Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.

Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him." Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

- John 11:1-16

In yesterday's reading, Jesus defended His statement, "I and My Father are one." This He stated in His discourse and dialogue with the temple authorities after healing the man blind from birth, the sixth sign in John's Gospel. The authorities in the temple responded by seeking to stone him for blasphemy. At the end of the reading, Jesus had withdrawn to the places in which John the Baptist had preached, where many who believed John began to follow Christ. See Is it not written in your law, "I said, 'You are gods.'"?

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. My study bible has a note that applies to today's passage and those which will follow in the story of Lazarus' healing: "The account of the raising of Lazarus exemplifies the truth that Christ is the resurrection and the life (v. 25). This miracle is the last of our Lord's seven signs in the Gospel of John: the sign which sealed the decision of the Jewish authorities to put Jesus to death. Bethany is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about 2 miles from Jerusalem (v. 18). Lazarus is the same name as Eleazar (lit. 'God helps')."

It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. My study bible notes here: "The Evangelist assumes his readers already know of the anointing of Jesus by Mary, an account he places later in his Gospel (12:1-8)." We are to understand the depth of faith and love in this family for Christ. As told in the various gospels, we understand this love, and also Mary's personal devotion - not only in the episode John the Evangelist cites here, but also in the story of Martha and Mary in Luke, and Mary's "better part."

Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." My study bible notes here: "Lazarus' sickness would not result in permanent death because he would be brought back to life by Christ, an act which would bring glory to the Father and the Son." We note, also, that this explanation is similar to the one given for the sixth sign as well by Jesus. When His disciples asked, "Who sinned?" to account for the man's blindness from birth, Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. My study bible notes: "So, when He heard is a conclusion drawn from v. 3. Jesus delays to allow for the assured death of Lazarus (v. 17), which will underscore the magnitude of the miracle." Actually, I find it poetic and poignant that Jesus' love of Mary, Martha and Lazarus is tied to his delay, through the juxtaposition of these two verses. It gives us an understanding that this great glory, revealed through the raising of Lazarus, is a tremendous bestowal and blessing. Jesus delays to secure that the greatest glory of God will come through the miracle that happens through these people whom He loves.

Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" A note reads: "In Jerusalem at the Feast of Dedication, the Jewish authorities sought to kill Jesus. Going there again would incur the risk of death." Jesus is risking His life to save that of his friend Lazarus, for the glory of God. Jesus made the statement "I and My Father are one" at the Feast of Dedication. This is the festival of lights, Hannukkah.

Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." I find this quite interesting, because it is, once again, a kind of reflection of the things Jesus has said and done with the previous sign, the healing of the man blind since birth. Our understanding is "illumined" further by reflecting on the words He said on the occasion of that healing: "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world." So it is a kind of healing formula we are given in the sixth and now the seventh sign in John's Gospel: The illness and affliction of the world become an occasion for the glorification of God - we walk in the light of Christ through such works and such understanding.

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. My study bible notes that "sleep is often used to signify death (Acts 7:60; 1 Cor. 15:6)." This gives us a sense of the meaning of the eternal life which Jesus has promised repeatedly to those who believe in Him in his discourses so far in John's Gospel.

Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him." Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." My study bible notes, "Thomas, if not with full understanding, speaks the truth: dying with Christ, in baptism and sometimes in martyrdom, will become the seal of Christian discipleship." The themes of death and life play up here in full force. Who is among the living and who among the dead? And what are the promises of eternal life that Jesus has been making throughout His preaching in this Gospel - for those who go "with Him?" As my study bible notes, we die to the old life in baptism, and are born to the new "with Him."

What does it mean for us that Jesus has used the occasion of the man blind since birth, and now Lazarus' death, to teach us that each occasion was so that God might be glorified through these events of sadness and hardship and affliction? I think that we are given an entirely powerful account, in these sixth and seventh signs of John's Gospel, of a way to view life in the world. What are the occasions of illness or affliction - of evils - with which we are faced in the world? How should we meet that evil or affliction with which we are faced in life in our world? If we are reborn with Him, we have one option: we can see them as occasions in which we are called to be like Him - to meet them with faith and an understanding that there is an opportunity for healing through our own understanding of ministry. This is a startling concept of what justice is on spiritual terms. Whatever is necessary for healing becomes then what we pray for and that of which we seek to be instruments in our lives. In this sense, this redemptive ministry, working through us, can heal the world. But we also come to see our own hardships and setbacks, injustice and lack of mercy in our lives, as occasions for the glory of God. That is, they become occasions for our own prayer and our seeking of the "way of Life" that is open to us in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. In this sense, we can see ourselves as "gods" or "sons of the Most High" by viewing this needed healing, redemptive work as that to which discipleship calls us. It gives us a perspective on whatever evil we find in the world as an occasion upon which we have a choice: to respond in "worldly ways" or to be like Him -- to find His will and work our way through the situation in that sense. As disciples, we can work with Him as His ministry has taught. We die to the old life, as Thomas implies, and we are born to another. How will you see your opportunities today? Pray, and ask for the way to view what life holds for you, and to find your response in discipleship. In this sense, we become co-redeemers. It is this life to which we are born in faith that Christ offers us, if we go "with Him."