John 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. 2 It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”
8 The disciples asked him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
9 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.” 11 He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”
12 The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep. 14 So Jesus said to them plainly then, “Lazarus is dead. 15 I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”
16 Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go also, that we may die with him.”
After Jesus explained to the Pharisees how to obtain eternal life saying, “I give eternal life … John 10:28, John continues by telling a story about life and death. Death is the enemy that enslaves all mankind. It is inescapable. The relentless march of time and the inevitability of death devours all of our dreams, plans, loves, works, and achievements. No matter how successful you are, no matter how much money you have accumulated, no matter how much fame you have acquired, it will all be taken away in death.
Have you considered your death? Are you prepared?
Speaking for many, Atul Gawande wrote,
“Death is the enemy. But the enemy has superior forces. Eventually, it wins.” Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Life is an amazing gift of God. Life is a miracle. Life in all of its forms is beyond description, but because of our sin, our lives are cut short. Life ends in death. In this story, Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, was sick and, in fact, Jesus knew that Lazarus would actually die from his illness. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, urgently sent for Jesus, but instead of hurrying to heal Lazarus, he waited two days before courageously returning to Judea where the Pharisees were plotting to kill him.
Why did Jesus wait?
He said, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” meaning that God the Father had allotted all the time that Jesus needed to accomplish his mission.
Jesus explained, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.” In other words, though Lazarus will die, the story will not end in Lazarus’ death. Lazarus was allowed to die to bring glory to Jesus.
There is a theological paradox called the “fortunate fall.” John Milton explains.
0 Goodness infinite, Goodness immense,
That all this good of evil shall produce,
And evil turn to good-more wonderful.
Than that which by creation first brought forth light out of darkness!
John Milton, Paradise Lost
In God’s economy, evil is turned to “good-more wonderful.” In other words, the fortunate fall refers to how Adam and Eve’s fall into sin and rebellion actually lead to a greater good; specifically, Adam’s sin allowed the mercy and grace of God to be displayed to all of creation, throughout the vast cosmos, in the salvation of mankind through Jesus Christ.
Paul taught “the boundless riches of Christ, 9 to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:8-11
Christ knew that one day, all of creation, all of the angelic rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, those who had remained faithful to him as well as those who had joined Satan in rebellion, would witness his resurrection from the dead and be amazed. Jesus’ resurrection not only made possible humankind’s salvation but it also demonstrated to the fallen angels the futility of their rebellion against God. They were utterly defeated! God was glorified!
But for now, along those same lines, Lazarus’ death had been allowed so that Christ would be glorified, and through this miracle, this sign, many of the Jewish people would come to believe that he was the Son of God.