John 11:11-16

John 11:11-16

He said this, and after this He says to them, “Lazarus our friend has been asleep.  But I go in order to wake Him up.”  Therefore the disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has been asleep he will be saved.”  But Jesus had been speaking about his death, but those ones thought that regarding sleep He speaks of sleep.  Therefore, then, Jesus said plainly to them, “Lazarus died.  And I rejoice for the sake of you all in order that you all should believe – because I was not there.  But we should go to him.”  Therefore Thomas, who is called the twin, said to His fellow disciples, “And we should go in order that we should die with him.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Once more we see that the disciples don’t get it.  Now, Jesus is being a little obtuse.  So we can’t be too hard on His disciples.  But the point is still true.  Jesus’ disciples don’t always get what He is saying or doing until after the fact.  We shouldn’t be surprised when we don’t get it up front, either.

Do you ever blame yourself for not always understanding how God is at work?  Do you think God expects you to always get His work before He works?

Second Thought:

Jesus makes an unusual comment.  Jesus tells the disciples plainly what has happened.  Lazarus is dead.  And then Jesus says, “I rejoice.”  No, Jesus is not rejoicing because Lazarus died.  Jesus is rejoicing because He knows what Lazarus’ resurrection is going to mean for His ministry and the disciples’ faith in Him as the Son of God.  But don’t miss the point.  Jesus does not see death as a reason to mourn.  Jesus sees death as a place in which God’s power is on display.  That is a reason to rejoice.

Do you think God’s power will be on display in your death?  What about in anyone’s death?  How quick are you to think about death with respect to God’s power on display as a gate to eternal life?

Third Thought:

Thomas’ comment is really strange.  He certainly seems devoted to Jesus and Lazarus in his willingness to die.  However, it is easy to say things when the threat is not imminent.  Remember that only in a few chapters Jesus will be arrested and His disciples will be running like wild to avoid being caught.  We human beings know what faith sounds like.  We know what the right thing to do is.  Thomas demonstrates this much in this comment.  But often with human beings our speech is stronger than our action.

Would you die with Christ?  How does this line of thinking also speak to Paul’s comments in Galatians 2:19-20?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 11:17-27