Tag Archives: John 11:1-54

May 20, 2015 Bible Study — Why Did Lazarus Have To Die?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I will be out of town on business for most of this week. It is my plan to complete this blog every day, but I may run late some days.

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Proverbs 15:22-23

    When making plans seek all the advice you can find, the more important the plans the more advice you should seek.

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Psalm 117:1-2

    This is too short to try to say anything other than what the passage says:

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.

For his unfailing love for us is powerful;
the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.

Praise the Lord!

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John 11:1-54

    We read today the story of Jesus raising Lazarus back to life. This is an example of Jesus’ power over even death. There are other lessons contained within the verses of this passage, but today I was struck by a question which is not really answered. Why did Lazarus have to die?
    Martha and Mary, and probably many others, suffered intense grief at Lazarus’ death. Yes, that grief turned to joy, but for four days they mourned. Why did they have to go through that suffering? Even if Jesus could not have arrived before Lazarus died (He waited two days after hearing the news, yet by the time He got there Lazarus had been dead for four days), He could have healed Lazarus from afar. He had healed others that way. I do not have a satisfactory answer to the question I asked. I do not know why Lazarus had to die. I do not know why Martha and Mary had to go through that period of mourning. The passage tells us in part that this happened to bring glory to God, and it certainly did that. My main point is that sometimes we suffer grief and heartache for reasons we do not understand. Sometimes, like in this passage, that grief is relieved and we gain some measure of understanding. But sometimes we will never learn in this life why something happened. We do not always have the ability to understand God’s plan. Just because we do not understand why we suffer does not mean that our grief and suffering are meaningless.

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1 Samuel 26-28:25

    Once again Saul goes hunting for David, and once again David passes on an opportunity to kill Saul. David realized that if he stayed in territory nominally controlled by Saul, sooner or later, he would have to fight Saul. Desiring to avoid this, David went to the Philistine king of Gath. From there, David raided the enemies of the Israelites who were not Philistines, but he told the king of Gath that he had raided Israelite settlements. This convinced the king of Gath that the Israelites would now hate David. So, he invited/ordered David to join him as he mustered with the other Philistine kings for battle against Saul.
    When Saul observed the mustering of the Philistine army he was frightened. When he could not get an answer from God concerning what he should do, Saul sought out a woman who spoke with the dead, he did this despite having banned the practice. The woman called up the spirit of Samuel for Saul. Saul asked the spirit what he should do and was told that it did not matter what he did, God was going to hand him over the Philistines the following day. When you have turned your back on God, and God has turned His back on you, all of you choices are bad.

May 20, 2014 Bible Study — What Are We Going to Do?

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 15:22-23

    If you make plans without seeking, and listening to, advice, those plans will likely fail. The more people you get advice from, the more likely you are to cover all of your bases when you make plans. No one person is going to see all of the ways in which a plan may go wrong, so make sure you have gotten advice from enough different people to cover all of the likely problems you may face.

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Psalm 117:1-2

    I pray that everyone, from every nation, will praise the Lord. God loves us with a love which is beyond compare. If only people would come to understand and accept God it would make this world a much better place.

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John 11:1-54

    There are many lessons for us in the story of raising Lazarus from the dead. There is Thomas telling the other disciples that they should go and die with Jesus. There is Martha’s statement of faith and Jesus pushing her to have even more faith. There is Mary’s anger at Jesus for not being there in time and Jesus not judging her for that natural reaction. But the thing I want to look at is the reaction of the Jewish high council. They had rejected Jesus’ teaching and were unwilling to accept that He was the Messiah. They had asked Jesus for proof. They had asked Him for signs and wonders. Now, when He had raised someone from the dead, they did not say, “Finally, proof. He is indeed the Messiah.” Rather they said, “What are we going to do?” They decided that they had to arrange for Jesus to die. It was the only way they could think of to protect their position. We need to remember that there are people who will never accept Christ, no matter what proofs they are offered.
    When faced with God’s signs and wonders we need to decide what we are going to do. Are we going to react like Martha (“I have always believed that you are the Messiah.”)? Or are we going to react like the Pharisees and chief priests (“If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him.”)? What am I going to do?

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1 Samuel 26-28:25

    Despite having repented of pursuing David after David had spared his life, Saul once more had his army out trying to track down and kill David. Once more David has the opportunity to kill Saul and declines to take that opportunity. David will not kill Saul because Saul was anointed by God as king over Israel. David feels that it is up to God to bring about Saul’s death. Shortly after this, David left the lands controlled by Saul and went to live among the Philistines, beyond Saul’s reach.
    The Philistines mustered for war against Saul and the Israelites. Saul was fearful and did not know what to do. My reading of these passages tells me that Saul was a great warrior and a good general. But he was unwilling to share the glory with anyone else. As a result, he had few subordinates who could command units of his army well enough to be given independent command. He could only muster an army which he could command himself. He could not raise and command an army as large as that of the Philistines, who had five or more independent commanders. Saul’s unwillingness to delegate left him in a bad way. Saul continued to compound the mistakes which he had made in not following God’s commands.

May 20, 2013 Bible Study — Raising Lazarus

     I have been using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study for almost a year. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I started writing this blog because the only way I can get myself to read the Bible everyday is to pretend that I am teaching someone about what it says to me. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

Azalea in full bloom
Azalea in full bloom

1 Samuel 26-28:25

     Saul once more brought his army out looking for David and his men. One night while Saul and his army were sleeping, David slipped into the camp with one of his men, Abishai. David and Abishai managed to get all the way to Saul’s side with no one waking up. Abishai offered to kill Saul for David, since the Lord had placed Saul in their power. David refused to allow Abishai to kill Saul, but he took Saul’s spear and his water jug. Once the two of them had left the camp, David called out to Abner, the commander of Saul’s army. David asked Abner why he had failed to protect the king. When Saul heard David’s voice, he apologized to David for seeking his life and invited him back (although David wisely did not take Saul up on this offer, as this was the second time Saul had felt remorse for attempting to kill David after David had spared his life). I meant to touch on a point that comes up again today. David did not kill Saul because Saul was God’s anointed king over Israel. I think this tells us something important about what our attitude should be towards government leaders. We should be respectful towards those who are in positions of government authority, since they are in that position because God put them there. I struggle with following this when I disagree with those in authority, but it is something I am working on with the Holy Spirit’s help.
     When Saul withdrew from hunting David this time, David realized that he would never be safe among the Israelites as long as Saul was king and that if he stayed, eventually Saul would catch him. So David went to live among the Philistines. He took his 600 men and joined Achish, the king of Gath. He convinced Gath that he and his men should stay in one of the country towns around Gath, rather than in the city itself. Achish gave David and his men Ziklag. From this base of operation, David and his men raided the towns of enemies of Israel. When they raided a town, they killed everyone there so that no one could report that they had attacked the town. After sacking a town, David would return and report to Achish. Achish would ask him where he had raided most recently and David would reply that he had raided Judah or allies of the Israelites. Achish became convinced that David was becoming hated by the Israelites and had no choice but remain loyal to him.
     After David had lived among the Philistines for a little over a year, the Philistines prepared to go to war against Saul. King Achish called David and required him to bring his men to join the attack. David replied that now Achish would see what he could do.

Azalea with dew on the flowers
Azalea with dew on the flowers

John 11:1-54

     Jesus was on the east side of the Jordan River when He received word that Lazarus was very sick. Jesus told His disciples that Lazarus’ sickness would bring glory to God and remained where He was for two more days. When He told His disciples that He was going back to Judea, they responded that only a few days earlier the people of Judea had been trying to stone Him. Jesus said that Lazarus has fallen asleep and He was going to wake Him. When the disciples demonstrated that they did not understand, Jesus told them that Lazarus had died. At that point Thomas (which means twin in Aramaic), said to the others, “Let us go and die with Him.”
     When Jesus got to Bethany, where Lazarus and his sisters lived, He was told that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was close to Jerusalem and many Jews had come out from Jerusalem to comfort Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters. Martha came out to meet Jesus, but Mary stayed at home. When Martha greeted Jesus, she told Him that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died. This does not appear to be an accusation, merely a statement of faith. Jesus replied that Lazarus would rise again. When Martha said that she knew he would rise on the last day, Jesus replied that He was the resurrection and the life and that everyone who believed in Him will live even after dying. He then asked Martha if she believed this. She replied that she did indeed believe that He was the Messiah.
     Martha then returned to her home and told her that Jesus had come and was looking for her. Mary went out to see Him at once. When those who had been with Mary comforting her saw her go out so hurriedly, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’ tomb to mourn for him there. So, they accompanied her. When Mary saw Jesus she threw herself at His feet and told Him that if only He had been there, Lazarus would not have died (this was closer to being an accusation then Martha’s greeting). When Jesus saw her weeping and those with her wailing, He was deeply moved and troubled. Jesus asked where they had put Lazarus. They took Jesus to Lazarus’ tomb and when Jesus got there He wept. Some of the mourners openly expressed the thought that Jesus could have kept Lazarus from dying in a manner that asked why He had not done so.
     Jesus asked them to roll aside the stone in front of the tomb. Martha protested that Lazarus had been dead for four days and by now the smell would be terrible. Jesus told her that He had said that if she believed she would see the glory of God. So the people rolled the stone aside. Jesus then loudly thanked God for hearing His requests, pointing out that He was speaking for the benefit of those listening, not because it was necessary. Jesus then called out to Lazarus and commanded him to come out of the tomb. When Lazarus emerged clothed in the traditional grave clothes, Jesus ordered those around to unwrap him and set him free. I think there is a lesson here that we do not need to pray out loud when asking for miracles from God. The only reason for praying out loud when we are requesting a miracle from God is as a witness to those who are close enough to hear what we say. This suggests that there is a time for openly praying for a miracle and a time for quietly praying for a miracle. We should be careful that when we pray out loud for a miracle, we are doing so to bring glory to God, not to ourselves.

Another shot of azaleas in bloom
Another shot of azaleas in bloom

Psalm 117:1-2

     Praise the Lord for His faithfulness endures forever. A wonderful, although short, psalm of praise.

Hostas in a row
Hostas in a row

Proverbs 15:22-23

     When making plans, get advice from many sources. This is the best way to make sure that your plans will succeed (as long as you actually take the best of that advice). The second proverb tells us that saying the right word at the right time brings one happiness. But that does not just happen. It requires thinking about what others have said and considering one’s words carefully, and it requires being open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

May 20, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

1 Samuel 26-28:25

     Once again King Saul is pursuing David. This time David, accompanied by one of his men, sneaks into Saul’s camp and steals Saul’s spear and water bottle. The man who accompanied David urges David to allow him to kill Saul, but David refuses. David expresses the opinion that it would be wrong to harm one who has been anointed as Israel’s king. David believed that God would remove King Saul in His own time and way. After this incident David became convinced that King Saul would not stop hunting him and that if he remained within Israelite territories Saul would eventually track him down and kill him. David therefore decided to go to live among the Philistines. After a short time among the Philistines David convinces their king to give him and his men a small town to use as a base of operations. From this new base of operations David and his men conduct raids on peoples who were considered enemies by the Israelites, killing the entire population of those towns that he raided. But he told the Philistine king that he was conducting raids against Judea. This convinced the Philistine king that David would be unable to return to live among the Israelites and that David would have no choice but to remain loyal to him. Finally, the Philistines go to war against Israel again and the Philistine king orders David to join him in going to war.
     When the Philistine army and the Israelite armies were drawn up against each other, King Saul was frightened by the size of the Philistine army. This leads him to frantically seek an augur of what to do in order to win. None of the priests or prophets of God among the Israelites was able to give him any answer. This leads Saul to seek out a medium, even though he had outlawed them on pain of death. Saul disguises himself and asks the medium to call up Samuel from the grave. The medium calls up Samuel who tells Saul that he and his sons will be killed the following day and that the army of Israel will be routed. This is the culmination of King Saul’s life. From the beginning he has ruled based on his own skills and abilities. His actions have been based on what he thought was the most politically and militarily expedient choice at any given time. Rather than base his rule in trust in God, King Saul has relied on his own judgement. Now, when he faces a situation where his own judgement tells him that he faces sure defeat, he seeks God’s guidance, after rejecting that guidance repeatedly when it conflicted with his judgement in earlier situations. If we reject God’s guidance until we are at the end of our ropes, it may be too late. If King Saul had chosen to follow God’s commands earlier, this situation would not have arisen, or it would have been different in such a way that his army would not have been sure to lose. But Saul had relied on his own judgement, this led him to drive David out from among his commanders and probably had diminished the strength of his army in other ways as well. When we trust in our own judgement rather than rely on God, we will have to face the consequences of our actions. We cannot always see how choosing our own will rather than God’s will bring us to this sort of defeat, but we can be assured that it will.

John 11:1-54

     This passage has been the subject of many sermons and Sunday School lessons. When Jesus receives word that Lazarus is sick, He does not immediately head for Bethany. Instead He tells His disciples that Lazarus’ sickness will not end in death and that it happened so that God might be glorified. This is the first of the lessons I see here. We should view sicknesses and other misfortunes as opportunities to bring glory to God. Our thoughts in those situations should be as to how we can glorify God through the circumstance that non-Christians would view as a tragedy. From a Christian perspective, we do not suffer tragedies, we receive opportunities to serve God.
     After waiting two days, Jesus tells His disciples that it is time to go to Judea. His disciples balk at the idea because it was only a short time since people there had tried to stone Jesus. When Jesus tells them that Lazarus has fallen asleep and He will go wake him, they think He means that Lazarus is getting better, the subtext being that there was no reason for Jesus to risk Himself by going there now if Lazarus was getting better. Jesus replies that no, Lazarus has died and that this means that the disciples will really believe. When the disciples see that Jesus is determined to go, they choose to accompany Him, believing that by doing so they will be facing death with Him. When Jesus gets to Bethany, both Martha and Mary express the belief that if Jesus had been there sooner Lazarus would not have died. When Jesus speaks with Martha and tells her that Lazarus will rise again, she expresses both a belief that Lazarus will rise at the last day and that Jesus is the Messiah. Here we see Martha, even in the face of the loss of her brother, affirming her faith in God and in Jesus.
     When Mary comes to Jesus accompanied by the other mourners, Jesus is upset and asks to see the tomb. The passage does not tell us why Jesus is upset, but it appears to me that He is upset with the other mourners. This is pure conjecture on my part, but I think He was upset because the other mourners were not comforting Mary and Martha. Instead they were affirming their grief and encouraging them to wallow in it. We should comfort those who have lost loved ones and encourage them to work through their grief, not belittling the grief but encouraging them to process the feelings of loss and deal with the issues involved.
     When Jesus gets to the tomb, He weeps. Some of the people who witness this are impressed by how much He loved Lazarus, but others wonder why He had not come sooner and kept Lazarus from dying. Jesus then asks them to roll the stone aside. Martha objects, saying that by now the stench will be overpowering. Jesus tells her that if she believes she will see God’s glory, so the stone is rolled aside. Jesus prays thanking God for hearing Him. He points out that He did not need to pray out loud to be heard and answered, but that He did so for the sake of the people around Him. This is an important lesson. We do not need to pray out loud, but sometimes we should do so for the benefit of those around us. When we pray out loud we provide witness to those around us. If they are unbelievers they may come to faith through the power of our prayers, either because they see the outcome that we prayed for come to pass or just because they witness our faith in that situation. If they are believers, our praying out loud may give them comfort or encouragement from the sentiments we express in our prayers. This does not mean that our out loud prayers should be composed for the people around us, I do not believe that they should be. I believe that our out loud prayers should be mostly the same as what they would be if we said them silently. We should remember that the Lord’s prayer should be the model we attempt to base our prayers on, whether silent or spoken.
     Jesus calls forth Lazarus from the grave and he comes out. The passage tells us that many of those present believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. The interesting thing is what it tells us some of the rest did. They went to the religious leaders, who were also the political leaders, and told them what had happened, knowing of the hostility that the religious leaders had for Jesus. The religious leaders did not see this miracle as a sign from God, but as a threat to their position. They were more afraid of the Romans than they were of God. They were afraid that if they did not put a stop to Jesus, everyone would believe in Him and this would lead the Romans to launch a punitive expedition against the Jews and that the Romans would be victorious. It never occurred to them that if God was on Jesus’ side, the Romans would be defeated. This reaction served God’s plan, since it was not in God’s plan to raise up a rebellion against the Romans. However, it also demonstrated the lack of faith in God on the part of the Jewish religious leaders. This is a trap that those who attempt to combine their faith with political action sooner or later fall into, being more concerned with the political consequences of something than with how it glorifies God.

Psalm 117:1-2

     I will praise the Lord because His love is unfailing and He is faithful to the end of time and beyond. The word unfailing is important for us to remember. It means that not only will God’s love continue for all of eternity but it will also not fail us in times of trouble. I know that my parents love me deeply, but there have been times in my life when their love failed me. Not because they stopped loving me, but because they are human and finite. Their were times in my life when I had needs that they, for all of their love, were unable to meet. With God that is never true, He is able to meet all of our needs and His love will never fail to do so…and it will always meet our deepest need first, even when we see it differently.

Proverbs 15:22-23

     Our first proverb tells us that making plans without getting advice is a sure way to have things go wrong and that having many advisers leads to success. This is very true because no one person can know all of the ways that a plan can go wrong. If you seek the advice of others, they can help you see the things you did not plan for. The more people who review your plans, the more perspective you will have on approaching the problem and the less likely the plan will go wrong because you overlooked something important. The second proverb is slightly related to the first. It tells us that saying the right thing at the right time brings joy to the one who says it and the one who hears it will benefit from it.