October 28, 2024

October 28, 2024

Daily Bible Reading

John 11

1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

4 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.

5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

9 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.

10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

11 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.

12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:

19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?

38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.

51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

55 And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.

56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?

57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.

Daily Devotion

Today’s reading is a very famous portion of Scripture, and one that I’m sure many of us have heard multiple sermons preached from over the years. What I find interesting about this section, is the language used to describe how Jesus became very angry, over the things that were unfolding around Him. It’s not often that we see Jesus becoming angry in the scriptures, so when I come across it, I tend to be very intrigued as to why that anger was made manifest in Jesus’s actions and words.

John 11:17-33 (NLT)
17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 
18 Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 
19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 
20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 
22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 
26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” 
28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” 
29 So Mary immediately went to him.
30 Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 
31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. 
32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

Jesus arrives on the scene, several days after His friend Lazarus had died. Jesus is confronted by the two sisters of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. During the course of their conversations, Jesus tells Martha that Lazarus will live again. Martha assumes that Jesus is referencing the resurrection. Mary tells Jesus she believes that Lazarus would have been healed, if only Jesus had arrived before Lazarus died. Martha and Mary’s faith had been set to a ticking time clock. They were willing to believe in the miraculous up to a certain point, based off of their own personal perception of what was possible. However, when that ticking clock hit double zero, and their brother passed from this life, their faith in the miraculous died with him. Martha and Mary had put Jesus and His ability to perform a miracle, into a box that had an expiration date on it. 

If you have a measure of belief or faith in God, but that belief and faith is set to certain expectations, which if not met, cause you to no longer believe, then I ask you,  did you ever really believe  what you said you did? It seems to me that Jesus became angry, due to the lack of true faith that Mary and Martha had in Him. Jesus had been trying to cryptically express to everyone, that He was about to perform a miracle, but no one was picking up the hints that He had been dropping.

The ability of Jesus to perform a miracle  is boundless. His power cannot be held back or put into a box. Yet our lack of faith can disrupt the spirit from moving in our life. Jesus will not force Himself upon anyone. He raised Lazarus in spite of the lack of faith in the life of Lazarus’s siblings, to prove to them who He truly was, and what He could do. 

It is said that closed mouths don’t get fed. It is also said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Both of these expressions are true. If you don’t ask God for things that you need, then He may not move on your behalf. Yet if you boldly go before the throne of grace, humbly petitioning the King to move on your behalf, then odds are that He will do the miraculous for you. 

Jesus was angry with a lack of faith, and due to this, He did what no one believed was possible for Him to do. How much stress and heartache could Mary and Martha have saved themselves from,  had they just believed from the beginning. Jesus can and will do the miraculous if we will only believe in Him. Don’t allow your circumstances and situations to affect your faith in such a manner, that you have to endure heartache and pain unnecessarily. 

Jesus can do anything and everything that we need, even  to the point of being beyond what we could even ask or think He could do. Believe in Him and His ability. Don’t let your faith be affected by the storm. In His timing, His will is going to come to pass. Believe and see how He moves on your situation.

~Jesse Sanders