John 11:28-44

Relax, Read and Reflect

Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.

²⁸And 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." ²⁹When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When 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.

³²When 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."

³³When 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.

³⁵Jesus wept.

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

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

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

³⁸Jesus, 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."

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

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I 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."

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

I will refrain, (kind of,) from making any zombie or mummy comments about this reading. This passage really does show that Jesus was a human, and had human relationships and emotions. Jesus had already talked to Martha, now Mary came to see him as he was making his way to their house. The other mourners followed, thinking Mary was going to the grave to mourn. As she and Jesus visited Jesus became very moved and cried. ( Many people say that John 11:35 is their favorite verse because it showed his human side, but we all know it is because it is only two words long and easy to memorize.)

They go to the tomb and Jesus tells them to move away the rock, (foreshadowing?) but the people hesitate. Laz has been there for four days and is starting to get rank. Jesus tells them that if they believe they would see the glory of God. He then calls Laz to come on out- and he does!

Questions:

1. Why would Jesus cry if he knew he could give life?

2. Both Mary and Martha had told Jesus that they knew he could have healed their brother, why were they hesitant about the dead raising?

3. What does this story say to you about faith in Jesus?

Prayer- Lord, we know that all things are possible in you. We know that you feel our pain, our sadness and our joy. Please be with us as we go through life. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.