And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
Jesus spoke these words after His disciples mistook His saying that Lazarus slept for natural rest, so He told them plainly that Lazarus was dead and, after waiting two days, resolved to return to Judea to awake him and called them to go with Him. He declared Himself glad for their sake that He had not been present when Lazarus died, because the death and the raising that followed would give them clear, undoubted proof of His divine character, power over death, and identity as Saviour and Son of God, to unite them to Him in unbreakable faith. The delay was deliberate and showed no lack of love for Lazarus and his sisters, for He saw all that happened at Bethany, loved them no less, felt every pang they endured, and upheld the bereaved by His grace. Had He been present in the sickroom Lazarus would not have died, since disease is always rebuked and death cannot strike in the presence of the Life-giver, but He stayed away on purpose to let Lazarus pass under death's dominion and be laid in the grave in order to drive back the enemy as a conquered foe. He then called Lazarus, dead four days and already corrupt, out of the tomb by His word alone, performing His crowning miracle that proved His divinity and Messiahship, strengthened the disciples' faith in Him and His connection with the Father, and gave stubborn unbelievers one last crowning evidence that He is the resurrection and the life.
Words and Setting
The saying was spoken plainly after the disciples mistook the statement that Lazarus slept for natural rest that brings recovery, when death was meant. After waiting two days Jesus resolved to go back to Judea to awake Lazarus, and He called the disciples to go with Him to Lazarus. His gladness at not having been in Bethany was for their sake, so that the death that had taken place in His absence would lead them to believe. The verse belongs to the account of Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus deeply loved together with the Bethany family, and for whom He performed His greatest miracle.
Bethany was where Jesus often found rest at the house of Lazarus. The Saviour had no home of His own and was dependent on the hospitality of friends and disciples, and when weary and thirsting for human fellowship He gladly escaped to this peaceful household away from the suspicion and jealousy of the angry Pharisees. There He found sincere welcome and pure, holy friendship, and could speak with simplicity and perfect freedom, knowing His words would be understood and treasured. He appreciated a quiet home and interested listeners and longed for human tenderness, courtesy, and affection, and those who received the heavenly instruction He was ready to impart were greatly blessed. While the multitudes following through the open fields were slow of hearing, in the home at Bethany Christ found rest from the weary conflict of public life and opened to an appreciative audience the volume of Providence, unfolding in private what He did not tell to the mixed multitude, so He needed not to speak to His friends in parables.
Jesus had withdrawn to a temporary refuge after being rejected and threatened by His own people, and even amid that persecution and rejection He used His absence from Lazarus for the disciples' benefit so they could believe. He delayed His journey to Bethany while Lazarus was sick and then died, though He knew of the illness. Martha and Mary expected Him to come and heal their brother, yet they endured his death and grieved while waiting for Jesus.
Purpose in Delay
Jesus was glad for the disciples' sake that He had not been present before Lazarus died, because the death and the raising that would follow would lead them to believe by giving clear, undoubted proof of His divine character, His power over death, and His identity as Saviour and Son of God, uniting them to Him in a faith that could not be broken and strengthening their belief beyond doubt. The raising would reveal His divine power and serve not only the disciples' faith but the faith of others, convincing all who could by any means be convinced that He is the Saviour of the world. His absence when Lazarus died thus became a testimony to His divine power and identity as the Son of God.
The delay was deliberate and did not show lack of love, care, concern or interest for Lazarus and his stricken family. Though He saw all that happened at Bethany, He loved them no less, felt every pang of the sisters and of Lazarus wrestling with death, suffered every sorrow they endured, and upheld the bereaved sisters by His grace. His tarrying did not mean He loved them less.
Had He been present in the sickroom Lazarus would not have died, for in His immediate presence disease was always rebuked and He could not witness suffering without bringing relief nor witness suffering, disease or death without combatting Satan. Satan has no power and death cannot strike in the presence of the Life-giver. He stayed away on purpose to let Lazarus pass under death's dominion and be laid in the grave and to let the enemy exercise his power in order to drive him back as a conquered foe.
The training of the disciples, who were to be His representatives through whom the Father's blessing might reach all, required a greater miracle than healing sickness. Had He healed Lazarus from illness, the miracle that most positively proves His divine character could not have been done.
The delay severely tried the faith of Mary and Martha as they looked on their brother's dead face, but through that struggle their faith would shine forth with far greater power. The victory to be gained by His gladness at being absent was for the sisters, for Lazarus, for Christ Himself, and for the disciples.
Some of the disciples were already questioning whether they had been deceived and whether He was really the Christ since He had not saved Lazarus whom He loved, and He meant to work a crowning miracle that would convince all who could by any means be convinced that He is the Saviour of the world.
The delay also had a purpose of mercy toward those who had not received Him, the stubborn unbelieving people and poor wandering sheep of Israel whose impenitence broke His heart and whom He was loath to give up. By the raising of Lazarus He gave them one more, last and crowning evidence that He is indeed the resurrection and the life, the Restorer who alone can bring life and immortality to light, an evidence the priests and the learned Jew could not misinterpret or dispute, which set God's seal on His work and His claim to divinity and served as the final test given to the Jewish nation. Lazarus was raised to bear witness to Christ's divine power and identity, and his living testimony called the people to consider what they would gain by putting Jesus to death.
Raising Lazarus meant Jesus must pay the ransom for that life with His own humiliation and death on the cross of Calvary, tasting death for every man. His weeping at the grave was grief at the thought that He could not save everyone whom Satan had laid low in death, though He gave Himself a ransom for all who would return to loyalty to God.
Lazarus was already in the tomb when Jesus arrived, and raising him became Christ's crowning miracle, leading many to believe and glorify God, though those who had repeatedly rejected light remained hardened in unbelief.
To all reaching for God's guiding hand, the moment of greatest discouragement is when divine help is nearest, and God knows how to deliver the godly out of every temptation and trial with firmer faith and richer experience, so they will look back with thankfulness on the darkest part of their way.
Power and Witness
Christ called Lazarus out of the tomb by His word alone, though he had been dead four days and his body had seen corruption, accomplishing what human power could not and filling his sisters with great joy. This act showed His power over death and demonstrated His character as Saviour and Lifegiver. It gave convincing proof of His divinity that revealed the Father through Him, evidence the disciples could trust to strengthen their faith in Christ and in His connection with the Father.
The raising was the crowning miracle of His life and ministry, which had a powerful effect on the people and drew a large, enthusiastic multitude to where He was staying. Lazarus was raised to bear living witness to His divine power and identity, and his living testimony called the people to consider what they would gain by putting Jesus to death, as the final test given to the Jewish nation. It served as powerful evidence of His Messiahship that the learned Jew could not dispute. Lazarus himself had no experience of the time he was dead, because the dead know nothing.
He was restored to life but was not given immortality; unlike those raised with Christ at His resurrection, he remained subject to death and decay. The account shows sympathy for those grieving and power to restore a loved one to life, for He wept at Lazarus's grave and gave Mary and Martha their brother back, presenting Him as compassionate toward bereaved mothers and ready to help those who trust Him. His work of raising the dead is part of the fulfillment of His mission alongside His ordinary labor and His death for humanity.
Jesus spoke these words after His disciples mistook His saying that Lazarus slept for natural rest, so He told them plainly that Lazarus was dead and, after waiting two days, resolved to return to Judea to awake him and called them to go with Him. He declared Himself glad for their sake that He had not been present when Lazarus died, because the death and the raising that followed would give them clear, undoubted proof of His divine character, power over death, and identity as Saviour and Son of God, to unite them to Him in unbreakable faith. The delay was deliberate and showed no lack of love for Lazarus and his sisters, for He saw all that happened at Bethany, loved them no less, felt every pang they endured, and upheld the bereaved by His grace. Had He been present in the sickroom Lazarus would not have died, since disease is always rebuked and death cannot strike in the presence of the Life-giver, but He stayed away on purpose to let Lazarus pass under death's dominion and be laid in the grave in order to drive back the enemy as a conquered foe. He then called Lazarus, dead four days and already corrupt, out of the tomb by His word alone, performing His crowning miracle that proved His divinity and Messiahship, strengthened the disciples' faith in Him and His connection with the Father, and gave stubborn unbelievers one last crowning evidence that He is the resurrection and the life.
Words and Setting
The saying was spoken plainly after the disciples mistook the statement that Lazarus slept for natural rest that brings recovery, when death was meant. After waiting two days Jesus resolved to go back to Judea to awake Lazarus, and He called the disciples to go with Him to Lazarus. His gladness at not having been in Bethany was for their sake, so that the death that had taken place in His absence would lead them to believe. The verse belongs to the account of Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus deeply loved together with the Bethany family, and for whom He performed His greatest miracle.
Bethany was where Jesus often found rest at the house of Lazarus. The Saviour had no home of His own and was dependent on the hospitality of friends and disciples, and when weary and thirsting for human fellowship He gladly escaped to this peaceful household away from the suspicion and jealousy of the angry Pharisees. There He found sincere welcome and pure, holy friendship, and could speak with simplicity and perfect freedom, knowing His words would be understood and treasured. He appreciated a quiet home and interested listeners and longed for human tenderness, courtesy, and affection, and those who received the heavenly instruction He was ready to impart were greatly blessed. While the multitudes following through the open fields were slow of hearing, in the home at Bethany Christ found rest from the weary conflict of public life and opened to an appreciative audience the volume of Providence, unfolding in private what He did not tell to the mixed multitude, so He needed not to speak to His friends in parables.
Jesus had withdrawn to a temporary refuge after being rejected and threatened by His own people, and even amid that persecution and rejection He used His absence from Lazarus for the disciples' benefit so they could believe. He delayed His journey to Bethany while Lazarus was sick and then died, though He knew of the illness. Martha and Mary expected Him to come and heal their brother, yet they endured his death and grieved while waiting for Jesus.
Purpose in Delay
Jesus was glad for the disciples' sake that He had not been present before Lazarus died, because the death and the raising that would follow would lead them to believe by giving clear, undoubted proof of His divine character, His power over death, and His identity as Saviour and Son of God, uniting them to Him in a faith that could not be broken and strengthening their belief beyond doubt. The raising would reveal His divine power and serve not only the disciples' faith but the faith of others, convincing all who could by any means be convinced that He is the Saviour of the world. His absence when Lazarus died thus became a testimony to His divine power and identity as the Son of God.
The delay was deliberate and did not show lack of love, care, concern or interest for Lazarus and his stricken family. Though He saw all that happened at Bethany, He loved them no less, felt every pang of the sisters and of Lazarus wrestling with death, suffered every sorrow they endured, and upheld the bereaved sisters by His grace. His tarrying did not mean He loved them less.
Had He been present in the sickroom Lazarus would not have died, for in His immediate presence disease was always rebuked and He could not witness suffering without bringing relief nor witness suffering, disease or death without combatting Satan. Satan has no power and death cannot strike in the presence of the Life-giver. He stayed away on purpose to let Lazarus pass under death's dominion and be laid in the grave and to let the enemy exercise his power in order to drive him back as a conquered foe.
The training of the disciples, who were to be His representatives through whom the Father's blessing might reach all, required a greater miracle than healing sickness. Had He healed Lazarus from illness, the miracle that most positively proves His divine character could not have been done.
The delay severely tried the faith of Mary and Martha as they looked on their brother's dead face, but through that struggle their faith would shine forth with far greater power. The victory to be gained by His gladness at being absent was for the sisters, for Lazarus, for Christ Himself, and for the disciples.
Some of the disciples were already questioning whether they had been deceived and whether He was really the Christ since He had not saved Lazarus whom He loved, and He meant to work a crowning miracle that would convince all who could by any means be convinced that He is the Saviour of the world.
The delay also had a purpose of mercy toward those who had not received Him, the stubborn unbelieving people and poor wandering sheep of Israel whose impenitence broke His heart and whom He was loath to give up. By the raising of Lazarus He gave them one more, last and crowning evidence that He is indeed the resurrection and the life, the Restorer who alone can bring life and immortality to light, an evidence the priests and the learned Jew could not misinterpret or dispute, which set God's seal on His work and His claim to divinity and served as the final test given to the Jewish nation. Lazarus was raised to bear witness to Christ's divine power and identity, and his living testimony called the people to consider what they would gain by putting Jesus to death.
Raising Lazarus meant Jesus must pay the ransom for that life with His own humiliation and death on the cross of Calvary, tasting death for every man. His weeping at the grave was grief at the thought that He could not save everyone whom Satan had laid low in death, though He gave Himself a ransom for all who would return to loyalty to God.
Lazarus was already in the tomb when Jesus arrived, and raising him became Christ's crowning miracle, leading many to believe and glorify God, though those who had repeatedly rejected light remained hardened in unbelief.
To all reaching for God's guiding hand, the moment of greatest discouragement is when divine help is nearest, and God knows how to deliver the godly out of every temptation and trial with firmer faith and richer experience, so they will look back with thankfulness on the darkest part of their way.
Power and Witness
Christ called Lazarus out of the tomb by His word alone, though he had been dead four days and his body had seen corruption, accomplishing what human power could not and filling his sisters with great joy. This act showed His power over death and demonstrated His character as Saviour and Lifegiver. It gave convincing proof of His divinity that revealed the Father through Him, evidence the disciples could trust to strengthen their faith in Christ and in His connection with the Father.
The raising was the crowning miracle of His life and ministry, which had a powerful effect on the people and drew a large, enthusiastic multitude to where He was staying. Lazarus was raised to bear living witness to His divine power and identity, and his living testimony called the people to consider what they would gain by putting Jesus to death, as the final test given to the Jewish nation. It served as powerful evidence of His Messiahship that the learned Jew could not dispute. Lazarus himself had no experience of the time he was dead, because the dead know nothing.
He was restored to life but was not given immortality; unlike those raised with Christ at His resurrection, he remained subject to death and decay. The account shows sympathy for those grieving and power to restore a loved one to life, for He wept at Lazarus's grave and gave Mary and Martha their brother back, presenting Him as compassionate toward bereaved mothers and ready to help those who trust Him. His work of raising the dead is part of the fulfillment of His mission alongside His ordinary labor and His death for humanity.