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 int he 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 that, at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), Jesus had declared to the leadership, "I and My Father are one."  Then the Pharisees took up stones again to stone Him -- the same who had done so at the previous festival (in autumn, the Feast of Tabernacles).  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?'  They answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom 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'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

 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."  We begin reading the story of Lazarus, whose resurrection by Jesus is the seventh and final sign of Christ's divinity in John's Gospel.  This stupendous miracle will be that which seals the religious authorities' decision to put Christ to death.   Bethany, says my study bible, is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.  Lazarus is the same name as "Eleazar," which means, "God helps."  John's Gospel tells us about Mary (referring to an event described in the following chapter), and also of Christ's love for Lazarus and his sisters.

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."    This is the second time that Jesus has revealed to His disciples that what is thought of as a tragedy or affliction is meant for the glory of God.  He said the same of the blindness of the man who was blind from birth, whose healing was the sixth sign in the Gospel (see this reading).  This message, says my study bible, is sent back to the sisters Martha and Mary so that when Lazarus dies, they may take confidence in Christ's words.  Christ will be glorified as a result of the death of Lazarus (resulting from a natural illness) and his being raised from the dead.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days int he place where He was. Jesus' delay is so that Lazarus will be dead long enough for corruption of his body to set in.  There will be no doubt of this miracle, and through it the power of the Lord will be seen by all.


Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days int he 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."  Yesterday's reading, above, tells us that the religious leadership in Jerusalem has already sought twice to stone Him, and accused Him of blasphemy.  But Jesus knows where He is going and why.  Again, there is a reflection here of Jesus' earlier words at the sixth sign of this Gospel, when He healed the man blind from birth.  At that time, He said, "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."    Jesus' words indicate the confidence of walking in the light of God, following God's will.

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."   On the use of the word sleep for death, see also Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:6.   Clearly this sign will be not only for all who are to come, but for the faith of His disciples as well.

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 says that Thomas's statement is is an unwitting prophecy of his own future martyrdom.  It's also an illustration of the path that all believers must take -- that we die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ (see Luke 9:23-24; also 1 Corinthians 15:31).

It's interesting to follow the twists and turns of John's Gospel when it presents to us all the misunderstandings of Jesus' teaching and words.  When taken quite literally, people misunderstand.  Here, perhaps the disciples by now have begun to understand Jesus when He speaks, yet again, of walking in the day or in the light.  Perhaps they have a glimpse already of a medical tragedy that is meant so that God could be glorified through it, when He tells them that this is so about Lazarus.  But they haven't any idea what He is up to, and they can't understand at all what He means when He says that Lazarus sleeps.  When He explains to them clearly that He's talking about the death of Lazarus, Thomas says, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."   Thomas is perhaps thinking of some form of worldly glory; it reminds us of Peter (and the rest of the disciples) saying that they were ready to die with Christ as He went to His Passion, as reported in all four Gospels (see Matthew 26:35, Mark 14:31, John 13:37, Luke 22:33).  It is a common feature of John's Gospel to have people move from literal understanding to a greater understanding through Christ's teaching, and I think also we can consider that a part of the influence of the Holy Spirit in the growth of the Church.  This Gospel was written in the later part of the first century, and it seems to clearly reflect layers of meanings that would be given to the disciples, the gradual coming to an understanding of Christ's teachings and truth.  In addition, the disciple John is the one to whom Jesus' mother was entrusted.  In the tradition of the Church, as part of the long life he would subsequently lead, he would be in Ephesus in an early Christian community and with Mary the mother of Christ.  What we can infer from the history of such a trusted friend and beloved disciple is John's closeness to Christ and his inner circle; we can read in the Gospel Jesus' love for the family of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.   Perhaps the repeated illustration of Christ's speaking style is also a reflection of this type of intimate knowledge of Jesus.  John has also given us several Epistles and the Revelation, received during a period of exile on the island of Patmos.  Whether written by a disciple of John or the elderly John himself matters little in terms of the understanding conveyed here, the familiarity it gives us both with Christ and also of the layers of truth conveyed in His teachings and included in the life of the Church that was to come.  We are given depth and understanding -- and what it means to walk in the light while we have the light.  John is also the apostle who teaches us that our faith is all about love.  Let us be truly grateful.