When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
When He heard that Lazarus was sick He remained two days still in the same place where He was instead of going at once to Bethany. Martha and Mary had sent only a simple confiding word about the one He loved being sick, trusting Him to do what was best while fully expecting He would come at once and heal their brother. His tarrying was guided by divine wisdom and not by lack of love, for He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus and felt every pang of sorrow they endured. He stayed away because disease is rebuked in His immediate presence, so that had He been in the sickroom Lazarus would not have died, but He permitted him to pass under the dominion of death that He might drive back the enemy as a conquered foe. He waited on purpose for Lazarus to die and be laid in the tomb, to make the raising His crowning miracle and undoubted proof that He is the Saviour of the world, and to unite His disciples to Himself in a faith that could not be broken.
Setting of the Delay
When He heard that Lazarus was sick He remained two days still in the same place where He was instead of going at once to Bethany. Martha and Mary sent only a confiding, simple word about the one He loved being sick, making no urgent demand for His immediate presence, trusting Him to do what was best for them. They did so because they believed He could heal all disease and sympathize with them, and they fully expected He would come at once and heal their brother and be with them as soon as He could reach Bethany. He knew Lazarus was sick before the messenger reached Him and could have stopped the power of death from where He was, yet He stayed where He was and let the sickness grow worse until death triumphed. The messenger returned without Him, bringing only His word that the sickness was not unto death, to which they clung in hope that Lazarus would live, while they waited anxiously, praying and watching for Him to come while the spark of life remained.
They watched their brother die, prepared Him for burial with heavy hearts while anxiously looking for Christ and longing to see Him and hear His words of comfort, laid Him in the grave, and then endured two long sorrowful days before Jesus came. Only after the two days did He say to go again into Judea to awake Lazarus out of sleep. When the disciples took sleep to mean rest that would bring recovery, He told them plainly that Lazarus was dead and that He was glad for their sakes He was not there so they might believe.
Lazarus of Bethany was a steadfast disciple whose faith in Christ was strong and whose love for Him was deep. He was greatly beloved by Jesus, who had a particularly tender bond with the family, and the greatest of Christ's miracles was performed for Lazarus. At Bethany Jesus had often found rest at the house of Lazarus, with welcome and sincere friendship, where He could speak freely to listeners who treasured His words.
While He delayed He was remaining with His few faithful followers in temporary asylum in a strange city after a life of persecution and insult. He had been driven from Bethlehem by a jealous king, rejected by His own people at Nazareth, condemned to death without cause at Jerusalem, and was now driven from the people He had labored to save. He was one ever touched by human woe who healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, fed the hungry and comforted the sorrowful. He walked upon the heaving waves and by a word silenced their roaring, cast out devils that in departing acknowledged Him to be the Son of God, broke the slumbers of the dead, and held thousands entranced by words of wisdom, yet was unable to reach hearts blinded by prejudice and hatred that resolutely rejected the light.
Purpose of the Delay
The two days' remaining was guided by divine wisdom and God's plan, not by lack of love or interest in the stricken family. He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, felt every pang of sorrow they endured, and loved them no less because He tarried. Their message received no immediate response though they trusted Him to do what was best, because it was God's plan for Lazarus to die and be laid in the tomb before He arrived.
He stayed away because He is health and strength in Himself and disease is always rebuked in His immediate presence. He could not witness suffering without bringing relief nor witness disease or death without combating Satan, so had He been in the sick-room Lazarus would not have died, for Satan would have had no power over him and death could not have struck in the presence of the Life-giver. He therefore permitted Lazarus to pass under the dominion of death and the sisters to see their brother laid in the grave, suffering the enemy to exercise his power so He might drive him back as a conquered foe.
He waited on purpose so Lazarus would die, turning the sorrow of death into an occasion for undoubted proof of His divine power. The raising was to be His crowning miracle to convince all who could by any means be convinced that He is the Saviour of the world, the last and crowning evidence to the Jews that He is the Son of God, revealing the Father through His works. That raising led many to believe in Jesus and glorify God while those who had repeatedly rejected light were hardened in unbelief.
He meant by it to unite His disciples to Himself in a faith that could not be broken, to strengthen their faith and answer doubts already rising among them whether He was really the Christ if He let one He loved die unsaved. He knew the sisters' faith in their Redeemer would be severely tried as they looked on the dead face of their brother, but He knew the struggle would make their faith shine forth with greater power. He tarried because He knew a victory was to be gained for the sisters, for Lazarus, for Himself, and for His disciples.
Every such rescue brought Him deeper humiliation, for He must taste death for every man and pay for that life with His own ransom on the cross of Calvary.
Outcome and Wider Meaning
The two days' waiting ended in a raising that led many to believe in Jesus and glorify God, while those who had repeatedly rejected light were hardened in unbelief and intensified their opposition to Him. That raising was Christ's crowning miracle and the final test given to the Jewish nation. Lazarus was raised to testify to Christ, and his living presence bore witness to Christ's divine power and declared Him the Son of God. To Nicodemus the raising stood as undeniable evidence of Jesus' Messiahship.
He had no experience of the world of the dead to recount, because the dead know nothing. He had lain dead four days, long enough for his body to have seen corruption. Unlike the saints raised at Christ's own resurrection to everlasting life, he was not given immortality but returned to mortal life and remained subject to death and decay. His resurrection from the dead showed Christ's divinity and revealed the Father through Christ's works.
The calling of Lazarus from the tomb shows Christ's power to raise the dead and points to the resurrection at His return, when the dead in Christ will rise to immortal life and be with the Lord. At the grave Jesus wept tears of sympathy and gave Mary and Martha back their buried brother. This proves He knows the burdens of every mother's heart and is touched by the woe of the bereaved mother. His everlasting arms support the God-fearing, faithful mother, He is woman's best friend today, and He is ready to aid her in need if she will trust in Him.
By divine power He healed the sick and raised the dead, bringing a dead brother back to his sisters' great joy and a dead son back to his mother, doing what human effort could not do. That work of raising the dead, like His ordinary labor and His death on the cross, was part of His mission.
When He heard that Lazarus was sick He remained two days still in the same place where He was instead of going at once to Bethany. Martha and Mary had sent only a simple confiding word about the one He loved being sick, trusting Him to do what was best while fully expecting He would come at once and heal their brother. His tarrying was guided by divine wisdom and not by lack of love, for He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus and felt every pang of sorrow they endured. He stayed away because disease is rebuked in His immediate presence, so that had He been in the sickroom Lazarus would not have died, but He permitted him to pass under the dominion of death that He might drive back the enemy as a conquered foe. He waited on purpose for Lazarus to die and be laid in the tomb, to make the raising His crowning miracle and undoubted proof that He is the Saviour of the world, and to unite His disciples to Himself in a faith that could not be broken.
Setting of the Delay
When He heard that Lazarus was sick He remained two days still in the same place where He was instead of going at once to Bethany. Martha and Mary sent only a confiding, simple word about the one He loved being sick, making no urgent demand for His immediate presence, trusting Him to do what was best for them. They did so because they believed He could heal all disease and sympathize with them, and they fully expected He would come at once and heal their brother and be with them as soon as He could reach Bethany. He knew Lazarus was sick before the messenger reached Him and could have stopped the power of death from where He was, yet He stayed where He was and let the sickness grow worse until death triumphed. The messenger returned without Him, bringing only His word that the sickness was not unto death, to which they clung in hope that Lazarus would live, while they waited anxiously, praying and watching for Him to come while the spark of life remained.
They watched their brother die, prepared Him for burial with heavy hearts while anxiously looking for Christ and longing to see Him and hear His words of comfort, laid Him in the grave, and then endured two long sorrowful days before Jesus came. Only after the two days did He say to go again into Judea to awake Lazarus out of sleep. When the disciples took sleep to mean rest that would bring recovery, He told them plainly that Lazarus was dead and that He was glad for their sakes He was not there so they might believe.
Lazarus of Bethany was a steadfast disciple whose faith in Christ was strong and whose love for Him was deep. He was greatly beloved by Jesus, who had a particularly tender bond with the family, and the greatest of Christ's miracles was performed for Lazarus. At Bethany Jesus had often found rest at the house of Lazarus, with welcome and sincere friendship, where He could speak freely to listeners who treasured His words.
While He delayed He was remaining with His few faithful followers in temporary asylum in a strange city after a life of persecution and insult. He had been driven from Bethlehem by a jealous king, rejected by His own people at Nazareth, condemned to death without cause at Jerusalem, and was now driven from the people He had labored to save. He was one ever touched by human woe who healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, fed the hungry and comforted the sorrowful. He walked upon the heaving waves and by a word silenced their roaring, cast out devils that in departing acknowledged Him to be the Son of God, broke the slumbers of the dead, and held thousands entranced by words of wisdom, yet was unable to reach hearts blinded by prejudice and hatred that resolutely rejected the light.
Purpose of the Delay
The two days' remaining was guided by divine wisdom and God's plan, not by lack of love or interest in the stricken family. He loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, felt every pang of sorrow they endured, and loved them no less because He tarried. Their message received no immediate response though they trusted Him to do what was best, because it was God's plan for Lazarus to die and be laid in the tomb before He arrived.
He stayed away because He is health and strength in Himself and disease is always rebuked in His immediate presence. He could not witness suffering without bringing relief nor witness disease or death without combating Satan, so had He been in the sick-room Lazarus would not have died, for Satan would have had no power over him and death could not have struck in the presence of the Life-giver. He therefore permitted Lazarus to pass under the dominion of death and the sisters to see their brother laid in the grave, suffering the enemy to exercise his power so He might drive him back as a conquered foe.
He waited on purpose so Lazarus would die, turning the sorrow of death into an occasion for undoubted proof of His divine power. The raising was to be His crowning miracle to convince all who could by any means be convinced that He is the Saviour of the world, the last and crowning evidence to the Jews that He is the Son of God, revealing the Father through His works. That raising led many to believe in Jesus and glorify God while those who had repeatedly rejected light were hardened in unbelief.
He meant by it to unite His disciples to Himself in a faith that could not be broken, to strengthen their faith and answer doubts already rising among them whether He was really the Christ if He let one He loved die unsaved. He knew the sisters' faith in their Redeemer would be severely tried as they looked on the dead face of their brother, but He knew the struggle would make their faith shine forth with greater power. He tarried because He knew a victory was to be gained for the sisters, for Lazarus, for Himself, and for His disciples.
Every such rescue brought Him deeper humiliation, for He must taste death for every man and pay for that life with His own ransom on the cross of Calvary.
Outcome and Wider Meaning
The two days' waiting ended in a raising that led many to believe in Jesus and glorify God, while those who had repeatedly rejected light were hardened in unbelief and intensified their opposition to Him. That raising was Christ's crowning miracle and the final test given to the Jewish nation. Lazarus was raised to testify to Christ, and his living presence bore witness to Christ's divine power and declared Him the Son of God. To Nicodemus the raising stood as undeniable evidence of Jesus' Messiahship.
He had no experience of the world of the dead to recount, because the dead know nothing. He had lain dead four days, long enough for his body to have seen corruption. Unlike the saints raised at Christ's own resurrection to everlasting life, he was not given immortality but returned to mortal life and remained subject to death and decay. His resurrection from the dead showed Christ's divinity and revealed the Father through Christ's works.
The calling of Lazarus from the tomb shows Christ's power to raise the dead and points to the resurrection at His return, when the dead in Christ will rise to immortal life and be with the Lord. At the grave Jesus wept tears of sympathy and gave Mary and Martha back their buried brother. This proves He knows the burdens of every mother's heart and is touched by the woe of the bereaved mother. His everlasting arms support the God-fearing, faithful mother, He is woman's best friend today, and He is ready to aid her in need if she will trust in Him.
By divine power He healed the sick and raised the dead, bringing a dead brother back to his sisters' great joy and a dead son back to his mother, doing what human effort could not do. That work of raising the dead, like His ordinary labor and His death on the cross, was part of His mission.