John 11: 1-16

(John 11: 1-16)

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.  When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judæa again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.  But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.  These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.  Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.  Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.  Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.  Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

 

This explains the background of the seven signs of Jesus revealed in the Gospel of John, before raising the dead Lazarus, the last one. Lazarus lived in a city called Bethany, about 3 kilometers from Jerusalem, and now he is suffering from a serious illness, and he is the brother of a woman named Mary. Mary was the same woman whom Jesus once had while eating at the house of Simon, a leper of Bethany, and poured it on Jesus' head with an alabaster of expensive perfume, worth three hundred denarions, worth three hundred days' wages. There was a case in which the disciples were stunned by Mary's actions of pouring this expensive ointment on Jesus' head and rebuking her.

One day, Lazarus, his beloved brother, fell ill. The sister, who had witnessed the healing of Simon, who had previously had leprosy, sent a person to Jesus, begging for "Welcome and heal your brother." But Jesus did not hurry and said, " This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. " After that, knowing that Lazarus was dead, he went to Bethany, saying, "I have to go to wake up".

Jesus said to his disciples, ``This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 』Jesus said he was going to awaken Lazarus, a sleeper, but Thomas said to the other disciples, "Let's go to die with the Lord." All these things to the sick and dying Lazarus. He said it was for the sake of showing that there was a resurrection.

So, through the present resurrection, they glorify God. If Lazarus healed the disease while not dying, he would not know about the resurrection. So, Jesus waited for Lazarus to die. “I rejoice for you that I was not there, that you may believe”. Leaving Lazarus to die is to reveal to the disciples who were with Jesus that Jesus is the subject of the resurrection. Jesus was to make the disciples believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life through the seventh sign of the Gospel of John, which raises the dead Lazarus to life.

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