Last updated on October 28, 2024
Today’s reflection comes from John 11.
Jesus had been spending some time in Perea. It was far enough away from Jerusalem that he didn’t have to worry about danger coming to him. One day while he was there he got word that his friend Lazarus was at the point of death. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, got word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick” (John 11:3). They knew that Jesus could do something for their brother, so they asked him to come.
Jesus got the message but then decided to stay two more days. The disciples were fine with this. Lazarus and his sisters lived in Bethany, which was close to Jerusalem. They didn’t want Jesus going there because they knew that the religious leaders wanted him dead. But Jesus didn’t stay those extra two days because he was scared.
Two days later Jesus got word that Lazarus had died, so he told the disciples that they should begin walking to Bethany.
By the time they arrived Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Martha came out to see him. She was angry, and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” It’s actually impossible to know if she truly believed this last part or if she just knew the proper thing to say to Jesus.
Jesus surprised her by saying that Lazarus would rise again. She assumed he was referring to life after death. He was not.
She then went back to the house. I’m reading between the lines here, but I wonder if Mary didn’t want to see Jesus. She wonders why he didn’t come immediately. She’s hurt. She’s angry. But Martha goes to tell her that Jesus wants to see her. So she goes to him. She too says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But she leaves it at that.
John records, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” And then he too wept.
Jesus went to the tomb where Lazarus was buried. He asked the men there to remove the stone. He prayed to God, and then, in a loud voice, he said, “Lazarus, come out.”
And Lazarus, who was wrapped in strips of linen, came out. Jesus said to those around him, “Take off the grave cloths and let him go.”
The emotions in this story are big, and they’re all over the map. There’s sadness when Lazarus gets sick, then hope that Jesus will come, and a sense of hopelessness when Lazarus dies. Jesus is there for all of the emotions, and he feels them as well.
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