But he sees this as a signal from the Father that something tremendous is going to happen in connection with it, thus he sent back this remarkable word, “This illness is not unto death.” It is difficult for us to believe that Jesus did not know that because of the insight that the Spirit of God had given him on numerous occasions. It took two days for the messenger to get to the Jordan, so when Jesus returned to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days. Stedman: The remarkable thing about that is, if you carefully check out the schedule of timing of this event, Lazarus was already dead when the message reached Jesus. Since you love Lazarus as well as Mary and Martha, you will spring into action immediately and solve this crisis. “The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”Įxpectation is clearly expressed. This was a home filled with love, therefore it was one of the most welcome havens for our Lord during his troubled earthly lifetime. Martha loved Jesus Mary loved Jesus Lazarus loved Jesus Jesus loved them they loved each other. That is the dominant note of this whole scene: a home filled with love. Stedman: What John is trying to show us is that this home in Bethany, on the other side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem, was a love-filled home. “And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.” (:2) Connection of a Compassionate Relationship “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”Ģ. Why would Jesus choose to wait and raise the level of difficulty from that of healing the sick to that of raising the dead? – This is the question that must be answered. (:1-16) SIGN MIRACLES ARE MOST IMPRESSIVE WHEN YOU MAXIMIZE THE DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY We cannot understand the delays, but we must never question God’s ways or lose faith in his word. It will not leave us in the lurch at last. But everywhere Scripture drives us back to this: believe his word. The incredible arrogance of the human mind, including my own, that thinks it knows more than the mighty, infinite mind of God never fails to amaze me. We cannot believe that God is not going to work according to the logic of the situation as we understand it. Stedman: For me, the hardest problem I have to handle as a Christian is what to do when God does not do what I have been taught to expect him to do when God gets out of line and does not act the way I think he ought. RESURRECTION (THE ULTIMATE SIGN MIRACLE) DEMONSTRATES BOTH THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE VALUE JESUS PLACES ON FAITH
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