18 years ago I was sitting at a water park chatting with a friend while watching my 3 and 5 year old daughters play in the baby pool. It was a beautiful, warm summer day. My 7 year old son and his friend were just beyond us enjoying the water slides. I distinctly remember hearing my name over the loud speaker, “Stephanie Wolfe, please come to the lifeguard station immediately.” I knew that it had to be urgent for them to stop the music and page me directly. All eyes were on me as I looked to my friend for help. She took my girls and I dashed off to find my boy, covered in blood. Turns out he hit a pole on his way down the slide and cut his head. It required quite a few stitches and we learned that a cut to the head bleeds profusely. It looked way worse than it actually was. My point is, I raced to my boy when I heard the call. When someone we love needs help we react and are there by their side as fast as humanly possible.
John 11 tells a different approach to rushing to help a loved one. Word reaches Jesus from the town of Bethany that Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, was sick. These three siblings were close friends of Jesus, in fact, they may have been three of Jesus’ closest friends. The sisters even called Lazarus “the one you love” when they called for Jesus to help.
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
John 11:3
Just as I ran to my son when I heard he needed me, I would expect Jesus to run to his friend who was deathly sick. But, we are surprised when we read how Jesus responds.
So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,
John 11:6
What?!???!! Was Jesus so busy that He could not get away? No, we then read that he intentionally chose to wait for two more days.
It is that small word (underlined by me) above in verse 6 that is important as to why Jesus waited. So! This little word presents a cause and effect to us. What follows the “so” is the effect and what precedes it is the cause.
The cause before the “so” is found in verse 5:
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
John 11:5
Jesus’ love caused Him to wait for his friend to die instead of rushing to his side. It is hard to comprehend why Jesus would wait instead of rushing to his side when time was of the essence! But when we take a look back at verse 4 we see that Jesus had a plan. He knew that his friend’s illness would result in death, but not end in it.
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
Jesus knew that he would shout “Lazarus, come out!” and life would fill his friend once again. This is why he waited! He wanted Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and His disciples to experience something that would completely change them from that day forward.
Mary and Martha called for Jesus because they had seen Jesus heal many people. They knew He could heal Lazarus before he died. But, Jesus wanted them to experience something more. He wanted them to see that He has power over death because that is what they would need to know about Him. Because, soon they would see His lifeless body in a tomb.
Had Jesus rushed to Lazarus when he was sick and healed him we would have missed so much more than Jesus actually intends for us. Jesus gave His friends (and us through the reading of His Word) the gift of deepening their faith.
The resurrection of Lazarus is an incredible demonstration of the power of Jesus. It is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ resurrection and a picture of our new life in Jesus.
Jesus did not do what Mary and Martha were expecting. He did something better. This is the same we experience in our lives. God does not always do what I expect or think He should do. However, He can and will bring greater glory to Himself. If He doesn’t do what I think He should, it is very probable that God has something better in mind.