David Bahn – Reflections

John 11:32-37

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Sometimes, despite our most fervent prayers, God doesn’t show up the way we want him to. The cancer isn’t cured. The company fails. The foreclosure goes through. (Thanks to Andy Stanley for these specific examples). A careful look at the whole story of Jesus, Mary, Martha and Lazarus (John 11) reveals a startling fact: Jesus actually created the events and added to the drama of these events by his inaction and delay in coming to heal Lazarus before his death. Not only that, he tells his disciples and the messengers who tell him of Lazarus’ illness that this whole episode is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it (John 11:4).

Then John reveals an important truth and an inexplicable application of that truth. John tells us that, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed tow days longer in the place where he was” (John 11:5-6). Then a few verses later he says, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him” (John 11:14-15).

There is so much here:

• A timing choice on the part of Jesus that allows Lazarus to die with all the pain, grief, and disappointment that goes along with death.
• A desire on Jesus’ part for a greater blessing and good for all involved than Jesus’ immediate intervention in Lazarus’ death.
• A declaration on Jesus’ part that there is a light to be embraced that has to do with Jesus’ presence in the world and that is to be raised up after Jesus is gone.
• An implied calling for us to seek God’s glory through Jesus Christ in every circumstance.

As the encounter unfolds you will see that Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in the face of Lazarus’ four day rest in the tomb, stinky body, and despite Mary’s snub of Jesus in her anger and disappointment at his untimely delay (cf. John 11:20), and the disbelief of all those who were there to witness the miracle. Everyone had concluded that God was too late. If he had just been there on time, all could have been well to their way of thinking; but not now. God was too late in arriving. Lazarus is dead. Four days worth of grief, sadness, disappointment, decay, and stink cannot be redeemed.

The foreclosure has gone through. The cancer has taken the life. The company has already failed. The real question in these situations and all of life is really, “Why doesn’t God act on my schedule?” The answer isn’t rationally-satisfying. But, through this miracle, we know that God can act in the face of the worst of circumstances. We also know that sometimes he doesn’t act according to our timetable. In the mean time he calls us to trust in him. Jesus says, “If you believe you will see the glory of God” (John 11:40). That glory of God is centered, rooted, and experienced in the context of God’s grace and love. Whatever else we may conclude about God’s timing, work in our lives, answer to our prayers, the light of God’s love and grace is the only light that shines through the darkness that from time to time closes in on us.

We are called here  to believe that God loves us no matter what circumstances we may face in life, to embrace the hope of the resurrection, and to seek the glory of God in every circumstance. That is what I am seeking to do today (cf the little challenge to that in my sabbatical blog post if you’re interested). I hope you will join me in that calling.