The story that we will look at today is only found in the Gospel of John. As the other Gospels usually show a different perspective of Jesus' teaching on the same event, many have wondered why only here do we have the recounting of the resurrection of Lazarus. Some believe it is because during the resurrection of Lazarus Peter was not present, but was in Galilee while Jesus was in Bethany. The "Synoptic Gospels" (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), so called because they can be "seen together", that is, they tell the same stories, and the stories follow all twelve Apostles (including Peter). Others believe the reason Lazarus' resurrection is not mentioned in the other Gospels because this event so inflamed the Pharisees.
The resurrection of Lazarus was an irrefutable proof that Jesus Christ was THE Son of God, for only God can give life from death.
The Bible says that Lazarus became hated among the Chief Priests, who plotted to put him to death (John 12:10). Lazarus was a walking advertisement for the Messiah! Let's read some of the text:
John 11:1-3 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
Word Study: Let's break this down. We read first that "a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany". There's several things we can say about this text. First, "was sick" is the Greek Imperfect Tense of ēn with the Present Active Participle of astheneō. The Imperfect Tense implies that Lazarus had been sick for a long period of time.
What is interesting is that "Lazarus" means
"The One Whom God Helps".
The name "Lazarus" is used by Jesus in another place, in Luke 16:20-25 when He speaks of the Rich Man and the beggar Lazarus. Lazarus, though a beggar, was loved by God, and carried to "Abraham's Bosom" when he died, whereas the rich man "lifted up his eyes in hell". Why did "God help" Lazarus? Because when Jesus came, He said that it was His mission to help:
Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
The Lazarus of Luke 16 is a "beggar", a very poor man. The poor and hurting often are more sensitive to the hearing of the Gospel, as the rich and comfortable have their riches and their comfort as their gods. To those in suffering, Jesus is so needed!
Why So Many Marys?: Back to our text. Lazarus is a man "of Bethany", a town two miles southeast of Jerusalem on the same ridge as the Mount of Olives. When Jesus was in Jerusalem, He often stayed with Lazarus, and his two sisters Mary and Martha. There are a number of Marys in the ministry of Christ. Why are there so many Marys (Hebrew Miriam, Greek Maria) in the Bible? It goes back to the time of Moses. Israel knew that the Messiah was prophesied to come through Abraham's seed (Genesis 12:1-3), and knew the history of Israel. When Israel was in bondage in Egypt the Pharaoh decreed the death of all boy children born (Exodus 1:16). If you remember last Sunday's sermon from 1 Peter 3, this was Satan's attempt to destroy the conduit of the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15) that would destroy that Old Serpent, the Devil, Satan (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). When Moses' mother Jochebed (Exodus 2:1; 6:20) had her son, she hid him until she could no longer do so. The Bible says that:
Exodus 2:3-4 … when {Jochebed} could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
Jochebed put her child into a little Ark, a small boat, and floated him down the river Nile. His sister Miriam followed the Ark, making sure it did not tip over and drown the baby, until it found its way to the Princess of Egypt. The Princess pulled the baby out of the water, and named him Mōšê (Môsheh) which means "Drawn or rescued out of the water". Ironically, though it was the Pharaoh who decreed male babies be killed, the Pharaoh's daughter saved Moses from death and drowning. Yet it was Miriam who guided the baby to the Princess. Had not Miriam, Moses' sister, watched over her brother, the Savior of Israel would have died – and Israel would have been destroyed. Because Miriam was faithful and loved her brother, she was the savior of the Savior.
Families in Israel began to name their female children Miriam or Maria (which is, in English "Mary"), believing that Miriam's actions in saving Moses would one day lead to another Miriam (Mary) in bringing forth the "Seed of the Woman" or the Messiah. This is why I believe there are so many Mary's in the Bible – and the reason that the actual "Seed of the Woman", Jesus Christ, would come from another Mary, Mary of Bethlehem.
John 11:1-2Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
Word Study: Lazarus (which means "The One Whom God Helps") gets sick, and is sick for some time. Lazarus has two sisters, "Mary" (Miriam/ Maria) and "Martha". Let's look at little further at these names. "Mary" (Miriam/ Maria) in the Greek means "their rebellion". When Pharaoh ordered males children (including Moses) to be drowned in the river, both Jochebed and Miriam rebelled against this order. They obeyed God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Believers in Christ should never obey any law of man that supersedes the Law of God. We are commanded to honor our Father and Mother (Matthew 15:4), and yet to "love Jesus more than any relative" (Luke 14:26). We are commanded to "love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). God is to be in our hearts first. As Miriam was rebellious against the darkness, so must we be.
Word Study: The name "Martha" (Greek Martha) doesn't mean "THEIR rebellion", but means "SHE was rebellious". We are introduced to Mary and Martha in:
Luke 10:38-42 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
We see a big difference in the lives of Mary and Martha in this text. First, Martha is a very responsible person. The Bible tells us that "MARTHA received Jesus into HER HOUSE". The home in Bethany doesn't belong to Mary or Lazarus – they are staying with Martha. And Martha is a worker! That is not a bad thing – and Jesus does not truly rebuke Martha. We need the Marthas. We need people who are willing to wait on the Lord, to do the things that bring glory to Him. Martha was not doing a bad thing.
Martha was doing the RIGHT thing
at the WRONG time!
When Martha complains to Jesus that Mary is not helping her, Jesus tells her "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful". Jesus calls Martha's name TWICE. God does this sometimes in Scripture. He called "Abraham, Abraham" Genesis 22:11-13), "Jacob, Jacob" (Genesis 46:1-4), "Moses, Moses" (Exodus 3:1-10), "Samuel, Samuel" (1 Samuel 3:1-10), and here "Martha, Martha". He is not rebuking Martha, but says "one thing is needful (Greek chreia, your business or employment)".
While Jesus is TEACHING, Martha should have been sitting at His feet LISTENING. What HE says is important! Once the lesson was over, THEN serve.
There are many good Christians who are hard workers, very much needed in the Church. But many of these hard workers allow other things to take precedent over sitting at Jesus' feet, hearing what Jesus has to say. It is bad to be lazy and negligent in serving God. It is bad to skip Church, to turn your back on the family of God for other things. But it is equally bad to always be busy, always be volunteering, always be doing but never hearing Christ.
We need to hear the Word of the Lord. We need to be like Mary. But when not hearing Jesus, we need to serve Jesus. We read:
John 11:2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
I have often heard people say it was Mary Magdalene (which means Mary of the town of Magdala) that washed Jesus' feet. That's not true. In Luke 7:36-38 there is an unnamed "Woman of the City, who was a sinner" (vs 37) who washed Jesus feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. She was a "Woman OF THE CITY". We are told in the context of Luke 7:11 that "Jesus went to a TOWN CALLED NAIN". This unnamed woman is from Nain, not Magdala.
It was Mary of Bethany that anointed Jesus, and "wiped His feet with her hair". It was at BETHANY when this happened, while Jesus was at the home of Simon the leper (see Mark 14:3; Matthew 26:6-7). As far as I can tell, there is no clear place where Mary of Magdala washed Jesus' feet, insofar as the Scripture is concerned. We are told that Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair because she was not afraid to humble herself before Him. Mary was always careful to LISTEN to Jesus when He taught, and WORK FOR Jesus when He was NOT teaching. By doing the RIGHT thing at the RIGHT time, Mary of Bethany "CHOSE THAT GOOD PART".
Come And Help The One Whom God Helps!
John 11:3 Therefore his sisters sent unto {Jesus}, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
The two sisters of Lazarus send a messenger to Jesus. They didn't leave themselves because Lazarus was on the brink of death. They don't name Lazarus, but instead say "he whom thou lovest is sick". In the Greek language there are several words used to describe "love" in The Greek New Testament. There is:
Agape – The love of God
Phileo – The love between deep friends
Storge – The love between family members
Eros – Sexual or intimate love
When the sisters say "he whom Thou lovest is sick", they are using the word phileō. This is someone who is a deep friend of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus said those who LISTEN to Him were HIS FRIENDS (Greek philos, Luke 12:4). Jesus said that those who OBEY Him were HIS FRIENDS (John 15:13-15). The believer, saved by Grace, both LISTENS to Jesus and OBEY Jesus. That believer is Christ's FRIEND. When Mary and Martha sent word that "The one who is YOUR FRIEND IS SICK", they didn't ask Jesus to come. They didn't mention Lazarus' name. They just said, "Your FRIEND is sick", expecting Jesus would hear this and come without delay. We often sing:
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer!
Jesus, I'm Your Friend. Come and heal me. Come and fix what is hurting me! What does Jesus do? We read:
John 11:4-6 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
Often when we are sick, or in pain, in suffering, we cry out to God for relief. We beg God to fix what ails us. And yet, there are times when God delays. When God delays we begin to think that "maybe God doesn't love me". But that's not true. Jesus delayed when He heard that His dear friend Lazarus was sick. Yet we are told,
vs 5 Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus
Word Study: Here we do not see the word Phileos, but the Greek Agape (actually the verb agapaō). The word AGAPE is used the describe the Love of God (see Luke 11:42; John 5:42; Romans 5:5). Lazarus is a believer that Jesus loves (Phileo), as He loves all believers. But every believer is under the LOVE OF GOD (Agape). The Bible says:
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Christians are BORN into the Kingdom of God to DO GOOD WORKS. We are GOOD trees that are to bear GOOD fruit. We are to be like Jesus. We are to reflect His LIGHT in this present darkness.
In Christianity, Jesus said "Take up YOUR CROSS and follow Me" (Mark 10:21; Matthew 16:24-26). Just as Jesus prayed "let this cup (the Cross) pass from Me (Matthew 26:39) and the Father allowed Jesus to go to it anyway, there are times of suffering that we as believers MUST go through for the glory of God. This is what Jesus said:
John 11:4 This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby
God had a GREATER GLORY He wanted to show His people. He wanted the world to see that "in Jesus is LIFE" (John 1:4). Jesus is not just a Rabbi, a Teacher of Israel. He is the Messiah. He is the One Whom God has sent to save us from sin and death. Jesus waits two days, and then says to His disciples:
John 11:7-10 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? 9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
When Jesus tells His disciples it is time to go, they begin to debate Him. "Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?". The Jews knew that Jesus loved to stay in Bethany – about 2 miles from Jerusalem – when He came into that area. Pharisee spies would be watching for Him in Bethany. The disciples were reluctant to go, afraid that Jesus would be stoned. But Jesus said, "If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him". What is Jesus telling them? The Jews divided days into two parts, day (when the sun shined) and night (when the sun did not shine). Jesus said, "If you walk in the Light, you will not stumble". What He means is that "God is LIGHT, and in Him is NO DARKNESS" (1 John 1:5). The reason Jesus waited two days in the same spot is because God told Him to do so. He said,
"My FOOD is to do the will of Him Who sent Me" (John 4:34)
Jesus said, "I am among you as ONE WHO SERVES" (Luke 22:27). He said, "If you have seen Me, YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER" (John 14:8-9). Jesus stayed where He was until the Father – through the Holy Spirit – told Him to move. Jesus was "walking in the Light" of God and was not going to stumble. He would not die until the Father said it was time, regardless of His enemies.
Beloved, if you are following God like Jesus did, you are immortal until God calls you home.
Jesus goes on to say that,
Our Friend Lazarus Sleeps
John 11:11-15 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
When an unbeliever dies, they DIE. They go to a place of DEATH and DISMAY. But when a believer dies, the Bible says they SLEEP. For instance,
1 Kings 2:10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
1 Kings 11:43 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father …
1 Kings 22:50 Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father:
When we are told that the believer SLEEPS, this does not mean that his SOUL SLEEPS in the grave. It means that his BODY sleeps, but His SOUL stays awake, and goes to be with the Lord. The Apostle wrote:
2 Corinthians 5:6, 8 … we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
The believer never loses consciousness, but once death comes, their body sleeps but their soul goes to be with Jesus. The unbeliever, however, goes to be in torment (see Luke 16:19-31). The believer is comforted, whereas the unbeliever is tormented (Luke 16:25). If we who believe are "absent from the body" then we are "present with the Lord". Lazarus was dead – he slept! But his soul was in another dimension. Jesus told His disciples:
John 11:14-15 Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe
Jesus said "I am GLAD My friend Lazarus is dead". Why would He be GLAD of this? Jesus said, "to the intent ye may believe" Because it would give Jesus an opportunity to grow the faith of these disciples, along with Mary and Martha. God often allows trials to come to us who love Him to help us GROW in our faith. The Bible says:
1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
At this point Thomas (often called "Doubting Thomas") speaks up, and says:
John 11:16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
The disciples had already expressed concerns that Jesus was heading into a deadly place, a place where He might be stoned. Then "Thomas, which is called Didymus" speaks up. The word "Didymus" means "two fold, double, or twin". The modern name "Thomas" is from the Aramaic tĕʾomâ which means "twin". Though Thomas is only mentioned eight times in the Bible, he is a man who wants to see things for himself. When Jesus resurrected and the other Apostles saw Him, Thomas said:
John 20:25 Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe ...
When Thomas saw Jesus face to face after the resurrection, he declared Jesus to be …
… My Lord and My God (John 20:28)
Jesus never actually rebuked Thomas, but did say "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29)". Though people called him "Doubting Thomas", other disciples also doubted Jesus' resurrection (see Matthew 28:17; Mark 16:11, 14; Luke 24:36-43). One thing we can say about Thomas is that he wasn't a coward. He had faith in Jesus, and was willing to go to Bethany with Him though they all expected the worst.
Thomas was willing to die with Jesus. What about you? Are you willing to die with Jesus? Yes? If so, then why do you not speak up for Him in public? Why do you not faithfully serve Him in His Church? Why do you not give of yourself sacrificially, for His glory? Dear ones, life is short, but eternity is long. Live for Jesus while you can. When you pass from this life, will you DIE or SLEEP? When you enter eternity, will you see Jesus or the rich man? May God touch your hearts to follow Him while you can. Amen and Amen.
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