s works, from the creation of the world, to the redemption of fallen sinners, to the judgment of unbelievers, to the manifestation of His greatness for all eternity in heaven.

Because God’s glory is intrinsic to His nature the Bible refers to Him as the God of glory (Ps 29:3; Acts 7:2), the Glory of Israel (1 Sm 15:29), the King of glory (Ps 24:7-10), and the high and exalted One (Isa 57:15; cf. 33:5).  God the Father is called the Father of glory (Eph 1:17; cf. 2 Pt 1:17); Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8); and the Holy Spirit, the spirit of glory (1 Pt 4:14).  God’s intrinsic glory is uniquely His, and He will not share it with anyone else (Isa 42:8; 48:11).  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 450)

 

The resurrection of Lazarus evidenced Christ’s glory in three ways:  it pointed unmistakably to His deity (11:25-27); it strengthened the faith of the disciples (11:15); and it led directly to the cross (11:53).  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: John, 452)

 

The Word for the Day is . . . Glory

 

In the NT the use of Glory is as the Divine mode of being.  (Gerhard Kittel, The Dictionary of the New Testament, 247)

 

How does God increase His glory and our faith?:

1. By allowing bad news to get worse (tragedy), so as to reveal the greater good news (triumph). (Jn 11:4, 14-16; see also: Gen 50:20; Isa 13:19; Lk 2:9; Jn 2:11; 12:16, 23; 13:31-32; 17:1-5; Rom 5:1-5; Heb 2:9-10; Jam 1:2-4; see also stories of: Abraham & Sarah with Isaac;  The Exodus {Ex 14-15}; Joshua @ Jericho {Josh 6}; Gideon & Midianites {Judg 6-7}; David and Goliath {1 Sam 17}; 1948; 6 day war; etc.)

 

He deliberately let the situation degenerate to the worst so as to display His glory at its best.  Four days will pass so that there can be no doubt about the miracle He will perform.  (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 188)

 

He did not say He was glad that His friend has died, but that He was glad He had not been there, for now He could reveal to His disciples His mighty power.  The result would be glory to God and the strengthening of their faith.  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 172)

 

How perfect are the ways of God!  If Martha and Mary had had their wish granted, not only would they (and Lazarus too) have been denied a far greater blessing, but the disciples would have missed that which must have strengthened their faith.  And too, Christ would have been deprived of this opportunity which allowed Him to give the mightiest display of His power that He ever made prior to His own death; and the whole Church as well would have been the loser!  How this should show us both the wisdom and goodness of God in thwarting our wishes, in order that His own infinitely better will may be done.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 587)

 

God, help us not to see events as tragedy, but as Your trajectories. — Ted Landel

 

Jesus Christ delays to the point that the human mind can no longer see how He could possibly fulfil His promises.  (Tim Keller; The Love of Christ)

 

By not being there to prevent Lazarus’ death, he set the scene to strengthen the disciples’ faith still more.  And he would be showing them shortly before his own death that he had the power to raise the dead to life–even after the body had begun to decay.  (Gary P. Baumler, The People’s Bible: John, 162)

 

The Good News of the Gospel can only become the Great news we seek when it is understood in the context of the potentially bad news and the hurt, suffering, perversion, corruption, discouragement and death that accompanies this fallen world.  — Pastor Keith

 

. . . every child of God’s kingdom has this promise: He will turn every sorrow into joy and work every calamity into redemption.”  (Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries, Day 281)

 

God’s glory is enhanced by Mary’s prominence and Bethany’s location to the Temple and Jerusalem.

 

See how she {Martha} is here named first, though Mary is the prominent member?  She is to profit most from this event.  This touch of death is largely for her, except that it occasions a great sign of the Lord’s Deity.  Luke identifies her as a fussy person, a neurotic worrier.  She is busy when she should be listening (Lk 10:41).  Out of love for this family, Jesus lets the heartache compound.  The Greek verb shows it to be divine love, the kind which allows suffering in order to bring blessing.  Because of Jesus’ divine love for Martha in particular, He delays His departure for Bethany.  (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 188)

 

Why, the disciples asked, should he venture into the lions’ den again?  Could he not cure Lazarus from a distance?  (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, 241)

 

When our Lord announced that He was returning to Judea, His disciples were alarmed, because they knew how dangerous it would be.  (Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem.)  But Jesus was willing to lay down His life for His friends (Jn 15:13).  He knew that His return to Judea and the miracle of raising Lazarus would precipitate His own arrest and death.  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 172)

 

The word translated “loved” here is a different word than the sisters used.  It is the word agape–that unstoppable, highest type of love, the love of God.  Christ loves us with that kind of love.  Knowing this, we might expect Scripture to say, “Jesus, upon hearing that Lazarus was sick, went to one of his disciples, found a horse, and rode as fast as he could to be with Lazarus!”  But that is not what our text says.  Our text says he loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus so much that he stayed away.  Incredible!  (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: John, 281)

 

Trials are the soil in which faith grows.  (Our Daily Bread 9-19-12)

 

15. Yet Jesus sees this as a matter for rejoicing. We should not take this too calmly, for “The same shock that the disciples would have felt we also are intended to feel, when we hear Jesus say, “Lazarus is dead, and I rejoice.”  He is aware of what he will do and he has already said that the death of Lazarus is “for God’s glory” (v. 4).  Now he says that his joy is for the disciples, “so that you may believe” (cf. vv. 42, 45, and 48).  The aorist tense used here would naturally indicate the beginning of faith, and this is curious in the case of the disciples who had so trusted Jesus that they left all they had to follow him.  Without a doubt they were already “believers.”  Yet their faith was not strong, for at the critical hour they were all to forsake him.  The meaning will be that faith is progressive.  There are new depths of faith to be plumbed, new heights of faith to be scaled.  The raising of Lazarus will have a profound effect on them and give their faith a content that it did not have before.  Faith will be strengthened (cf. Lk 17:5).  (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 483)

 

If the NIV has it right, Jesus is glad he was not present when Lazarus died, presumably because he would have prevented his death and therefore removed the opportunity to provide this faith-engendering resurrection.  (D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, 410)

 

This false theology lay at the very heart of the Corinthian rejection of Paul. His bodily weaknesses did not commend him to their view of apostleship. An apostle should be “spiritual,”…living in glory and perfect health. They rejected Paul and his theology of the cross (with its ongoing suffering in the present age), because they saw themselves as “spiritual” redeemed from such weakness…

Paul tries everything in his power to get them back to his gospel. In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, he reminds them that the gospel has as its very base a “crucified Messiah.” For the Corinthians that’s like saying “fried ice.” Messiah means power, glory, miracles; crucifixion means weakness, shame, suffering. Thus they gladly accepted the false apostles, who preached a “different Gospel” with “another Jesus” (2 Cor 11:4), and condemned Paul for his bodily weakness (10:10). (Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity In Crisis, 264-5)

 

Our Lord’s message to the sisters did not say that their brother would not die.  It promised only that death would not be the ultimate result, for the ultimate result would be the glory of God.  (Note that once again, Jesus called Himself “the Son of God.”) he wanted them to lay hold of this promise; in fact, He reminded Martha of this message when she balked at having the tomb opened (Jn 11:40).  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 171)

 

1. When we don’t look at circumstances but know tragedy will be turned into triumph by God’s love and perfect timing. (Jn 11:5-10; see also: Gn 50:20; Gideon with 300; Ps 23:4; 29:1-3; 104:27; 145:15; Eccl 3:11; Isa 12:5; 43:2; Dn 3:16-18; 4:36-37; Lk 1:20; 9:51; Jn 2:4; 4:21-23; 5:25-28; 7:6-8, 30; 8:20; 16:21-25; 17:1-5;  Rom 8:28; 1 Cor 2:7-8; 1 Pt 5:6)   

 

To wait on the Lord means:  I am going to judge my circumstances by Jesus’ love.  I am not going to judge Jesus’ love by my circumstances.  I am going to see the current dispensation that I am in as an expression of His love.  (Tim Keller; The Love of Christ)

 

Paul looked at his circumstances through God rather than looking at God through His circumstances.  (Sam Ng; Faith Bible Church, OH 8-11-19)

 

What the Lord here assures His disciples, is, that His death could not take place before the time appointed by the Father.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 575)

 

They are occupied with the threat of danger, when they should be occupied with the Father’s will.  (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 189)

 

Human reasoning says stay away, explaining why, perhaps, the sisters’ message didn’t ask Him to come.  But the Lord is operating within the Father’s will, the safest place regardless of any danger.  His calm majesty is revealed by His answer to their protest.  (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 188)

 

Often when we pray, circumstances seem to actually worsen.  We are tempted to doubt and despair.  But delay itself builds patience.  Our patience improves as we trust in his timing.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 226)

 

Learn to interpret circumstances by the love of Christ and not Christ’s love by circumstances.  Christ’s delays are the delays of love; therefore, they should be interpreted by love.  If we do it the other way around, we will be even farther from understanding the circumstances, and we may question the love.  Begin with Christ’s love.  Say, “I know that Christ loves me.  He died for me.  Therefore I will do my best to see his purpose in the things that are happening.”  If you do that, you will begin to interpret circumstances in the light of love; and, and God gives light, you will begin to see how he is using them to perfect your will, strengthen your faith, and bring glory to his own wonderful name.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 828)

 

God never promises that our lives will be free of obstacles, problems, crises, and adversities.  He promises something better.  He will use every obstacle in your life to bring to fulfilment the very purposes He has planned for your life.  Every problem, every crisis, every adversity, every setback, and every sorrow will be turned around to bring breakthrough, blessing, and triumph.  And in God, every mountain, every obstacle that has hindered God’s purposes in your life, will, in the end, be turned around and become a capstone to bring about the completion of those very purposes.  (Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries, Day 313)

 

Despair is always an act of arrogance (because you assume to know all the circumstances). — Tim Keller

 

Our circumstances are the things of life which stand around us—the details, the events that make up life.   God has so ordered our being that every event, yes, every detail, can be a circumstance that may be used to bring us closer to Him, if we are willing to stand on the circumstances, instead of getting under them..  . . doubt looks at circumstances; faith looks to God.   (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Remedy, 343)

 

If God is not in control–if you are in control–then be fearful.  On the other hand, if God orders the duration of your days and if nothing can cut them short, then you can be bold to serve him, as Jesus was.  Indeed, you can be a Luther.  He did not fear men, for he knew that there was God-appointed work to be done and that he would have sufficient time to do it.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 834)

 

Every man is to consider himself as a particular object of God’s providence, under the same care and protection of God as if the world had been made for him alone.  It is not by chance that any man is born at such a time, of such parents, and in such place and condition…Every soul comes into the body at such a time and in such circumstances by the express designment of God, according to some purposes of His will and for some particular ends.  (William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, 322)

 

The time allotted to me, to accomplish my earthly ministry, is definitely fixed (just like day-time is always exactly twelve hours).  See on 9:4, 5.  It cannot be lengthened by any precautionary measure which you, my disciples, would like to take, nor can it be shortened by any plot which my enemies would like to execute.  It has been definitely fixed in the eternal decree.  If we walk in the light of this plan (which was known to Jesus), willingly submitting to it, we shall have nothing to worry about (we cannot suffer real injury); if we do not, we shall fail.  (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 142)

 

It is always John’s aim to show that Jesus did things, not because he was pressed to do them, but because he chose to do them in his own good time.  That is what John is doing here.  It is a warning to us.  So often we would like Jesus to do things in our way; we must leave him to do them in his own way.  (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 83)

 

If God gives us each a certain amount of time and if nothing can shorten it, then there is time enough for everything that needs to be done.  The conclusion to be drawn from this truth is that we need not be frantic.  We are a fairly frantic people, we Americans.  Word seems pressing.  Necessities crowd in upon us.  Time seems to be slipping away.  It is a common picture, as we all know.  But it’s a picture we have painted for ourselves–this is my point.  It is not of God.  And since it is not of God, we do not have to be in it.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 834)

 

Occasionally we hear that some public event has been “canceled due to circumstances beyond our control.” The fact is, however, all circumstances are beyond our control. We are absolutely dependent upon God for the carrying out of our plans. The person who fears God not only acknowledges this, but delights to do so. He or she finds great joy in realizing our dependence on the moment-by-moment care of our loving, sovereign heavenly Father. (Jerry Bridges, The Joy of Fearing God, 199)

 

Jesus at the beginning of this Gospel was already identified as “the light of men” (1:4).  Those, then, who walk with Jesus walk in the day, and his light keeps them from stumbling.  But those who walk in the night, in the darkness of sin, stumble because they do not have the light of Jesus in them.  (Gary P. Baumler, The People’s Bible: John, 161)

 

For if [a Christian] cannot thank and praise God as well in calamities and sufferings as in prosperity and happiness, he is as far from the piety of a Christian as he that only loves them that love him is from the charity of a Christian.  For to thank God only for such things as you like is no more a proper act of piety than to believe only what you see is an act of faith.

Resignation and thanksgiving to God are only acts of piety when they are acts of faith, trust, and confidence in the divine goodness.   (William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, 321)

 

As on the occasion of the Feast of Tabernacles (7:3-10), Jesus made his journey as and when he himself determined, not at the dictates of others.  At the marriage in Cana (2:1 ff.) Jesus had been urged by his mother to take action.  In all three cases the urge to action came from those near or dear, in all three their request was refused, in all three Jesus in the end did what had been suggested, but in all three only after it had been made clear that he did what he did in God’s time and according to God’s will.  He was not to be coerced, not even by his dearest friends.  (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 480)

 

The Lord calmed their fears by reminding them that He was on the Father’s schedule and that nothing could harm them.  As we have seen, this is an important theme in the gospel of John (Jn 2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1).  But the disciples not only misunderstood the schedule, they also misunderstood the reason for the visit.  They thought that, if Lazarus was sleeping, he was getting better!  It was another example of their inability to grasp spiritual truth.  “If he is sleeping, he must be improving–so let’s not bother to go to Bethany!”  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 172)

 

Another man who suffered years of imprisonment was Alexander Solzhenitsyn.  He made a similar point, “I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it’s only a choice of attitude. . . A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy and nothing can stop him.”  These are challenging words forged in the crucible of suffering.

So if the last of our human freedoms is the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances, will we take responsibility (note we are “response-able”) for our attitudes, actions and choices today?  (Simon Guillebaud, Choose Life, 365 Readings for Radical Disciples, 10-13)

 

In God, even the wilderness becomes a place of blessing.  And if God is with you, then your journey is also part of your destination.  And your life on earth is also part of heaven’s domain.  And so even while you journey on earth, you can live a heavenly life.  Therefore, no matter where you find yourself, no matter what your circumstance, no matter what your surroundings, rejoice, press forward. . . and choose to live in victory even now. . . For in the end you will see it. . . that your wilderness was part of the Promised Land.  (Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries, Day 292)

 

God desires to change, not so much our circumstances, as to change us.  —Alistiar Begg

 

Circumstances do not change us, but they do expose us.  Paul rejoiced in the Lord when circumstances were congenial.  Yes, and he also sang praises to Him when his back was bleeding in the Philippian dungeon.  The fact is, that if we sing only when circumstances are pleasing to us, then our singing is worth nothing, and there is grave reason to doubt whether we are rejoicing “in the Lord” (Phil 4:4) at all.  (Arthur W. Pink, An Exposition of Hebrews, 169)

 

Unbelief puts our circumstances between us and God; faith puts God between us and our circumstances.  (Tracie Miles; Stressed-Less Living: Finding God’s Peace in Your Chaotic World)

 

If a low and an afflicted state in the world be really best for the church, then your dejection is not only irrational, but ungrateful.  Indeed if you estimate the happiness of the church by its worldly ease, splendor and prosperity, then such times of affliction will appear to be unfavorable; but if you reckon its glory to consist in its humility, faith, and heavenly-mindedness, no condition so much abounds with advantages for these as an afflicted condition.  (John Flavel, Keeping the Heart, 51-2)

 

Jesus received His guidance from the highest source–the Father.  The disciples were tempted to receive their guidance from the most immediate source–their circumstances.  They worried about what they could “see” nearby; Jesus reminded them to walk by a brighter light.

When making decisions, we should analyse our circumstances but not regard them as infallible guides.  If we rely on our circumstances for guidance too much, we will walk in circles.  Just as Jesus took charge of his day, we should take charge of our days.  We need not rush around, frantically or fearfully trying to stay ahead of uncontrollable circumstances.  Rather, we can ask for his help in making wise use of our available time and opportunities.  Our first question should be:  What would Jesus have me do?  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: 228)

 

It is strange that, while praying, we seldom ask for change of character, but always a change in circumstance.  (Baptist Challenge, December 1981)

 

Worry is basically saying to God, “You cannot be trusted in this circumstance.”  Alister Begg sermon: “Why Worry, God is in Charge”

 

Jesus would not be forced into action by these friends whom he loved dearly, any more than he would be forced by his mother (2:4) or his brothers (7:3-10).  Everything he did was according to God’s timing alone.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 226)

 

Sometimes we offer a passionate prayer of need, and God answers quickly.  We are thankful and excited, and our faith is often strengthened.  At other times it seems that God will never answer our prayers.  We can’t understand, because we know that we prayed for God’s will.  What should we do?  We should wait in faith, knowing that God has our best interests in mind.  We may never see our prayer answered in our lifetime; we may wait many years only to see God answer the prayer in another way altogether; we may find that God’s final answer is no.  Whatever the case, God’s decision is best and his timing is right.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 227)

 

Time is an element in all the good that we get out of the discipline of life.  Therefore, the same love which sends must necessarily protract, beyond our desires, the discipline under which we are put.  If we thought of it, as I have said, more frequently as discipline and schooling, and less frequently as pain and a burden, we should understand the meaning of things a great deal better than we do, and should be able to face them with braver hearts, and with a patient, almost joyous, endurance.  (Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture: John, Chaps. IX to XIV, 77)

 

We cannot doubt that this delay was intentional and of purpose, and it throws immense light on many of God’s providential dealings with His people.  We know that the delay caused immense mental pain and suffering to Martha and Mary, and obliged Lazarus to go through all the agony of death, and the sorrow of parting.  We can easily imagine the grief and suspense and perplexity in which the household at Bethany must have been kept for four days, when their loving Master did not appear; and we know that our Lord could have prevented it all, but did not.  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 272)

 

When the messenger arrived back home, he would find Lazarus already dead.  What would his message convey to the grieving sisters now that their brother was already dead and buried?  Jesus was urging them to believe His word no matter how discouraging the circumstances might appear.  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 170)

 

As the daylight worker sees where he can go and what to avoid, so Jesus knows exactly what He can and cannot do.  For the man who is out of God’s will (in darkness) the way is filled with peril.  Jesus also knows His twelve hours will be ending soon, so His words carry the effect of “I must finish the work given Me while it is still light.”  (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 189)

 

We have here the simplest and best account of the permission of evil and suffering.  God could prevent it.  God does not love to make His creatures suffer.  But God sees there are lessons which mankind could not learn unless evil was permitted:  therefore God permits it.  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 272-3)

 

If Christians were allowed to choose their own course through life, they would never learn hundreds of lessons about Christ and His grace, which they are now taught in God’s ways.  Let us remember these things.  The time may come when we shall be called to take some journey in life which we greatly dislike.  When that time comes, let us set out cheerfully, and believe that all is right.  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 275)

 

Why leave a place where people believe in you and welcome you (10:42) to go back to certain death?  But Jesus was not afraid, for he knew that he had to die and that his death would only occur in the Father’s timing.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 227)

 

If you are God’s child and if you seem to have twenty hours of work to do in just sixteen hours, then obviously four hours of that work is not given to you by God.  And you should not do it. . . .If we are frantic, it is our fault; we should reorder our priorities.  We have sufficient time for all that God has given us to do. . . . Even though we have sufficient time to do all that God has given us to do, nevertheless, we have only that time, and the time should not be wasted.  Are there twelve hours to the day?  Yes!  But there are not thirteen.  So we cannot afford to waste even sixty minutes.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 834)

 

Let us note that sickness comes to Christ’s people as well as to the wicked and worldly.  Grace does not exempt us from trial.  Sickness, on the contrary, is one of God’s most useful instruments for sanctifying His saints, and making them bear fruit of patience, and for showing the world that His people do not serve Him merely for what they get of bodily ease and comfort in this life.  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 268)

 

Certainly you would like the trouble removed, the sick one healed.  But is that your fundamental desire?  Or is it that God’s will might be done regardless of the outcome?  It is only when we pray in the latter way that we are enabled to make our requests so known unto God that “the peace of God that passes all understanding” keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 816)

 

To “walk in the day” signifies to walk in the presence of Him who is Light (1 Jn 1:5), to walk in communion with Him, to walk in obedience to His will.  None such can stumble, for His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 576)

 

“A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by the world’s light.  It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”  The expression of Jesus may have been a current proverb like the one underlying the remark in Jn 9:4:  “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.  Night is coming, when no one can work.”  In both instances, Jesus was thinking of his obligation to perform the work the Father had committed to him.  (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 115)

 

John in his First Epistle employed this same figure of speech:  “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” (1 Jn 1:6).  To digress from God’s purpose is to walk in darkness; to remain in fellowship with God is to walk in the light.  (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, 116)

 

III.  When we see death (the ultimate tragedy) as just sleep for those “In Christ.”  (Jn 11:11-14; see also:  Ps 116:15; Ezek ch 37; Mt 9:18-26; Mk 5:41-42; Lk 7:11-17, 22; 8:40-56; Jn 17:24; Acts 7:60; Rom 8:30; 9:23; 1 Cor 11:30; 15:6-58;  Eph 1:17-18; Phil 3:19-21; 1 Thess 4:13-15; 2 Tm 1:10; 1 Pt 1:3-9; Rv 14:13)

 

The last miracle with the last enemy.  — Warren Weirsbe

 

Jesus was glad at Lazarus’ death because Lazarus was a believer and he understood what the death of a believer was.  It was not to be feared.  It was a homecoming.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 839)

 

Sleep is harmless.  So also is death for the believer.  David knew this.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 839)

 

Death is the godly man’s wish, the wicked man’s fear.  –Samuel Bolton

 

Once we have grasped our situation in God’s full world, the startling disregard Jesus and the NT writers had for “physical death” suddenly makes sense.  Paul bluntly states, as we have just seen, that Jesus abolished death–simply did away with it.  Nothing like what is usually understood as death will happen to those who have entered his life.  (Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, 84)

 

Death could not exist in the presence of Jesus.  There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that Jesus ever met a dead person and failed to raise him.  On one occasion, when he was passing the little village of Nain, in Galilee, he met a funeral procession coming out of the city.  A man had died, the only son of a widow.  Jesus went to the bier, touched the dead man, and restored him to life.  On another occasion, Jesus raised the daughter of a certain ruler of the synagogue, named Jairus.  Here it is Lazarus who is raised.  Jesus never met a funeral that he did not stop.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 841)

 

If Jesus Christ can do nothing about death, then whatever else He can do amounts to nothing.  “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor 15:19).  Death is man’s last enemy (1 Cor 15:26), but Jesus Christ has defeated this horrible enemy totally and permanently.  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 169)

 

In sleep there is nothing to fear, but, much to be thankful for.  It is a friend and not a foe.  So, for the Christian, is it with death.  Said David, “Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.”  Such ought to be the triumphant language of every child of God.  The “sting” has gone from death (1 Cor 15:56, 57), and has not more power to hurt one of Christ’s redeemed, than a hornet has after its sting has been extracted.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 582)

 

Jesus declawed death at the cross, and all death can do now is “paw” us into eternity.  (Zac Hicks, The Worship Pastor, 134)

 

“Spare not death, do thy worst.   You will only make me better than before.”   — George Hebert

 

Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily. — Napoleon Bonaparte

 

One reason perhaps why death is likened to a sleep is to emphasize the ease with which the Lord will quicken us.  To raise the dead (impossible as it appears to the skeptic) will be simpler to Him than arousing a sleeper.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 584)

 

In the century just gone by, was there a bolder witness than that of Dietrich Bonhoeffer?  On April 9, 1945, in a concentration camp in Flossenburg, Germany, having been condemned to death for conspiring in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Bonhoeffer broke loose from his two Nazi guards and went running toward the gallows, shouting, “O death, you are the supreme festival on the road to Christian freedom!”  (Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust, 179)

 

In the NT the death of the believer is characteristically spoken of as “sleep.”  In passing it is worth noticing that few things illustrate more graphically the difference the coming of Christ made than this.  Throughout the ancient world the fear of death was universal.  Death was a grim adversary that everyone feared and no one could defeat.  But Jesus’ resurrection altered all that for his followers.  For them death was no longer a hateful foe that could not be resisted.  Its sting was drawn (1 Cor 15:55).  (Leon Morris, The New Int’l Commentary on the NT: John, 481-2)

 

From an ancient oratorio:  “Thou has made death glorious and triumphant for through its portals we enter into the presence of the living God.”

 

So what is the difference between a joyless Christian and a joyful Christian, a defeated and a victorious one?  Death and resurrection!  The joyless Christian may have died and risen with Christ in some abstract, theological sense, so that he can in the same sense be termed “a new creature in Christ.”  But he has certainly never known it in practice.  On the other hand, the joyful Christian has found satisfaction in whatever God dispenses to him and is truly satisfied, for he has said no to anything that might keep him from the richness of God’s own blessing and presence, and has risen into new life.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 847-8)

 

It is a poor thing to fear that which is inevitable. — Tertullian

 

Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come

 

The blood of the martyrs becomes the seed of the church.

 

Sleep is a time when the body is fitted for the duties of the morrow.  When the awakened sleeper arises he is refreshed and invigorated, and ready for what lies before him.  In like manner, the resurrected believer will be endued with a new power.  The limitations of his mortal body will no longer exist.  That which was sown in weakness shall be raised in power.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 584)

 

That death is “precious in the sight of Jehovah” (Ps 116:15); “a being carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom” (Lk 16:22); “a going to Paradise” (Lk 23:43); “a going to the house with many mansions” (Jn 14:2); “a (blessed) departure” (Phil 1:23; 2 Tm 4:6), in order “to be with Christ” (Phil 1:23), “to be at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8); “a gain” (Phil 1:21); “very far better” (Phil 1:23); and, as here, “a falling asleep” in the Lord.  (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 143)

 

The passages which speak of believers falling asleep do not teach an intermediate state of unconscious repose (soul-sleep, psychopannychy).  Though the soul is asleep to the world which it has left (Job 7:9, 10; Isa 63:16; Eccl 9:6) it is awake with respect to its own world (Lk 16:19-31; 23:43; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:21-23; Rv 7:15-17; 20:4).  (William Hendriksen, NT Commentary: John 7-21, 143)

 

Sleep comes as a welcome relief after the sorrows and toils of the day. . . . In sleep we lie down to rise again. . . . Sleep is a time of rest. . . .Sleep shuts out the sorrows of life.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 582-583)

 

Sleep is temporary.  That is, we sleep to rise again.  In the same way, death is temporary.  We die, but we do so in order to rise to a world prepared for us by our heavenly Father.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 840)

 

Let thy hope of heaven master thy fear of death.  Why shouldst thou be afraid to die, who hopest to live by dying!  –William Gurnall

 

No one could say on Easter Sunday, when the grave of Jesus was found empty, and the body of Jesus was gone, that His resurrection was an impossibility.  The mere fact that between winter and Easter in that very year a man dead four days had been restored to life within two miles of Jerusalem, would silence such remarks.  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 262)

 

See how Jesus speaks of Lazarus as being ALIVE.  He is.  Only his body is dead.  Death does not affect one’s person, for the life of the soul is independent of the body.  The Lord will make that abundantly clear as He teaches, finally demonstrating the truth with His own body.  Until Jesus arrived in history, it was not known that only a man’s body dies and that the man himself is unaffected by the experience.  Thus Paul teaches that Jesus “brought life and immortality to light. . .” (2 Tm 1:10).  He uses Lazarus as a visual aid for this very teaching.  He will pass through death unscathed.  It will have no more effect on him than taking a nap.  Jesus was right to give death a new name–“sleep.”  It is not the “King of Terrors,” but a harmless event.  (C.S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on John, 190-1)

 

The other Gospels record two examples of how Jesus used His divine power to restore the dead to life.  The raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mk 5:22-43) and of the widow’s son at Nain (Lk 7:11-17) are in fact, though they are not explicitly stated to be such, signs that with Jesus the messianic age has come.  That the dead were being raised by Him to life was part of the reply given by Jesus in answer to John the Baptist’s question, “Art thou he that should come?” (Mt 9:3).  The raising of Lazarus was, more unmistakably, a display of His supernatural power; for, while the reader of the other Gospels might conceivably, though wrongly, suppose that the daughter of Jairus and the widow’s son were not really dead but only in the sleep of coma, the “death” in each case having but recently occurred, the sleep from which Lazarus was awakened could not by any stretch of the imagination be regarded as a temporary sleep.  On the contrary, it was the sleep of a man four days dead, whose body was already in the process of dissolution.  (R.V. G. Tasker, Tyndale NT Commentaries: John, 137)

 

Sleep is restful.  It is a relief from the work of the day.  The Book of Ecclesiastes notes that “the sleep of a laborer is sweet” (Eccl 5:12).  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 840)

 

Heaven will not be restful in the sense that there will be no work to do.  But it will be restful in the sense that what we do will be done without toil; that is, without the strain, labor, and sorrow that work involves in this life because of sin’s curse.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 840)

 

The repose of night affords us welcome relief from that which troubles us by day.  It is so in death.  Not that the believer is unconscious, but that those in paradise know nothing of the tears which are shed on earth.  Scripture seems to indicate that there is one exception in their knowledge of what is transpiring down here: the salvation of sinners is heralded on high (Lk 15:7, 10).  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 583-4)

 

It is better to die, and go along with our Christian friends to that world which is enriched by their removal to it, than stay behind in a world that is impoverished by their departure out of it.  The more of our friends are translated hence, the fewer cords we have to bind us to this earth, and the more to draw our hearts heavenwards.  How pleasantly does the good man speak of dying, as if it were but undressing and going to bed!  (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1048)

 

Worship Point: Your worship will only be amazing and electrifying when you begin to understand the bad news of your status before Jesus saved you.  (Ex 33:18-22; 40:34-35; Lev 9:23; Nm 16:42; Dt 5:24; Ps 8:1; 19:1; 34:3; 86:9; 96:6-8; 115:1; Isa 6:1ff; Lk 2:9; 7:47; Rom 11:36; 12:1-2)

 

If you don’t see the absolute holiness of God, the magnitude of your debt, the categorical necessity of God’s just punishment of your sin, and therefore the utter hopelessness of your condition, then the knowledge of your pardon and deliverance will not be amazing and electrifying! — Tim Keller

 

Jesus’ arrival was glorious and terrifying.  Simultaneously a sigh of relief and breath-taking horror. When this Man stands before us and proclaims Himself God, there is no third option for our response.  (Buddy Briggs; 8-9-20 HFM Take-Home Page)

 

What is worship?  From his study of English literature from Chaucer to Shakespeare, James Boice knew that the word worship is derived from “worth-ship.”  To worship God, therefore, is to assign him his supreme worth, acknowledging him to be the Creator and Redeemer revealed in the holy Scriptures.  Similarly, the word glory (doxa) in the Greek NT means to have a good or right opinion of some illustrious individual.  To worship God, then, is to have the correct opinion about him, properly recognizing his holy sovereignty.  (Philip Graham Ryken, Give Praise to God A Vision for Reforming Worship, 6)

 

Gospel Application: The ultimate glory of God is Jesus and the cross.  Jesus models for us what it means to trust God’s perfect timing to turn tragedy into triumph; even in the face of great suffering, rejection, and death.  (Jn 7:39; 12:16, 23-28; 13:31-32; 17:1-5; 21:19; Heb 2:9-10; 1 Pt 1:11; Rv 5:12-13)

 

Again and again in the Fourth Gospel Jesus talks of his glory in connection with the Cross.  John tells us in 7:39 that the Spirit had not yet come because Jesus was not yet glorified, that is to say, because he had not yet died upon his Cross.  When the Greeks came to him, Jesus said, “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (Jn 12:23).  And it was of his Cross that he spoke, for he went straight on to speak of the corn of wheat which must fall into the ground and die.  In Jn 12:16 John says that the disciples remembered these things after Jesus had been glorified, that is after he had died and risen again.  In the Fourth Gospel it is clear that Jesus regarded the Cross both as his supreme glory and as the way to glory.  So when he said that the cure of Lazarus would glorify him, he was showing that he knew perfectly well that to go to Bethany and to cure Lazarus was to take a step which would end in the Cross–as indeed it did.  (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 81)

 

We don’t have to apologize for the crucifixion, the crucifixion was God’s coronation.   It was the greatest triumph ever held.  He defeated evil, and sin, and death; because at the moment of His death people came back to life . . . (Ray Vanderlaan; “The Road to the Cross”)

 

As Jaroslav Pelikan once said, ‘If Jesus Christ rose from the dead, nothing else matters.  If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, nothing else matters.’  (David Robertson, Magnificent Obsession–Why Jesus Is Great, 99)

 

If God had not raised Him from the grave we might draw the conclusion that our Lord was not able to bear the punishment of the guilt of our sins, that it was too much for Him, and that His death was the end.  But He was raised from the dead; and in raising Him up God was proclaiming that His Son had completed the work, that full expiation has been made, that He is propitiated and completely satisfied.  The resurrection declares that, and it is in that sense that He is “risen again for our justification.”  It is there we see it clearly.  The work was done on the Cross, but here is the proclamation that it is enough.  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapters 3:20-4:25, 244)

 

It is in fact more important for us to know what God did to Israel, to His Son Jesus Christ, than to seek what God intends for us today.  The fact that Jesus Christ died is more important than the fact that I shall die, and the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground of my hope that I, too, shall be raised on the Last Day.  Our salvation is “external to ourselves.”  I find no salvation in my life history, but only in the history of Jesus Christ.  Only he who allows himself to be found in Jesus Christ, in his incarnation, his Cross, and his resurrection, is with God and God with him.  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 54)

 

Lazarus was to be given back his life, but at the price of our Lord’s own.  (George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol 8, 641)

 

Think about it. . . kings and queens, generals and emperors, bow down to a man nailed to a cross.  The most pivotal, world-changing life on this planet is that of a crucified Jewish Rabbi. . .the stone of rejection.  And that crucified Rabbi becomes the cornerstone of history.  In God, the object of man’s hatred becomes the center of His love, and the object of man’s despising becomes the vessel of His glory.  (Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries, Day 99)

 

In God, the journey goes not from life to death, but from death to life.  The end is the beginning.  So to find life, you must come to the tomb.  (Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries, Day 65)

 

When some trial or affliction comes upon us, especially if it is the direct result of fidelity to Jesus Christ, it would make all the difference in the world if we saw that the cross we have to bear is our glory and the way to a greater glory still.  For Jesus there was no other way to glory than through the Cross; and so it must ever be with those who follow him.  (William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: John, Vol. 2, 82)

 

What does it mean to have become a Christian?  It means to have turned your back on any attempt to please God by your own efforts and instead to have accepted by faith what God has done in Christ for your salvation.  No man can save himself.  So we must stop trying.  We must die to our efforts.  We must say no to them.  It is only after we have done this that we can receive God’s salvation as a gift.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 845)

 

Spiritual Challenge:  Don’t try to rob God of His glory.  He’ll give you His glory in due time.  Also, be moved and directed by God’s providence and love and not by circumstances.  (Isa 42:8; 48:11; 60:19; Jer 2:11; Jn 8:50-54; 15:8; 17:22; Rom 1:21-23; 2:7; 8:17-18, 29-30; 1 Cor 2:7-8; 2 Cor 3:18; 4:6, 17; Phil 3:21; Col 3:4; 2 Tm 2:10; 1 Pt 5:1-4)

 

If we insist on being an achiever, seeking God so that others might admire our faith, our commitment, our dedication, we become God’s competitor; trying to steal some of His glory.  (Gary L. Thomas, Seeking the Face of God, 16)

 

The entire Bible reveals God’s unflinching commitment to the glory and honor of his name.  We make a mockery of it when we sin.  (Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters, 71)

 

Fear and defeat can’t live long in a heart that trusts God.  –Karen White’s journal two months before her death.

 

We rob God of His glory by being a lousy witness to those who do not believe (Haggai 1:1-11).   The people lived in nice houses when the Lord’s house was in disrepair.  Bringing in no or a shoddy sacrifice (Mal 1:6-14; 3:6-12).  What message did that send to the pagan world? — PK

 

How do trials glorify God?

*They develop our Christian character as we exercise patience (Rom 5:1-5), and they provide an example of strength, courage, and dependence on God to unbelievers.

*They wean us from life’s attractions, diversions, and illusions as we focus on God for help.

*They intensify our desire to be with God in eternity, where we will receive new bodies and be reunited with loved ones who have gone before us.

*They provide opportunities to portray how God’s timing expresses his love to us.  Many Christians who have faced calamity testified later how God’s timing showed them a new side to his love.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: John, 227)

 

FB post from Tom Phillips 11/16/17:  A friend of mine posted this.  It is both encouraging beyond words and shamefully incriminating at the same time:

“It is one thing to go through a crisis grandly, but another thing to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, no one paying the remotest attention to us.” Oswald Chambers writes:  The “every day” is where we live most of our lives and it is there that we have the greatest opportunity to glorify God in the midst of the common acts of living, working, and resting.  Each day is full of sacred moments.

 

We rather easily attribute to Satan the trials of life, as if he is keeping us from something and robbing us of our joy.  We also quickly attribute to God the blessings in life as if He is gifting us and increasing our joy.

We should be careful, however, to consider that sometimes a blessing is Satan manipulating circumstances to keep us from where God wants us to move to.  He knows human happiness leads to complacency, and he will gladly “bless” us with a lifetime’s worth of happiness to keep us from eternal joy.

We should just as carefully consider that sometimes a “curse”, a trial, is God intervening to keep us from where we are headed; breaking our hearts and/or bodies to save our souls.  Or to get us to finally spend the alone time with Him that He has been longing for, to have the intimacy with us that we have been avoiding.   —Buddy Briggs post 7-7-20

 

The following may be taken as a paraphrase of [Jn 11:9-10]:  “My twelve hours of ministry, my day of work, is not yet over.  There is no fear of my life being cut off before the time:  I shall not be slain till my work is done.  Till mine hour is come, I am safe, and not a hair of my head can be touched.  I am like one walking in the full light of the sun, and cannot fall.  The night will soon be here when I shall walk on earth no longer:  but the night has not yet come.  There are twelve hours in my day of earthly ministry, and the twelfth with me has not arrived.”  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 279-80)

 

Children of Darkness try to steal God’s glory by taking it for themselves.  Children of Light give God the glory that is due Him.

 

Spiritual Challenge Questions:

 

1. Knowing God’s love for us, His omnipotence, His wisdom and omniscience and omnipresence; as well as His proclivity to allow circumstances to get really desperate before He rescues His beloved; why would we as His beloved ever be anxious, fearful or discouraged?
2. Hebrews 11 is the Bible’s Hall of Faith. Chapter 12 begins with these words, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. {2} Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  What is the writer of Hebrews trying to tell us by showing us Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him in the context of Hebrews 11?
3. The Bible is loaded with imagery showing that, in the spiritual realm, death is merely sleep for the believer. Therefore {So – NIV} what should our attitude be towards death?
4. The book of John over and over again says that Jesus’ ultimate glory is in the cross (Jn 7:39; 12:16, 23, 28; 13:31-32; 17:1-5; 1 Cor 2:2). How could this be?

 

So What?:  Do you know what it means to believe God can turn every tragedy into a triumph?  It means never again having to look at any circumstances you might face as a tragedy.  God will ultimately bring out of tragedy triumph for those who have faith “In Christ.”  (Gn 50:20; Prv 3:5-6; Rom 8:28; 2 Cor 5:7)

 

If a man walk in the way of his heart, and the sight of his eyes, and according to the course of this world,–if he consult his own carnal reasonings more than the will and glory of God,–he falls into temptations and snares, is liable to great uneasiness and frightful apprehensions, trembles at the shaking of a leaf, and flees when none pursues; while an upright man laughs at the shaking of the spear, and stands undaunted when ten thousand invade.  (Matthew Henry’s Commentary: Vol. V, 1046)

 

A happy story with a tragic end is not a happy story, but a tragic one.  A tragic story with a triumphant ending is not a tragic story, but a triumphant one.  You can never judge a story by its beginning or middle, or by any of its parts before its ending.  It is the ending of the story that determines everything that went before it.  Always remember that.  The nature of the story is determined by its end. . . so too the story of your life.  You can never judge your story by your current circumstances or problems.  And as long as you’re on earth, you haven’t seen the end of the story.  (Jonathan Cahn, The Book of Mysteries, Day 343)

 

If the prolonging of our days is in our own hands, then we must be extremely careful in all we do.  We must be cautious.  For instance, are you sure that you really want to take that trip by auto that you have planned for next summer?  Many die on the roadways.  You may be safer at home. Or again, are you sure you want to eat the kind of food you are often served in local restaurants?  Perhaps it is not good for you.  You may want to get on to health foods.  Or again, are you sure that you have had sufficient medical checkups?  Perhaps you should have a checkup each month.  Or perhaps you should just check into a hospital permanently.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 833-4)

 

The record makes it clear that there was a strong love relationship between Jesus and this family (Jn 11:3, 5, 36), and yet our Lord’s behavior seems to contradict this love. . . . God’s love for His own is not a pampering love; it is a perfecting love. . . . We must never think that love and suffering are incompatible.  Certainly they unite in Jesus Christ.  (Warren W. Wiersby, Be Alive, 171)

 

Nothing is more healthful than to be emptied of self-sufficiency.  The sooner we reach this place the better.  “For we,” said Paul, “have no confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3).  The quicker we are made to realize our own helplessness, the more likely are we to seek help from God.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 580)

 

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”   — Martha Washington

 

Suppose for a minute that their appeal had been that they or Lazarus had loved Jesus.  That would have been true at least in part, for they did love him.  But if they had appealed on that basis, they would soon have been asking, “But have we loved him enough?  Has our love been a pure love?  Have we offended him?” and the honest answers to those questions would have thrown them into a morass of self-doubt.  But this is not what they did.  They did love him, but they knew that their love for Jesus would never in a million years be an adequate basis for their appeal.  So their appeal was not that they loved him, but that he loved them.  He had loved them freely, when there was nothing in them to commend them to him.  He had loved them faithfully, when they were faithless.  He had loved them with an everlasting love as, indeed, only God can love.  This, then, was the basis.  Indeed, it is the only grounds that any of us can ever have in approaching the Almighty.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 816)

 

“Lazarus dead and Jesus glad?  How can that be?”  But then we read on and find Jesus saying, in effect, “Do not be surprised at my saying, and do not be dismayed at circumstances.  Nothing ever happens to you that I have not first approved, and nothing is approved from which I have not previously appointed good results.  (James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, Vol. 3, 822)

 

It is undeniable that there was something dark and mysterious about our Lord’s message.  He might of course have said plainly, “Lazarus will die, and then I will raise him again.”  Yet there is a wonderful likeness between the style of His message and many an unfulfilled prophecy.  He said enough to excite hope, and encourage faith and patience and prayer, but not enough to make Mary and Martha leave off praying and seeking God.  And is not this exactly what we should feel about many an unfulfilled prediction of things to come?  Men complain that prophecies are not so literally fulfilled as to exclude doubt and uncertainty.  But they forget that God wisely permits a degree of uncertainty in order to keep us watching and praying.  It is just what He did with Martha and Mary here.  (J. C. Ryle, Expository thoughts on John, Vol. 2, 270-1)

 

The hearts of the disciples were instructed and illuminated gradually.  There was no sudden and violent action made upon them.  They did not attain to their measure of grace all at once.  Their eyes were slowly opened to perceive who and what Christ was; it was by repeated manifestations of Divine power and human compassion that they came to recognize in Him a Messiah of a far higher order than what they had been taught to expect.  (Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 587)

 

Jesus never met a funeral that he did not stop.

 

JESUS:

GLORIFIED ONE