It may sound like an episode of “The Walking Dead” but I promise you it’s anything but that.
Lazarus was probably more “alive” than he was before he died! I wonder if he saw anything on the other side? If he had a story to tell, it isn’t mentioned here.
I did some digging around on Google Maps and here’s what I found: Jesus was most likely in a place called “Bethany beyond Jordan” when He got the news that Lazarus was ill. As the crow flies, that’s about 24 miles to Bethany. Given that the terrain is pretty rough, and from the river where Jesus is, to Bethany (just south of Jerusalem) is all uphill, it was at least a two day journey. Walking 4 miles an hour you could make it in 7-8 hours, but that’s constant walking without rest.
When Jesus arrives at Bethany there are people there crying and consoling the sisters. It doesn’t sound like it’s late evening to me. Therefore, I think Jesus must have left the Jordan River in the late morning, and arrived at Martha’s place the next day in the morning. (again, just a guess).
The only reason it’s important is because at the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been dead 4 days. He waited 2 days before He left, and it took 2 days to get there. I’m guessing Lazarus died the same day they were telling Jesus he was sick. I heard once that the Jews believed the spirit remains with the body for 3 days after death, so by the fourth day the spirit is gone and there is no hope that this person will ever revive. Maybe that’s why Jesus waited as long as He did. From what He says, He certainly had in mind to resurrect Lazarus from the very beginning. He could have done it a day or two earlier, but He chose to wait. The painful period of grieving and anguish was for their good. Did you catch that?
The sisters are in real pain here, they have lost their brother and the only man in the home. Their good friend Jesus is traveling the countryside healing everyone…but isn’t in town when they need him.
In John 11:8 the disciples mention that they have only recently left Judea (where Jerusalem is located). That means Jesus left town a day or two before Lazarus was sick. I wonder if the girls were thinking to themselves “why didn’t we send for Jesus when He was in Jerusalem? I wish we hadn’t waited, thinking that our brother would get better on his own. If only we had know that Jesus was going to be leaving town, we could have had him stop here before He left, and everything would have been fine.”
These are the sort of things that we feel, because we don’t know what the future holds. But Jesus does. In fact, He holds the future. He allows the moment to be painful. He allows the girls and the disciples to be sad, and He allows the disciples to wonder if they are following Him to their death….even though He could have prevented all of it. And He says “it is for your good that this happened”.
The thing I take away from the reading today is that what seems hard and painful to me may actually be an answer to what I have been praying. God works through my trials. If only I could remember that every time I was going through a trial, I wouldn’t feel so bad about it. But, like most people I find myself wondering if God hears what I am praying, and wondering if He really cares about little problems like mine. The short answer is “Yes”. God hears, and God cares. If He has allowed the problem to exist in your life, then there is some value in it. Maybe it’s so you will learn something, maybe it’s so someone watching will learn something.
A few random observations: how is it that only John mentions this? It seems pretty significant to be excluded from the other three Gospels. I notice that Mary and Martha both respond with the same phrase when they encounter Jesus. I wonder if they had come to that conclusion earlier, before He arrived. Of the two, Martha is the one who goes to meet Jesus, that’s a change from when Mary was the most responsive. Martha is the one who says “even now I know God will give you whatever you ask”, eluding to the idea that Jesus could raise Lazarus. Mary makes no such statement, she just cries. Sure, Martha is practical, but she is also logical and it seems she has great faith. Also, Jesus is angry when the crowd is crying. Maybe it’s because He told Martha who He was in verse 25. If Jesus had said that same thing while in heaven, all of heaven would have bowed down and praised Him in every possible way. Angels and Saints and the Redeemed would all give glory in unison to the One who is “the Resurrection and the Life”. But here on earth it barely elicits a response at all. Maybe it’s the lack of faith that makes Him angry. Maybe it’s the fact that the devil started all this in the first place, and that’s what He’s angry about. The fact that we have to suffer or die in the first place.
And then there’s the Pharisees who try to kill Him. Because of the prophecy of the High Priest they may have actually thought they were doing God’s will. I suppose there are many evil deeds carried out by people who thing they are dong God’s will. I hear our politician’s speak in glowing and compassionate terms about the terrible plight of the LGBT community, and vow that we should give them rights and privileges and embrace their lifestyle as we would anyone else. They insist on equality and validity for their chosen way of life. It all seems very right and noble on the surface, but consider this: Jesus doesn’t approve. Why would I go to great lengths to support something that Jesus doesn’t approve of? The same thing could be said for the Crusades, the systematic murder of the Jews, the wanton destruction in the Middle East today, or our acceptance of abortion. All evil deeds. Many of which are carried out by people who insist they are doing “God’s Will”. Our greatest prayer should be that we always hear God’s voice clearly, so that we do not fall into the same error that others before us have.
Listening carefully for the Master’s voice,
PR