Two Days More

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

John 11:1-6 NASB

A Dying Lazarus

The Biblical account of Lazarus provides a number of truths which can be applied to our own lives today. Recently, as I was reading this section of John, a couple of those truths really hit home and convicted me of some things in my own life. One of those truths I will write about in this post.

As you may already know, Lazarus was a known friend of Jesus; verse 5 even points out that Jesus loved him and his sisters. If you aren't familiar with the whole story, a quick read of John 11 will show how Lazarus did end up dying from a sickness and after being dead for four days, Jesus raised him from the grave. However, what I would like to consider in this writing is what is noted earlier in the account and the delay which Jesus purposefully took in responding to the situation.

On His Time

According to Biblical scholars, at the time when Lazarus became sick, Jesus was likely at least 25 miles, or a two-day journey, from where Lazarus was located. In our own human thinking, it can be difficult to understand why Jesus, who apparently loved Lazarus, would not immediately get up and rush to the need of his friend. Adding to this, Martha and Mary, made a specific request to Jesus in hopes that He would come and heal Lazarus. In fact, we know with certainty that the sisters had faith that Jesus could indeed heal Lazarus if only He would do it.

So why did Jesus wait two days more? Verse 4 gives us the answer, and it is one that our "me centered" American Church culture likely does not want to hear: 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” John 11:4 NASB

Did you catch that? Jesus loved Lazarus, but His greatest desire was for the glory of God. It was not selfish for Martha and Mary to ask Jesus to help in their time of need. Instead, it was a show of faith and a reliance on Him that they believed He could come to Lazarus' rescue.

However, as we will see later in the story, the sisters' faith only extended to what they could see: Lazarus being healed of his sickness, not being raised from the dead.

Reading further into the account, verses 14 and 15 give us even more insight into what Jesus was thinking in His response to the news of Lazarus being sick: 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” John 11:14-15 NASB

Jesus' greatest concern was that the people would believe. Yes, Jesus loved Lazarus and his family, but He was focused solely on the will of the Father. Lazarus was a disciple of Christ, and Jesus knew where his soul rested in eternal life. Above all else, Jesus was (and is today) eternally minded. He does not look at our stricken state in this life as the final result. He sees us far deeper than we even see ourselves or those around us. We look at the temporal, shallow, earthly existence while He sees Heaven and eternity. So, when the sisters came to Jesus in verse 3, asking Him to come heal Lazarus, Jesus purposefully waited two days more, knowing that Lazarus would die from his condition. He waited because Jesus wanted to show an even greater glory, so that they would believe.

Application For Us

This is something that we should learn for our own lives. I have often been in a place where I felt circumstances were only bad and getting worse, and I believed that if God would intervene, He could impact the challenges I was facing. Yet, on numerous occasions that I can remember, God didn't answer my prayer as I had prayed, and I ended up becoming discouraged. Looking back on these times, after we had come through the other side, I would be disappointed with myself, thinking, "if I had only held onto my faith a little longer, but instead I failed."

However, after reading this passage, I can see that there are times when the Lord hears our prayer and yet still, He waits two days more. Of course, the patience He may require of us is not limited to only two, 24-hour periods. The "two days" is just a symbol of how He lovingly tries our faith past the point where we can see, and He does this intentionally so that the glory of God may be revealed even greater in our lives. He knows that we are all made of flesh and our patience has limits in how we accept Him to move in our lives. He wants to shape us and mold us into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18) and He does this by kindly pushing us to an uncomfortable place where we think all hope is gone and there are no more possibilities for escape.

It is then, with no other place where we can turn, no other path that we can see as a way out, that He raises up our "Lazarus" from the dead.

Where are you today in your walk with Christ? Are you past the point where your faith could originally see? Have you become like Martha and Mary after Lazarus died, thinking all hope is gone because the Lord didn't move in the way that you thought was the only way? Christian, in your weakness He is strong (1 Corinthians 12:9-10). Wait on the Lord even past the place where you can see; expect God to do the impossible. He has a plan and purpose for the challenge He is allowing you to endure and through it all you will see an even greater glory accomplished in your life.

God Bless!

Matt