John 11:16

John 11:16 says, Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.  Thomas, called Didymus, said to the other disciples that they should go and see Lazarus. Some interpret this as meaning die with Lazarus if he were dead, but there would have been no reason for them to die.  Others, including me, see Thomas as saying that even if Jesus were to die returning to Judea, that they should accompany Him and die with Him if necessary.  That is the faith that we need today.  We must be willing to follow Jesus anywhere He leads us, even if it looks dangerous. Until we are willing to do as Thomas told the disciples to do, and that is to ollow Christ no matter what, we can never expect to see the miracle.  Too often, we are like many who became Jesus's followers then- we want to see a miracle before we follow Him.  When we turn away every time we encounter trouble or opposition in our walk with Christ, we display a lack of faith in Him.  Too often, we are like the disciples, questioning if we should go where we know there is possible danger.  Verse seventeen adds, Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. When Jesus came, Lazarus had been in the grave four days.  To everyone around, including the disciples, it looked like a trip for nothing.  When we look around as we are doing God's work, at times the situation may look hopeless, but if we are certain of what He is calling us to do, then nothing is ever hopeless.  We may often fail to see a great work from God because we are simply going without faith in the reason we are going.  Though they were going with Jesus, they were not going expecting a miracle.  If we pray for a miracle today, we need to ask that God's will be done and believe and accept the outcome. Verse eighteen adds, Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:  Since Bethany was not far from Jerusalem, this may be why people were hearing about Lazarus.