Why Jesus waits
Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (v. 21)
When Lazarus became dangerously ill, his sisters sent for Jesus. It was at least five days, maybe a week or more, before Jesus arrived. (That all depends how far away he was the southern reaches of Galilee would be two days' journey). He doesn't start out for two days. What's going on? Why does he wait?
Firstly, the delay is not a reflection of how Jesus feels about Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He loves them dearly. We often teach children that God's answer to our prayers can be a green light that says "Yes", a red light that says "No" or an amber light that says "Wait a while." But when God delays in answering our prayers, we often feel, that he has forgotten about us, or that somehow he is cross with us. He wasn't short of love.
Secondly, Jesus did not wait because he was afraid to go. Sure, it would be dangerous. The Jewish authorities were out to get Jesus. But why should Jesus be afraid of the situation in Judea? He is, after all, the Resurrection and the Life. When the time was right he came, even though Thomas, ever the cynic was saying, "Let's go with him - se we're ready to die with him!" He wasn't short of courage.
Thirdly, Jesus didn't misunderstand the message. In fact, he knew more than the messenger told him. The Holy Spirit revealed to him when Lazarus died. (v. 11-14) and he knew what he was going to do in the situation. He wasn't short of knowledge. There's perfect timing at work here: four days in Jewish thinking is the "point of no return". The first three days after a death were days of the most intense mourning. The soul of the departed was thought to be nearby until the fourth day. Jesus had waited until the right moment, when hope has been completely relinquished, then he is there, ready to intervene. Like in the story of the man born blind, Jesus wants to demonstrate something of the power and character of his Father, so the "Glory of God" might be seen (v. 40) and people might believe (v. 15)
When will we learn to accept the element of mystery in God's delays? He still loves us; he is doing what is best; not necessarily teaching us something; not necessarily withholding his gifts for ever... there may be purposes that we can only guess at. We need to trust him, love him and live with the mystery.
Who Jesus is
Martha continues with a hint at faith: "even now I know God answers your prayers" (v 22) Maybe no more than "Jesus, your prayers can give us some peace right now." Jesus goes on to talk about the resurrection. Martha can, in faith, look forward to the coming of Messiah, the end of time when the dead are raised. Jesus comes out with another of those "I am" sayings. "I am the resurrection and the life." In other words
- I am... Whenever Jesus says "I am" in John's gospel, he is pointing us bakc to Exodus 3. 14, where God says "I am who I am".
- I am messiah; these are the last days.
- I am Creator, one with the father. The life I give is the "very life of the deathless god himself" (to quote Bruce Milne. I am the one who spoke life into creation.
Because Jesus is who he is, resurrection life starts now. The Kingdom is present; it is here, now. Resurrection is not something to be looked forward to in a future life: the future is now. Those who believe in me, though they die physically will live. Those who believe in me, will, spiritually, never die. Martha, do you believe this? "Well, I believe you're Messiah." It's a start! This is the point. Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
How Jesus Feels
Martha runs off to fetch Mary - the younger, more intuitive and spiritually sensitive of the two sisters. The three days of intense mourning may be over, but Mary's grief is still as intense. She falls at Jesus feet in a flood of tears. Jesus is in the midst of all this raw emotion. What is going on inside him? How does Jesus feel? Is he simply dealing in the hard facts of Scriptural truth?
Jesus is angry. Verse 33 is translated something like "Jesus was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled." English translators have let us down here. Troubled, groaning, deeply moved, sad, upset - all are inadequate translations. Jesus was angry in spirit. He was angry and what Calvin calls the "vicious tyranny" of death. "What is this gatecrasher doing here in God's world?"
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| Tunnel on Hafod Estate, Photo by G Lilly |
Jesus is sad. Verse 35 is the shortest verse in the Bible - and one of the biggest. "Jesus wept." Looking at the grave, all closed up, Jesus burst into tears. What Mary is feeling, the sadness of loss, the broken state of God's world, just gets to Jesus and the tears flow. There's an old hymn that says "when human hearts are breaking under sorrow's iron rod - all the sorrow, all the aching wrings with pain the heart of God."
What Jesus does
Firstly, he tells them to move the stone. (v 39) The stench if death and rotting flesh wafts out. "Let's take the lid off this situation and face the full reality of it." We need to take a look at our world: to take note of what's decaying and in need of kingdom healing and life; and to take note of what's good and in need of kingdom blessing. Remember the fields are white for harvest. (Jn 4.35 cf Le 10. 2) There is a harvest out there. Take the lid off and see it.
There and then, with the smell of death in his nostrils, he prays. Jesus' whole life is prayer - fellowship with his father. He doesn't need to say much in this prayer. But he wants to show everyone that he is depending on his father so that those who watch and listen will believe. Someone said, "Bold prayers honour God; God honours bold prayers" Let's learn - for the sake of demonstrating the Kingdom - to pray bold prayers, prayers for life with the stench of death in our nostrils.
Secondly, he shouts to Lazarus: "Come out". Lazarus is dead. The smell of rotting flesh emanates from the tomb. And Jesus orders him to come out. He is the resurrection and the life. He has the authority. He speaks, and listening to his voice new life the dead receive.
When Jesus speaks ...
Things happen! Amazingly, Lazarus comes out of the tomb. When Jesus speaks this creative, powerful word, death itself lets go of Lazarus, and Lazarus emerges from the cave, warped in the grave cloths. Jesus has authority. The dead hear his voce. Death itself obeys his voice.
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| The Raising of Lazarus 15th Century Russian Icon in Public Domain |
But there were some who in response to all this, were saying something different: "What can we do? As news of this travels, everyone will turn to him. We need to stop this guy!" When Jesus speaks, there will always be those who will want to silence Him.
When Jesus speaks, you can't hear his voice and carry on as normal. You have to get involved. Or not. But you can't ignore him. There will always be those who will speak against him.... When Jesus speaks, we respond.
Now is the day of salvation. Now is a day when Jesus speaks, and acts to demonstrate the Father's love. He calls us to engage with that.. How are we going to respond?
© Gilmour Lilly August 2012
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