John 11:36

John 11:36 says, Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!  The Jews said to behold how Jesus loved Lazarus.  When we look at anyone in the world today, we can behold how Jesus loves them.  They did not realize it, but Jesus loved the ones making the statement just as much as He loved Lazarus. The same was true of the Jews who were trying to kill Him.  If Jesus loved one person more than another, He would not be a fair and impartial God. Verse thirty-seven adds, 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?  They again tried to discredit Jesus.  They asked couldn't Jesus, Who had caused the blind man to see have not prevented Lazarus from dying.  They seemed to acknowledge that Jesus had given sight to a blind man but didn't acknowledge His power over death. We may at times feel that God is able to do great miracles and yet fail to fully trust Him with our particular situation.  They saw Jesus's power to be limited at best, or maybe even a lie.  We could interpret their statement as did he really restore the man's sight.  If Jesus could not save one He loved, why would He heal a stranger seemed to be their thought.  Again, we need to realize that there are no strangers to God. Too often people miss the love of God and the salvation of Christ because they want to limit the power of God. When someone we are praying for dies while someone that others are praying for lives, we want to question God.  We may even want to discredit His power or His impartiality.  Seldom do we approach it from the other point of view.  If someone we are praying for lives, and someone others are praying for dies, how often do we ask why God favored us?  We need to realize that our relationship to God is not dependent on the things of this world, good or bad, but on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  I wonder how often our lack of faith causes Him to groan in the Spirit. 

John 11:33

John 11:33 says, When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.  When Jesus saw Mary and the Jews weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  Jesus's groaning in the spirit may have been caused by His seeing their weeping instead of believing in Him.  By their attitude and actions, they had already given up on Jesus.  Even though He was there, He was too late in their view.  When we give up on Jesus, we too cause Him to groan in the spirit.  If we look at events and say it is hopeless, that God failed us, we can be sure that He groans.  Jesus knew He would defeat death and give everlasting life, but Mary and the Jews still seemed to be more concerned with the physical than the spiritual aspect of life.  This would be enough to trouble Jesus.  Our lack of faith in Him when things don't go the way we want today is sure to be troubling.  We have the assurance that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is with us always, yet we still ask why God wasn't there for us.  Verse thirty-four adds, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.  Jesus asked them where they had laid the body, and they said for Him to come and see.  Jesus really didn't have to see where Lazarus was buried to resurrect him.  He does not have to see where people are physically buried today to resurrect them.  Verse thirty-five adds, Jesus wept. The shortest verse in the Bible, in most translations says Jesus wept.  He was human and was a man of many sorrows, but I don't think He was weeping for Lazarus.  He knew what was about to occur with Lazarus, so there would be no need for tears.  I believe He wept for the fact that His friends were weeping without waiting to see what He would do.  How often today do we shed tears of doubt without waiting for God to act?  Does our lack of faith at times cause Jesus to weep over us?

John 11:28

John 11:28 says, 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.  It says she went to Mary secretly and told her the Master was come and was calling for her.  We don't need to go in secret, but we need to into the lost world with that message the message that the Master has come and calls for them.   Verse twenty-nine adds, As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.  Mary, when she heard that Jesus was come, arose quickly and came to Him.  When we witness, that should be the desired outcome, that whoever we are witnessing to will arise and come to Jesus quickly.    Verse thirty continues, Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The rest of the people did not know that Jesus was there.  Verse thirty-one states, 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. When Mary left to go to Jesus, the Jews there followed her. They thought she was going to the grave. Sometimes, as Christians, people around us may follow us for the wrong reason, but if they end up in the presence of Christ, then it is a good thing. They had gone to mourn for him, but they were in for a miracle. Verse thirty-two adds, 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. When Mary got to Jesus she fell at His feet and said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."  She was once again at the feet of Jesus, but this time more in accusation than adoration.  She didn't care who saw her or how it looked to others. Even in her faith, she fell short of believing in the complete power of Jesus.  If we find ourselves in distress today, we need to fall at the feet of Jesus and put our trust in Him.  No matter how bleak the situation may be, there should always be hope and peace when we come to Him.  We also need to put our coming to Christ above everything else.  Both Martha and Mary, in their own way, went to meet Jesus.  We, as His followers, do not have to hunt the Holy Spirit, but we do need to seek His guidance and comfort in all that we do, and we need to let the world know that we look to Him for strength. 

John 11:25

John 11:25 says, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  Jesus said to Martha that He was the resurrection, and the life: and that anyone who believed on Him, even though he were dead, would yet live.  Though the soul will never die, if we want to live with Jesus forever instead of being in the torment of hell, we must put our faith in Him. Verse twenty-six adds, And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?  Jesus asked Martha if she believed this.  Notice that once again Jesus did not say that He was a way but the way to the resurrection and the life.  Resurrection and life are through Him alone.  Also, He did not say that one day He would be the resurrection and the life.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, everlasting life with Him begins.  We, as His follower, are not promised, as the saying goes, pie in the sky by and by.  We have the gift of everlasting life with God as soon as we accept Christ as our Savior.  We, like Martha, sometimes try to focus on the physical, instead of the everlasting aspects of life.  If we truly believe that when we leave this world that death has no victory over us, we will begin to focus on the important things of God. Then, the key to Jesus' statement to Martha, and to all since, is the question, "Believest thou this?"  Until we believe that no matter what happens in this world that we can trust God to see us through, we do not believe as we should. Our profession of faith, though made in the world to those around us, must first be directed to Christ. Verse twenty-seven continues, She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which cometh into the world.  Our profession of faith, though made in the world to those around us, must first be directed to Christ. We should tell others, but first we should say to Jesus, "Yea, Lord.  I believe you are the Savior of the world, and my Savior personally. 

John 11:18

John 11:18 says, Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:  We find that many of the Jews had gathered to comfort Mary and Martha.  Even though Mary and Martha were followers of Jesus, the Jews came to comfort them.  The Jews may have been attempting to kill Jesus, but they still showed respect for these two women who were His followers. Today, people may show respect for Jesus followers, even when they have no respect for or belief in Him.  Verse nineteen adds. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then, they heard that Jesus was almost there.  Friends may comfort us in times of trouble and distress, but the real comfort comes through the Holy Spirit being with us.  Verse twenty continues, Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. When Martha heard Jesus was close, she left everyone else and went to Him.  Even if we have the comfort of friends with us, we should always leave everything and look to Christ first through the Holy Spirit.  Even though she thought He was too late, Martha in her grief still came to Jesus.  When we are grieving, the best place to be is in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-one states, Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.  Martha told Jesus that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died.  She admonishes Jesus for not being there sooner.  Her faith was weakened, but she still came to Him.  If our faith grows weak and we think God has not answered our prayers in time, then we need to go to Him.  He will give us strength.  Verse twenty-two adds, But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.  Martha tells Jesus that she knows that anything He asks of God, God will give to Him.  Though weakened by the events, her faith was not totally dead.  We need a faith today that is not controlled by events but by an unshakable faith in God.  This is the faith that moves mountains.  Verse twenty-three continues, Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.  Jesus told Martha her brother would rise.  This is our promise from God today if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-four concludes, Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.  She replied that she knew he would rise again in the resurrection at the last day.  She misinterpreted what Jesus was saying, and often today we can do the same if we aren't careful.  We never need to get so caught up in what is one day going to happen in our relationship to Christ that we lose sight of what He is telling us today.  Lazarus was not just going to live some day in the resurrection, but he was going to live again in this world.  We need to be living life now, and not waiting for someday.

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.