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Thoughts on John 11

One little word in John 11:6, "so", tells me so much of the character of God. Often mistranslated in paraphrases as "although", the verse (along with its context) says:

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.
John 11:1-6 NKJV

Look at that last sentence. Jesus is asked, by Mary and Martha, to come and heal their brother, and he waits two days to come because he loves them? Yes, that is what the Gospel says in a literal translation. Jesus loves them, so He waits. Why? To show them the greater glory. Not a simple sign of a miraculous healing, though that would have convinced many. Not the reassurance of a resurrection in the far off future, even though that is assured for us in this passage. No, Jesus wanted to pull out all the stops and provide the greatest sign short of His own Resurrection, the resurrection of Lazarus, the sign that would "break the camel's back" and assure His own sacrifice soon thereafter. And why did He do it this way? He tells us, later in verses 42-43:

And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."John 11:42-43

Whenever we ask God for His help and it doesn't come right away, perhaps we should just wait a little longer for an answer to prayer that is greater than anything we can imagine. Even if it isn't that great in our own point of view, God has His own reason for everything He does, and His way is always best, both for His glory, and for increasing our faith and trust in Him.

Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD! Ps 27:14 NKJV

Posted by Joel Fuhrmann at March 13, 2005 09:38 PM