In John 11:1-45, we see a story that I’ve heard so many times that I run the risk of being over-familiar with it. But while thinking about it over the past few days, I’ve wondered what it must have been like to see it. I read it again, spending some time on it.
Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary were very good friends of Jesus. In Luke 10:38-42, we see Jesus had stayed in their house before, and I wonder if the familiarity was part of why Martha felt like she could tell Jesus that He needed to tell Mary to help her in that instance. But I digress.
Lazarus falls ill, so Martha and Mary send word to Jesus, who is about three days of travel away, telling Him that His dear friend Lazarus has fallen sick. The expectation is that Jesus will come right away, but He simply responds that Lazarus’ sickness will not be unto death but will be for God’s glory and Jesus’ own as the Son of God. Here the Scripture takes time to say how much Jesus loves these people, then it says Jesus waited around for two days before heading off to see them. At first glance it seems strange. “I love these people so much, so I’m going to wait two days before going to see them.” But when you know the rest of the story, it makes sense. This is how it needed to happen, and because Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, He waited before going to see them.
After those two days, Jesus tells His disciples that He’s going to Judea. At this point in His ministry, Jesus is being hunted by jealous religious leaders and it is probably unwise for Him to just go towards their very “headquarters,” if you will, so His disciples remind Him that there are some people over there that would like Him to be dead. Jesus responds in a metaphor about walking in the light of daytime and not stumbling in the dark. He was talking about how it was time for Him to do His Father’s work and will before it was time for Him to stop. Jesus was not worried about getting killed before it was the appointed time, and He was going to “travel” the whole “day” until that “night.” Jesus then says that He’s going to go wake Lazarus. The disciples think that’s odd, considering rest is very good for you if you’re sick. So Jesus clarifies that by “sleep” He meant Lazarus is dead, then He says that He’s glad for the disciples’ sake that He wasn’t there so that they can believe, and ends expressing His intent to go see Lazarus. Again, it sounds super weird and even harsh for Jesus to be like, “Lazarus is dead and I’m glad for your sakes I wasn’t there, because this is going to be good for you. Let’s go visit Lazarus.” But again, it makes sense when you know how this ends. Then Thomas, either not understanding what Jesus meant or speaking sarcastically, states that they might as well all go and die with Jesus if He’s so intent on heading towards danger. I wonder how the trip went. I wonder what they talked about. I wonder how many of the disciples talked among themselves about Jesus being weird, and how many asked Jesus directly about it.
By the time Jesus and company reach Bethany where Lazarus, Martha, and Mary live, He receives news that Lazarus has already died and has been dead for four days. This is a day past the widely held Jewish belief that a person’s soul hovers around the body for three days before finally leaving, meaning any hope of resuscitation was gone. Lots of people are visiting at Martha’s and Mary’s house to comfort them over the loss of their brother, but when Martha hears that Jesus is heading into town, she hurries and leaves to go meet Him. Mary stays home, likely not feeling like going out to see anyone. When Martha gets to Jesus, she says, “If you’d just been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. But I know that God gives you whatever you ask.” Jesus tells her that her brother will rise again, so she responds that she knows he will, at the last day when the end of all things is here. Jesus responds, “I am the resurrection, and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he is dead he shall live. And whoever believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Martha answers, “Yes. I believe you are the Chosen One of God and His Son.” I wonder whether Martha was hoping Jesus would bring Lazarus back or if she just wanted to get some feelings out and let Jesus comfort her. Whatever the case, Jesus let her say what she needed to say, then responded with what she needed to hear.
After Martha and Jesus have this exchange, Martha goes and secretly calls for Mary, telling her Jesus wants to see her. So Mary hurries and leaves the house. The visitors think that maybe she is suddenly overcome with grief and is going to go weep at Lazarus’ tomb. As soon as Mary sees Jesus, she rushes to Him, falls down at His feet, and cries, “If you’d just been here my brother wouldn’t have died.” Jesus is audibly unsettled by this, yet the Greek word for His response conveys the idea of anger. Was He a little frustrated because Mary, Martha, and the disciples didn’t understand yet? Or was this His reaction to the pain, anguish, and loss that death and sin cause, not only to His dear friends but also to the world?
Jesus then asks where they’ve laid Lazarus to rest, and the gathered people show Him. On the way, Jesus weeps quietly, and the people around Him say among themselves, “Look how much Jesus loved this man!” Some of them respond, “Couldn’t Jesus, who heals blind and sick people, have come and healed His dear friend so he wouldn’t have died?” At this point I can see Martha, Mary, and Jesus all crying together. Maybe Jesus and Martha are helping Mary walk along as she’s blinded by her tears. Maybe Jesus has hugged Martha and Mary. Maybe they’re all walking very close to each other. Maybe Jesus is offering a comforting touch to them once in a while. Maybe He has His arms around their shoulders, or is holding their hands. But whatever is going on, Jesus is certainly feeling their sorrow with them, just like He does with people even today.
Jesus is again audibly agitated as they reach the cave where Lazarus’ body lies. He says, “Take the stone away from the entrance.” Martha tells Jesus that since Lazarus has been dead for four days, he’s decomposed enough to stink. Jesus reminds her, “Didn’t I say that if you believe, you’ll see the glory of God?” Some people take away the stone, and Jesus looks upward in prayer. He prays aloud for the benefit of those hearing and seeing what He’s about to do. Jesus thanks God for hearing Him, then yells, “Lazarus! Come out here!” I wonder what this must have been like in the moment before anyone saw what would come of this prayer and command. Jesus just waltzes up and it seems He wants to see the body. Someone has to remind Him that it’s really gross by now, but Jesus insists. Then He prays and calls out for someone who is clearly dead and not coming back.
But then Lazarus comes out! He’s still in his grave bindings, so Jesus tells the nearby people to get him loose and let him go. Thanks to a pastor I once had, the picture in my head goes like this: “Lazarus! Come out here!” Then Lazarus hops out of the grave, his legs bound together with grave clothes. “Let him loose and let him go!” So someone takes a cloth off Lazarus’ face and some people start helping him get use of his limbs.
The Scripture stops the story there, saying many of the people who had come to visit Mary and Martha believed in Jesus upon seeing this miracle. While that is certainly the important part, sometimes my mind wonders about the less important things, like everyone’s faces when they saw Lazarus, and the sounds of exclamation and maybe initial fear as Lazarus came out, and the look on Lazarus’ face when he was being loosed from the bindings on his body, and how happily shocked everyone must have been on the way home. I wonder what it feels like to know someone you love is dead and not coming back, but then they do come back! The finality of death is reversed for the moment, and your deep grief and sorrow suddenly snap into joy and elation! I wonder how this affected the way Lazarus faced his final physical death later. I wonder how it affected the way his sisters and friends faced his death. I wonder how it affected the way Lazarus’ sisters and friends thought of death in general, including their own. How does it affect you?