Day 43-Wednesday March 27th
John 11:1-7
God at Work

With the incarnation, Jesus stepped down from heaven to be born as a tiny baby in Bethlehem. The incarnation continues to remain a beautiful mystery for Christ followers today. Jesus, in the form of a human baby, was not half God and half human. Rather, Jesus was 100% God while also being 100% human at the same time.

In John Chapter 11, the Gospel writer gives us a picture of this human side of Jesus. Here we see Jesus as a close friend of the siblings Lazarus, Mary, and Martha who live in Bethany. Lazarus has fallen deathly ill so the sisters have sent word to the one person they believe can intercede and save their brother.

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” John 11:1-3 NIV
John includes a beautiful detail that Lazarus, Mary, and Martha are beloved friends of Jesus.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. John 11:5 NIV
What comes next is shocking for us to read: Jesus loves Mary and Marth so much that He allows Lazarus….to die? Read it for yourself.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days, and then He said to His disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” John 11:5-7 NIV

You read that correctly, out of His deep love for this family, Jesus delays coming to Bethany for two more days thus ensuring the death of Lazarus before His arrival.

Today, on the Wednesday of Holy Week, Jesus allowing Lazarus to die is a powerful reminder that God is God, and we are not. While Jesus may have been constrained to the form of a man, He was still 100% God and was still powerfully at work in the lives of these He encountered, even these beloved friends.

There is one important part of this story that we haven’t looked at yet. Jesus gives His reasoning for allowing Lazarus to die in verse 4.

When He heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” John 11:4 NIV

We may not always understand what God is doing, and sometimes we may experience pain in the circumstances through which we walk, but we can be certain that God is aware of our pain and is at work amid the uncertainty.

Keeping in mind that Jesus has been tangling with the Jewish leaders who are deeply divided concerning His true identity (see 10:19-21), Jesus intends to use to use the death of Lazarus as an opportunity to show His deity by the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

The sickness of Lazarus will become the greatest catalyst of faith for many who are present, but even more so for these sisters and Lazarus. These sisters cried out to Jesus in their distress and God responded more powerfully than they could have even dreamed, but He did so in His own timing and in His own way. This is a good lesson for us to remember.

Questions to consider:
What circumstance are you walking through today about which you are crying out to Jesus for help? How has He responded?
What would it take for you to place this struggle in the hands of Jesus and trust that He has it under control regardless of how and when He works?

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