John 11:17 So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away. 19 Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21 Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I Am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. 26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”
28 When she had said this, she went away and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling you.”
29 When she heard this, she arose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” 32 Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?”
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 The Jews therefore said, “See how much affection he had for him!” 37 Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?”
38 Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”
41 So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. 42 I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.
Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”
Jesus arrived in Bethany four days after Lazarus’ death. Lazarus was clearly dead and literally rotting in the grave. In fact when Jesus arrived, some of the family friends and neighbors were already on the scene to console Mary and Martha. Before entering into this bitter funeral scene heavy with death, sorrow, and loss, as he addressed Martha’s grief and loss, Jesus said:
“I Am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. 26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
Then he asked:
“Do you believe this?”
Martha responded, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, he who comes into the world.”
Do you believe that Christ is the resurrection and the life?
Martha quickly sent for Mary, and they went with Jesus to visit the tomb. Learning that the family went to the tomb, the Jewish leaders followed. Jesus, the creator of life, was so distraught at the loss of his friend and so distraught over the unnaturalness and the destruction of death that he groaned in the spirit, was deeply troubled, and wept bitterly. The Creator of life wept at the death of his friend.
Death is the Great Interruption, tearing loved ones away from us, or us from them. Death is the Great Schism, ripping apart the material and immaterial parts of our being and sundering a whole person, who was never meant to be disembodied, even for a moment. Death is the Great Insult, because it reminds us, as Shakespeare said, that we are worm food. Death is hideous and frightening and cruel and unusual. It is not the way life is supposed to be, and our grief in the face of death acknowledges that. Tim Keller, On Death
When Jesus asked for the stone of the tomb to be taken away Martha was so concerned about the stench of death that she tried to convince him to stop. Martha, who had just minutes earlier confessed belief, was immediately reprimanded by Jesus for her unbelief: Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?” With that the stone was rolled away and Jesus prayed, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. 42 I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” To everyone’s amazement, after Jesus called to him, Lazarus came out of the grave, alive.
Jesus really was the resurrection and the life! And just as John the Baptist had taught, people saw the glory of the Lord…revealed!
Backing up for just a moment, how many times have you, like Martha warned God about something? Because of the embarrassment of the foul odor she did not want the tomb opened. If she had her way her brother would have remained dead and buried. Although she sincerely believed that she would one day see her brother again, Martha could not conceive of the glorious things that Jesus could do on that day.
Have you ever been too embarrassed to obey the commands of God? Have you ever allowed fear to compromise your stand for the truth? Have you spoken in nuanced language to avoid speaking the straight truth? Have you ever been embarrassed to help someone or tell someone about Christ? When we are too embarrassed to obey God’s commands, we are really placing our feelings and our fallen preconceived notions over the glory of God.
John 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. 47 The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs. 48 If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is advantageous for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” 51 Now he didn’t say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day forward they took counsel that they might put him to death. 54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but departed from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim. He stayed there with his disciples.
Seeing the dead come to life at Jesus’ command, [many] of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him. Jesus has compassion for his wayward children and grieves with them. But more than grieve, he will actually defeat death, offering them life eternal.
Jesus’ most amazing promise is actually true. “He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.”
All of those who have placed their faith in Christ will live on, even after their deaths!
However, some of the Jews, perhaps preferring the good graces of the Pharisees, as opposed to the boundless grace of God, reported this miracle to the authorities. The chief priests and Pharisees immediately convened their council to discuss this matter. Revealing their true motivation, rather than rejoicing that Jesus raised the dead, the council members feared that the people would believe in Jesus, causing them to lose their place of prominence with their Roman overlords. The Roman occupation allowed the religious leaders to remain in prestigious positions of authority so long as they could keep the people under control. However, if the people flocked to Jesus the leaders feared that they might lose control and fall out of favor with the Romans.
In a moment of ironic clarity, Caiaphas unknowingly prophesied, “It is advantageous for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Caiaphas and the council plotted Jesus’ death because they were more concerned with keeping their positions of authority than they were concerned about the truth or about shepherding the people of God.
Of course, as John points out, Caiaphas’ prophecy came true, but not in the way that he imagined. Christ did die at the hands of the Jewish leaders so that the gift of salvation could be offered by God the Father to, not only the nation of Israel, but also to the children of God who are scattered abroad around the whole world.
Who were the children of God scattered abroad?
This is a reference to the ancient judgment against Israel because they disobeyed God and worshiped other gods. In 733BC, Assyria was used by God to invade Israel and take captive the ten northern tribes, who were then dispersed around the Assyrian empire, eventually moving into the nations of the world. But more about that later in John 14:15
John 11:55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then they sought for Jesus and spoke with one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that he isn’t coming to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had commanded that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, that they might seize him.
With their plan to murder Jesus in play, and with the Passover approaching, the Pharisees commanded if anyone knew where [Jesus] was, he should report it, that they might seize him.