John 11:38-43

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

Interesting passage.  The thing that stands out to me is the need to believe, to have faith in Jesus.  I think it would be nice if Jesus would give me a reminder like He did in verse 40 that I am not acting in faith.  After He said that to them, they acted in faith by moving the stone.  Lord, help me to believe and act in faith!

John 11:32-37

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

I think it is interesting in verse 37 that they thought since Jesus could make the blind see he should be able to keep Lazarus from dying, but didn’t consider the possibility of bringing him back to life.  We often limit the possibilities of what Jesus is capable of doing.  We have our own ideas of how Jesus should solve a problem or fix a situation, but Jesus may have an idea that is beyond anything we could ever ask or imagine.  I definitely to have my faith increased and expanded!

Due to the number of spam comments we are getting I have changed the setting on the blog to only allow those who are registered and logged in to comment.  I’m not exactly sure what this will entail for you but I’m hoping this will help out with the spam and also it will keep your comments from being held for moderation.  So, register and log in and write something today so I can see how this will work.  Thanks!!

John 11:28-31

28 And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

I think it is interesting how the sisters were mourning and upset that Jesus hadn’t come in time to save their brother but when Mary hears that He is calling for her, she gets up quickly to go to Him.  I guess this just shows me that sometimes we can feel disappointed about a situation and even feel that Jesus didn’t do what we expected, but we should still keep our faith in Him and run to Him no matter what.  Lord, I trust You.  Help me to trust You even more when circumstances would point to trusting less.

John 11:11-16

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Just as Jesus knew it would be good for the disciple’s faith to see a miracle so it is for us.  We are encouraged by what we read about Jesus but we have so much opportunity to see and celebrate the miraculous things He is continuing to do in us and through us and around us.  Lord, help my eyes to be open to praise the works that You are doing!

John 11:5-10

5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

7 Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. 10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”

This is an intriguing passage.  It is odd that Jesus waits two days before going to Judea.  It is odd that Jesus talks about seeing by this world’s light in verse 9.  The lesson I hear from Jesus is that though we may be apprehensive, if we walk in the light and by the light, then we have nothing to fear.  There is no fear in perfect love.

John 11:1-4

1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Mary and Martha were very different in their worship of Jesus.  Martha was more of a worrier and wanted to do all of the right things to make sure everything was perfect for Jesus.  Mary, on the other hand, was content to just sit at Jesus’ feet and not miss a word He spoke.  Yet, when there brother was sick and dying, they sent the same word to Jesus.  They didn’t tell Him what to do or when to do it.  They just told Him that Lazarus was sick.  They had great faith that Jesus would know what to do with that information.  It’s a good lesson for me not to boss Jesus around, telling Him what I want done.  Lord, I trust You.

John 10:40-42

40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42And in that place many believed in Jesus.

What a credit to John the Baptist that people believed what he said about Jesus.  John didn’t do anything miraculous but he must have built up lots of credibility and trust with the people there.  This seems like a good lesson for us – we don’t need to do anything flashy, just love and serve people and treat them well.  Then, we will earn the right to tell them what we believe to be the truth and many will choose to believe because of how they see us live our lives.

John 10:34-39

34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

I like how in verse 37 Jesus says not to believe Him unless He does what His Father does.  He did what His Father told Him to do and said only what His Father told Him to say.  Jesus was so good at being like His Father that it is amazing they wouldn’t believe in Him.  What do you choose to do with this Jesus?