If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world

photo copyright Anni Jones Photography

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

Yesterday we read about a confrontation at the temple, that took place at the Feast of Dedication, or Hannukah, the festival of lights. This dialogue began in the previous reading (on Thursday), in which Jesus told the leadership, "I and My Father are one." This was in answer to their question, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." In yesterday's reading, they had begun to take up stones to stone Him after Jesus pronounced that He and His Father are one. But Jesus told them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" The temple authorities replied that it was not for the works, but for making Himself God. Jesus told them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"?' If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?" He pointed again to His works as witness to the presence of God the Father with Him, but they sought to stone Him. Jesus then went and stayed in the place where John the Baptist first baptized, beyond the Jordan. And there He found many believers, who saw for themselves that John's testimony of Jesus was true.

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. John's Gospel has just told us that Jesus went to the other side of the Jordan River, away from Jerusalem, after His last confrontation in the temple with the authorities, who tried to stone Him for blasphemy. But here, the Gospel assumes a familiarity in the readership with the important figures of this family -- Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Furthermore, John the Evangelist also assumes an understanding of an important incident, in which Mary anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, which John will report later in the Gospel, in the next chapter.

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." We remember Jesus' sixth miracle or sign in the Gospel of John, the healing of the man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him then, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." Here the starkest affliction known to the world will be the occasion for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. As so often happens with John's Gospel, the events that unfold will astound the disciples. They cannot understand the events to which He alludes in speech before all is revealed to them.

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. Here is a seemingly paradoxical statement! But the great love between this family and Jesus is well-known and remarkable in the Gospels. We will see with what plans Jesus will glorify God through this family 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?" Bethany, the town of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. Jesus is now east of the Jordan river, and wishes to return to the region of Judea to the home of His friends.

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." Jesus has said, in the reading of the healing of the blind man, "I am the light of the world." Here, Jesus' reply seems to me to refer to that light that is in Him. He walks in the day because of this light. Those who walk in the darkness are the ones that stumble. He knows where He is going, what He is doing. Nothing happens without a voluntary understanding in Him, a command He accepts from the Father.

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." Again, we see in the familiar technique of John's Gospel, a series of misapprehensions, partial understanding, so that what is happening may be revealed to us in the same way the Gospel tells us it is revealed to the disciples. Jesus delays in order that the occasion of Lazarus' death becomes one of glorification, revelation, a sign of the presence of God. He refers to Lazarus' "sleep" so that we understand the death that is not unto death, but life. Thomas again misunderstands. No one can grasp what is going to happen. My study bible points to the irony of Thomas' words: "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." And death, of course, will be understood by believers as a type of sleep, as we abide in the power of His love and life in Resurrection, the great "Day" of the Lord.

As we read the Gospel, we "walk" with Jesus toward Bethany. The miracle or sign that will take place there, to which Jesus alludes in today's reading, will be the seventh of seven in John's Gospel. But let us take occasion again for thinking about Jesus' reference at the last "good work," the sixth sign, the healing of the man blind from birth. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." Here, He refers to walking in the light of day, and having that light in us. When we walk in His word, in the light of God, of faith, we can have a confidence of walking in the daytime to which He refers. How does God walk with you? Each moment, it is inferred from this text, can be a moment for that light to shine through the darkness of the world for us, through faith. Even this moment that is coming, the death of His beloved friend, will become an occasion for the light, the shining forth or manifestation of the glory of God in the world. Can you have a sense of that daytime in your life? We remember that Christ is the light that shines in the darkness, although the darkness cannot grasp that light in any sense. At each moment, there is an occasion for that light. When we ask to walk with Him, we ask to walk in the daytime. In the darkest moments of our lives, we ask for His light, to walk with Him, so that we know where we are going, and we don't stumble. In this way, our lives will also glorify God. We will be able to go through even the darkness of the world with the light He gives us to see our way through. How do you let the light in to your life's moments today?