Title Pain for Glory (John 11:1-16)
Contents
John 11:1 verse 16
pain for glory
1. There was a certain sick man, Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2. This Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped the Lord's feet with her hair, and Lazarus, who was sick, was his brother.
3. Then his sisters sent men to Jesus, saying, “Lord, behold, the one you love is sick.”
4. When Jesus heard it, he said, "This is not a disease to die for, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified through it."
5. Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus.
6. When he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed in the same place for two more days.
7. After that he said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea."
8. The disciples said, Rabbi, the Jews have just been stoned to stone, and are you going there again?
9. Jesus answered them, Are there not twelve hours in the day? When people walk in the daytime, they see the light of this world and do not stumble.
10. When he walks at night, he stumbles because there is no light in him.
11. After he had said these things, he said to them again, Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to wake him up.
12. The disciples said to him, "Lord, if I had slept, it would be day."
13. They thought that Jesus was referring to his death, but they were referring to his sleep and rest.
14. Then Jesus said plainly, Lazarus is dead.
15. I rejoice for you that I am not there, that you may believe, but let's go to him.
16. Thomas, also called Didymus, said to the other disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with the Lord.
The book of Jeremiah says, “I am not a God near, and not a God far away, saith the Lord, saith the Lord, Can a man hide himself in a secret place so that he cannot be seen from me? There is a saying, "Is it?" (Jeremiah 23:23-24). It is a word to point out that saying that God does not exist or that it is difficult to meet is only human thoughts. If I don't get caught up in my experiences and thoughts, I have nowhere to hide from God. It is impossible not to meet him, because he is fully present in heaven and earth.
The Bible says that people are sick of living ignoring God because they do not recognize God, who fills the heavens and the earth. From this spiritual sickness comes physical sickness. In the book of Isaiah, “Alas, a sinful nation, a people wretched, a seed of iniquity, children of corruption in their ways: they have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, and have turned away from them. Do you repeat rebellion to be beaten more? Your whole head is sick, your whole heart is weary, there are no blemishes from the sole of your feet to your head, only bruises, ruptures, and new marks; (Isa 1, 4-6) lamented. The plight of those who have left God is that they are sick and have no sanctified places, and they get worse, but they do not have the strength to turn them back.
The 11th chapter of the Gospel of John shows what kind of effects people get and how Jesus deals with them. It shows the figure of Jesus who brings back to life those who were dead because of their trespasses and sins. It can be said to be an event that reveals the purpose of Jesus' coming. Read verses 1-6. “There was a certain sick man, Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha, who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped His feet with her hair. Lazarus, who was sick, was his brother. God, the one you love is sick." When Jesus heard it, he said to him, "This is not a mortal disease, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Jesus said, "From the beginning, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And when he died, he heard that Lazarus was ill, and he stayed in the same place for two more days."
In the Gospel of Luke, there is a record of Jesus staying at the house of Martha and Mary, so these sisters are believed to have had a close relationship with Jesus. In particular, Mary was a person who deeply realized who Jesus was. You can say that you have met God in Jesus because it is said that you poured perfume on Jesus' body and washed Jesus' feet with the hair of his head.
It is said that the brother of these sisters who knew Jesus deeply and were close was ill, so they reported the news to Jesus. These sisters only tell Jesus that their brother is ill. This attitude shows that the sisters know Jesus deeply and entrust everything to him. There is no specific action to be taken. It is an attitude of absolute trust in Jesus.
I think this is how we should pray. Often times, we are not just reporting our problems to God, but also instructing God what to do. It is necessary to have an attitude of letting God know when, how, and when to intervene and how to solve the problems that I face. Then you can feel His presence more clearly.
When we have to take responsibility for the ailments or problems we face, it can be a curse and it makes us hard. But if you can tell it to Jesus and turn it into something Jesus knows, it now turns into a heavenly event. It will be an event in which the glory of God is revealed, and it will be a revelation that the Son of God is with us.
Also, looking at this scene, Lazarus' illness turns into an event in which the glory of heaven is revealed because of his sisters who know Jesus deeply. We are blessed to live together with those who know Jesus and God. This is because the glory of God intervenes in everything that happens next to those who know God. We pray that the grace of changing our problems into a work that reveals the glory of God, rather than the difficulties and curses that come upon us, through those who pray.
Also, if you really want to be someone who loves your neighbor and needs someone, you have to be a person who prays. When we do good deeds, we help others as much as we do. However, if we become a person of prayer, we become a person who allows God's visitation in the field of our lives. Without realizing it, everything that happens around you turns into the glory of God. A person who prays is a person who is a source of blessings in this world. God is looking for people who pray.
It is said that Jesus loved Martha and Lazarus, but after hearing that Lazarus was ill, he did not leave immediately for Bethany, but stayed on the other side of the Jordan for two more days. Later, when he arrives in Bethany, he discovers that three days have already passed since Lazarus had died. It is about a day's walk from Bethany to the other side of the Jordan River where Jesus is. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, it can be assumed that Lazarus was already dead.
When it was reported that Lazarus was ill, Jesus knew he was already dead, so he would have stayed two more days and did what he had to do. Also, Jesus moves by his own judgment and decision, not according to the words or circumstances of others. He moves according to the place and time to reveal the glory of God and His Sonship.
When we pray and wait for the answer, we must thoroughly wait for the Lord's time. No matter how urgent and ill we feel, death is imminent, but we delay two days as if Jesus had not heard anything. Even if we think it is too late, if we wait for the time when God moves, His glory will be realized and revealed more deeply.
After staying on the other side of the Jordan River for two more days, Jesus decided that the time had come and asked his disciples to go back to Judea. The conversation between the disciples and Jesus who heard these words is verses 7-10. "After that, he said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you. Are you planning to go there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? He does not stumble when he sees, but if he walks at night, he stumbles because there is no light in him."
At the temple in Jerusalem, when the Jews heard Jesus saying, “Before Abraham was, I was there” (John 8:58), the Jews took up stones and tried to strike Him. Also, hearing the words, “Father and I are one” (John 10:30), they try to stone them and arrest them. He came to the other side of the Jordan River to escape the Jews who were trying to arrest them. But when the disciples heard the word that they should go back to Judea, they seem to be repulsed.
Hearing what the disciples were saying, Jesus said that if you walk when there is light in the world, you will not stumble. Jesus said to him, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). You have to go towards the darkness with you, the light, and that light is not always everywhere. There is no light in us. Without Jesus there is darkness and night. So Jesus invites his disciples to go with him.
We must always live in the present where Jesus is. When I wander in the darkness of my thoughts or judgments, I am afraid of everything. When you come into the light of the here and now of Jesus, everything becomes clear. In 2 Corinthians, he says, "I heard you in my favor, and I helped you in the day of salvation. Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). I pray that the grace of living here and now with Jesus, who is always the light, will come to you.
Verses 11-15 are the conversations with the disciples who asked to go to Judea during the day you were there and then left and were talking about what to do. “After he had said these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to wake him up.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” They thought he was referring to his death, but they were referring to his sleep and rest. Then Jesus said plainly, "Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for you that I was not there, that you might believe.