Safety first?
If we follow Jesus, surely he'll make the world a safer place for us, won't he? Well, when we look to the Bible for reassurance, it doesn't always seem that way. Not in John chapter 11:1-16, anyway.
Jesus was staying in the Jordan desert when he got a message from his friends, Mary and Martha, about their brother Lazarus. This good friend of Jesus' was seriously ill and they were hoping that Jesus would come and perform a miracle and make him well again.
Jesus decided not to go. The disciples thought they knew why - those friends lived in Bethany, back in the direction of Jerusalem. The last time Jesus was in that area, he almost got stoned to death. Very sensible, they must have thought. No point in getting yourself into more danger.
That wasn't it. Jesus told them that there was something more important at stake - God's glory and his own glory. He wanted to show them something about himself that would benefit them very soon.
So Lazarus died. The way Jesus talked about his death was more like a riddle than an explanation - he's not going to die - he's asleep - I'm going to wake him up. How could this possibly be right? Having Jesus as a friend, someone you love and serve as Lord, like Mary, Martha and Lazarus did, is hardly working out well for them! Jesus even says that he is GLAD that he wasn't there to help him! No friend says that! Let alone someone who claims to be God!
Perhaps they should have been listening more carefully. 'A man who walks by day will not stumble' Jesus says in 11:9 - Jesus is the 'light that shines in the darkness' 1:5, the one who 'comes into the world so that the blind will see' 9:39. There's more. Jesus is not intending that Lazarus will stay dead. And he's not intending to stay dead when the time comes for his own death. Look, he's saying. I'm going to show you how great God is. He can bring life to the dead. You won't see that unless death happens first. You think that this is about Lazarus? Well, you're going to see me die, too. And when you see that, you need to remember that for me, death is not the end.
Following Jesus takes faith because sometimes we simply don't know what is ahead. Thomas has that faith (even though he goes down in history as the doubter!) when Jesus declares that they are going to head towards danger. 'Let us go also,' Thomas says, 'that we may die with Jesus'.
We talked today in the book group about how following Jesus isn't about making our lives safer. But then, we reflected, what could be safer than putting our trust in the one who is able to beat something as terrifying as death? If we follow Jesus and listen to his voice, we can trust that however scary the future is it, it's best to face it with Him.
John 11:1-16 New International Version (NIV)
The Death of Lazarus
11 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.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
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 (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
NEXT WEEK: John11 - Jesus tells us more about resurrection
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