Contemplating -- John 11

I was contemplating John 11 this morning in my devotions. The TODAY said to read verses 17-27, but I decided to take the whole chapter in context.

So many people put Martha below Mary because she was cooking and cleaning rather than sitting at Jesus' feet, but look at her faith here. She has just lost her brother, she is deeply disappointed in her hope that Jesus would save him, but Martha still can look beyond the death of her brother to see Jesus and his authority (even now God will give you all that you ask), the final resurrection (I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day), and Jesus' messiahship (I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world). I believe she knew the moment Jesus claimed to be the resurrection that her grief was not final, even if she hadn't quite comprehended what Jesus was going to do. I mean, who anticipates receiving back their dead? Her faith was a global faith. She knew who Jesus is to the world.

Mary, undeniably Jesus' favorite (I think that's why Martha went to get her without being instructed to do so), simply weeps at his feet. "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." She isn't looking for external hope. She is simply looking for comfort. Her faith in the resurrection is not expressed, but I think even as she wept, she believes that Jesus can do anything. Her whole being is wrapped up in his presence. Simply, He is Jesus, and she needed Him.

Jesus weeps when he sees Mary and the Jews weeping. Does he weep for Lazarus, or does he weep for their grief. Verse 33 says that he was "moved in spirit and troubled." Moved in spirit by their grief and pain and troubled by their focus on death and not on the hope of the resurrection that sustained Martha or the faith in him that comforted Mary. See, Jesus already knew that Lazarus was alive. He knew that back in verse 11, and his prayer in verses 42 and 43 indicates that he considers Lazarus' resurrection to be a sure thing. Jesus has already been praying -- "Father, I thank you that you have heard me" (italics mine), and he knew before coming that the Father would give Lazarus back to his family. Perhaps those 2 days of waiting (vs. 6) were spent in prayer to determine how the Father would express himself in this situation. The course of events leads me to believe that Lazarus was already alive when Jesus called to him, and Jesus was simply acting on a fact that he already knew: the Father had brought Lazarus back to life. All they had to do was get him out. On such grounds he rebuked their lack of faith. On this proof that his mind was one with the Father, the Jews who were present put their faith in him.

I wonder when God began the rejuvenation process in Lazarus, so that he could come out when Jesus called. Did Lazarus wake up dazed and confused and wondering why everything was so dark and then hear Jesus' voice calling him toward the light that was the mouth of the tomb? Or did the sound of the moving stone wake him up? What if they hadn't moved the stone?! (not entirely a serious question.)

So what did I learn from this:
1. I learned to appreciate the union between God the Father and God the Son through God the Holy Spirit. It's completely seamless. It's perfect. The passage demonstrates at once the limitations put on Jesus by his humanity and the incredible power that he wielded by simply asking the Father and knowing the Father's will.
2. The dead have indeed been rejuvenated by God's power. This sign in John 11 was a sign to point to Jesus as God the Son and the Christ. There is some question about whether or not resurrections happen today, but the fact of the matter is that God has power over death. A dead man got up off his shelf and stumbled out of the tomb with his grave clothes still hanging around his wrists and ankles.
3. That when God works his will, it is a fact to be counted on.