November 15, 2015                 John 11:33 – 48

Download discussion questions:  John 11_33 – 48 Lazarus, Come forth

Our discussion group has spent the last two weeks reading about Lazarus (in the Bible he was only in the tomb four days!).  This week looked at the climax of the story and in particular how different groups and individuals responded to Jesus.

The reactions to Jesus covered a wide spectrum.  His tears elicited sympathy and compassion from many of those comforting Mary and Martha (“See how He loved him” in v. 36).  “But some” (a phrase we seem to be seeing repeatedly in John’s Gospel) had a completely different reaction.  They had seen (or heard and believed) about the power of Jesus to heal a blind man.  Yet Lazarus died.  How did Jesus’ power relate to that?  Their reaction seems to be a combination of belief and doubt, questioning and confusion.

Then Jesus, “again being deeply moved within” (v. 38) orders the unthinkable:  “Remove the stone” (v. 39).  An un-embalmed body, four days in a tomb – what could Jesus be thinking?  Martha warned Him of the inevitable odor or stench.  Most likely she and all the other Jews at the tomb were also thinking of the ceremonial uncleanness of following Jesus’ instruction.  Whatever the concern, Martha (practical, realistic Martha) felt compelled to help Jesus, to remind Him of circumstances that He may have forgotten or may not have really understood.  Some in our discussion even suggested a bit of a controlling nature in Martha (more on that in a later chapter).  Others in our group thought she was being protective, wanting to avoid the ritual contamination that Jesus might incur.  The common thread through all the possibilities:  Martha felt the need to help Jesus with her advice.

Some in the crowd responded to Jesus with their actions rather than their words.  “They removed the stone” (v. 41).  They simply obeyed Jesus.  He told them to do something that made absolutely no sense and was probably in violation of at least a few of the Jewish laws.  They did just what He said, and they did not question, complain, or advise Jesus (at least, John didn’t record any words from them).  Lazarus responded to Jesus – he just “came forth.”  John emphasized the fact that this was a genuine miracle, referring to Lazarus as “the man who had died” (v. 44).  The word is a Greek “perfect” tense participle (ὁ τεθνηκὼς) suggesting that Lazarus had died, had been dead, and remained dead up to the present time when Jesus called to him.

The response to Jesus after this definite miracle was still mixed.  The majority (“many”) of the Jews in attendance believed in Him (v. 45).  “But some” (a second time in this short passage) went the opposite direction (v. 46, literally “went away to the Pharisees”).  Our group had various descriptions for their reaction to Jesus:  treacherous, opportunistic, playing both sides, tattle-tale (we all remembered that kid in elementary school).  The chief priests and Pharisees also had a reaction to Jesus, the fear of losing their position, their status, their privileges.  They were threatened because they saw His “many signs” (v. 47).  As one member of our group pointed out, they didn’t deny the signs.  They didn’t even suggest that the signs were the work of a lunatic (John 10:20) or a demon (John 7:20; 8:48, 52) or a Sabbath-breaker (John 9:16).  The Jewish leaders seemed to have their own approach to belief.  Jesus was doing miracles that threatened their authority and rank, so He must be stopped.  Questions about truth or the Messiah or following God faded under the threat of losing what they had.  One member of our discussion group put it succinctly:  Self-interest trumps miracles.

All these responses to Jesus can be evaluated by the criterion of His clear desire expressed to the Father:  “so that they may believe that You sent Me” (v. 42).  The unique relationship between Jesus and the Father has been a continuing core of His message.  In particular, His “sentness” has been mentioned repeatedly.  His claim of that distinctive relationship was also the main stumbling block for the Jews, the chief priests, and the Pharisees.  If we were given a fill-in-the-blank test, we would most likely have a different answer:  “so that they may believe ________.”  What?  So that they may believe I will forgive their sins.  So that they may believe that God loves them.  So that they may believe I will sacrifice Myself for them.  So that they may believe they can have an abundant life.  So that they may believe they can go to heaven.  If we had not heard this and other passages (over forty in John’s Gospel alone), we might be surprised at the outcome Jesus desired:  “That they may believe that You sent Me.”

We discussed the implications of that message.  What does it mean that the Father sent the Son, the message Jesus wanted to display by His signs?  He has the authority of the Father.  His identity is with the Father.  He is not acting on His own but in the will of the Father.  He has a special relationship with the Father.  There is an unlimited trust between the Father and the Son – the Father knows He will carry out the mission, and the Son knows the Father’s mission is good – no matter what.  He is implementing the perfect plan of the Father.  What He does is exactly what the Father wants done.

Did the “many” who believed (v. 45) grasp all these (and countless more) implications?  Did the sympathetic friends or the confused Jews?  Did helpful Martha?  Did the threatened Pharisees?  Do we?  Or is this the continuing, growing process of knowing God more and more (“further up and further in” to use the Narnian phrase)?

Believing that the Father sent the Son enables us to see the glory of God through all the Son does.  Believing and seeing God’s glory are linked together:  “If you believe, you will see the glory of God” (v. 40).  As we grow in understanding that the Father sent the Son, the ever-expanding ripples of that belief will show us more of God’s glory.  We will recognize more of what God is doing.

On the other hand, belief itself is advanced as we see God’s work and His glory displayed.  Jesus said that the death of Lazarus was “for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it” (John 11:4).  Earlier He had corrected the disciples’ misperception of the tragedy of the blind man, “so that the works of God might be displayed in him” and the resulting belief and worship in response to the Son’s glory (John 9:38).  Seeing God’s works and His glory expands our belief.

Belief and glory.  Glory and belief.  We desire both.  We want our belief to grow stronger.  We want to see and appreciate more of God’s glory.  And we have little or no control over either.  We cannot, by a sheer act of our will, increase our belief.  (That effort can result in the atheist’s perception that faith is pretending to believe what you know isn’t true.)  We can only see what glory God chooses to reveal to us.  (Otherwise we may mistake “emotional froth” for worship – a phrase from C.S. Lewis in the mouth of Screwtape.)

So, on our own we cannot increase our belief to see more of God’s glory, and we cannot see more glory to increase our belief.  But we can follow the examples of others who responded to the Living God:  “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24); “Show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18).  Both our belief and our perception of God’s glory are ultimately in His hands.  Our humble dependence on Him for both will help us to respond to Him in ways that honor the truth that the Father has sent the Son.