John 11:1-44
John’s gospel is fundamentally about Jesus, of course.
But when you read in John, always keep a sharp eye on the people around Jesus…
…how faith and belief sink in and start to grow,
or, how others (esp. the religious leaders), shut their eyes & progressively harden their hearts.
To mention just a few in the chapters preceding this one:
Think of Nicodemus –
The woman at the well –
The man born blind: who first calls Jesus a man, the prophet, and ends up worshiping him…
…while the Jewish leaders, in the same ch, become ever more blind….
--
“Who is Jesus?” – it’sthe question that has to be answered by everyone who confronts Jesus…
…from those people mentioned in the gospel, to we who read it today.
John recounts fewer events than the other gospels, but more – and more detailed – dialogues.
More so than the other gospels, he answersq. “Who is J?” by making us the flies on the wall: witnesses to thediscussions & arguments that swirled around that question & around Jesus.
As chs go on, John progressively reveals Jesus for us through the eyes of the people around him…
…carefully painting his portrait of Jesus using the colors textures,
the light & shadows of those encounters.
This morning, we’re going to see both J’s divinity and his humanity as they’re revealed to us in
this amazing picture of his friendship w/ Martha, M. & L.
--
We don’t really know how or when they and Jesus became such close friends.
What we do know is that when Lazarus was gravely ill, the sisters called for J. with the message:
“The one you love is dying.”
-So Jesus is going to rush to Bethany to save him, right?
-No! He stays put for two whole days!
If they’d known, wouldn’t Martha & Mary have been muttering, “I thought we were friends!”
-In fact, I really think there is a hint of reproach in the first words to come from both sisters:
“If you had been here, my brother would not have died!”
Can you imagine, in today’s world, how this would go down?....
(get phone)
Martha texts her BFF: “J, L dying. Come ASAP!” (5 or6 !!!!!)….
(I need a tutorial on all these texting abbreviations. )
When I first started running into them, saw “LOL” – figured it meant:lots of laughs.
Niece informed me it means: laugh out loud.
What’s “BFF”?[]
Yeah – so imagine Martha calls and leaves voicemails and texts her BFF, Jesus, and . . . .
no answer.
Mary tries to call, too, and sends more desperate text msgs . . . . still, no answer.
--
When Jesus finally shows up – the sisters have to be wondering, “wherewere you?”
“Where were you when we needed you?”
“If you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”
But despite her reproach – and through her tears – Martha holds on to faith and friendship.
-In fact, she utters some of the most remarkable words of faith in scriptures…
…A profession of faith virtually word-for-word the same as Peter’s:
“You are the Messiah – the Son of God.”
OMG(What’s that one?)[]
…Only, not in any way flippant….
not as a mild spice for the tongue.
“I believe you are the Messiah – and you are my God!”
--
Through this encounter and dialogue, we’re learning who Jesus is.
On the one hand, this chapter reveals him as God – with absolute power over life & death.
But look closely at this picture of Jesus – in all its depth and richness, shadow and light –
and behold one of the most poignant pictures of Jesus’ humanity in the bible.
We Reformed Christians have historically tended to focus on the divinity of X,
perhaps at some expense to the fullness of his humanity.
Linger at the picture of the Savior revealed in this chapter:
He’s no detached, unemotional, powerful God – calmly carrying out his earthly mission.
It’s hard to picture Jesus playing favorites – and, well, he didn’t play favorites in that sense.
But he had close friends – some closer than others….
…Jesus had BFF’s / best friends forever.
--
When he saw the sisters weeping, he . . .
. . . there’s no English word that come close to the Gr.
He shook with strong emotion – with a word that’s used elsewhere for “rage.”
-He lost his cool.
-He fell apart.
-He . . . (shake) . . . !! . . .
And Jesus wept.
Onlookers commented: “Man! Look how he loved him!”
Then again in v.38 – when Jesus walked up to the tomb – we find the same word.
“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb.”
--
And we’re going to kind of stop there at v. 38.
It’s not so much the raising of Lazarus we’re focusing on this morning.
It’s the picture John paints for us of Jesus moments before his greatest miracle.
It’s the Jesus whose emotions – whose rage and pain over death were uncontrolled . . . (shake)
. . .whose love and depth of friendship were unbounded.
Maybe even more than the picture of the empty tomb and resurrected Lord…
…maybe in some ways this is a picture of Jesus we can call on in our very darkest hours.
After all, it’s not our theology that falters (or firms up our lives) when life is cruel and harsh.
It’s emotions that roil inside us…
…rage that makes us shake…
…grief that makes double over in pain – and perhaps in doubt.
“If you’d been here, my brother would not have died.”
Why wasn’t J. there when they needed him most!? – that’swhat they wanted to know.
It’s what we’d all like to know at some dark, depressing, empty, bitter moment of our lives.
Why is life so unfair sometimes?
Why – quite apart from faith or the manner of lives lived –
does only good seem to come one person’s way, while another suffers one calamity after…?
(shake)
--
On February 5, I lost two friends…the circumstances could hardly have been more opposite.
William (everyone called him “Dutch”) Heinhuis….only 52
-life-long friend
-ALS for past 15 years or so – dying in pieces in front of wife and kids.
-Parents still alive and with their own health problems…
…had to bury the son who was supposed to bury them.
-I realize comparing pain and suffering is pretty dangerous, but it’s hard for me to imagine a
crueler, more vicious natural death.
--
The same day, Frank Dollivar (one of our Veterans in LTC), died.
Frank was about a week short of 88.
He had a story he would share with anyone given half a chance….
…And speaking of chances, he got a second one:
Dec 14, 1944….
Saw Jesus – “Time to go, Frank.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” (I’ll take that as a prayer)….
“Stand up so they can see you.”
4 kids, and a dozen grand- and great grand-kids, and nearly 70 years later, Frank was granted
the New Year’s resolution he taped on the wall in his room: go to heaven again.
--
Two deaths –
the agony and the ecstasy.
One . . .
the other . . . if you could write your own ending, right? . . . .
Why?
Who can say? Trying to answer the “why’s” is a fool’s errand.
We can believe and vaguely hold on to the hope that somehow it’s to better reveal God’s glory.
-But don’t feed the notion that will magically calm the soul and wipe away the tears.
-Our Lord himself – well knowing what he was about to do – lost it.
Like the sisters, we can’t know ahead of time how unspeakably horrible things, can end up
working out for our good and the glory of God.
And, unlike the sisters – who got a pretty quick answer to their tearful cries of “Where were you when we needed you?” – we don’t often get to see the big picture in this life.
--
At some point in our lives, we all experience being stuck in the first 38 verses of this chapter:
before Jesus says, “Roll away the stone…”
-I can’t begin to tell you why your fervent prayers aren’t answered in the way you hope.
-I wouldn’t dare presume to tell you how your suffering might enhance the glory of God.
I will point you to the picture of the Jesus who stood – and wept – alongside M & M….
Through your doubts and tears, hold on to faith and his friendship – hold on to him
…to the Lord – your friend – who loves you more than you can possibly fathom.
…to the God whose reaction to wrong, and suffering, and death is
to the One who is the resurrection and the life.
…to the Savior who died for you….
Your BFF
Your Best Friend – Forever!