1. Here’s the other Lazarus. I’m not strong with all the relationships here, but John does say that this is the brother of the Mary that poured all that perfume at Jesus’ feet. So, it would appear that Jesus had already known Lazarus through Mary and Martha. They call Lazarus “the one [He] love[s],” so He must have been a friend.
2. Jesus says that Lazarus’ sickness won’t end in death. It’s going to be an opportunity for Jesus to be glorified. So…maybe there hope in the fact that this seemingly horrible situation is an opportunity for God’s strength and compassion to be shown…
3. Isn’t it interesting that it says that Jesus loved all of them, but He still hesitated. If Jesus was really “on call” to help His friends, it appears as if He’s really taking is time to get to them. Hmm…
4. In the midst of this narrative, we find out that Jesus is going back to a place where they were going to try to kill Him. Jesus doesn’t seem to care much for that fact. He seems to want to go to His friends.
5. What do you make of this phrase about 12 hours of daylight? What’s He talking about?
6. To Jesus, death is only sleep. Wow.
7. I guess Jesus means that if He was there when Lazarus died that people might have thought that his “death” and “resurrection” were a trick.
8. I love Thomas. I guess I have a special affinity towards him because it’s my middle name. His name means “twin.” I’ve heard it said that this alludes to his “twin” hearts. He has one side of him that wants to believe and another side of him that always doubts. Boy, what an encourager, though. “Let’s go die with Him.” In one sense, you have to appreciate his commitment to Jesus. On the other, you have to think, “Dude, what a pessimist.”
9. Martha trusts Jesus. Although she is mourning for her dead brother, she still believes that Jesus can do some good for him.
10. Jesus sure is misunderstood a lot. She thinks that He’s talking about the future resurrection. He’s talking about today.
11. Jesus uses this physical resurrection to help all of us understand that IN HIM is the spiritual resurrection.
12. Martha knows. Good stuff.
13. Mary’s feelings are a lot more raw. She almost blames Jesus for Lazarus dying. She knows that Jesus could have healed him. And her feelings are all just being tossed down at Jesus’ feet.
14. Jesus’ feels her pain. As He does ours too.
15. We don’t really know why Jesus wept. All we know is that, upon hearing the offer to be taken to where Lazarus was buried, He wept. Maybe it was compassion for Mary. Maybe it was a sense of loss for Lazarus. Maybe it was a lament for the brokenness of this world. We don’t know. All we know is that we have a God who feels, a God who feels deeply.
16. All the people were moved by Jesus’ response to this situation. I think it’s awesome that Jesus was humble enough to cry in front of His own creation like that. It tells me something about God’s heart. Awesome.
