John 11:54

John 11:54 says, 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.  Jesus at that time was not walking openly among the Jews. He had been walking freely, teaching the people He encountered, and performing miracles.  At this time, He withdrew. I do not believe that He withdrew because He was afraid of the Jews.  He had accomplished His purpose, the resurrection of Lazarus, and the result was a death sentence from the religious leaders.  Jesus withdrew into a country near the wilderness with His disciples. They went to a city called Ephraim. Sometimes, when faced with great opposition, we may need to gather with fellow believers to renew our strength.  We need to remember that Jesus was a man, subject to getting tired just as we are. Verse fifty-five adds, And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves. We are told that the Passover was near, and many Jews went to Jerusalem to purify themselves. They were going through the rituals, but they had rejected the Messiah.  We need to pray that we will never be observing the rituals of worship but missing the relationship with Christ.  Verse fifty-six continues, 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? They sought Jesus at the Passover and questioned if He would come. When we gather in His name, we need never question whether He will be there.  They were questioning Jesus's character again.  If He did not come to observe the Passover, He could be said to once again be ignoring religious teachings or He was afraid for His life. We can rest assured that Christ never ignored the will of God nor acted in fear, and neither should we. Verse fifty-seven concludes, 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.  The chief priests and Pharisees had given a commandment that any who saw Jesus should tell them so that they could take Him.  They were determined to kill Jesus, and they didn't care how many people they involved in their sin.  We should know that those who oppose God today do not care how many people they take down with them. 

John 11:48

John 11:48 says, 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. One of the real reasons the chief priests and Pharisees were concerned about Jesus was a fear of Rome.  Though they continued to persecute Him for religious reasons, they were more concerned with their position in the world.  They said if they left Him alone, that He would draw all men to Him, and the Romans would come and take away both their place and their nation.  They still thought Jesus was going to set up an earthly kingdom.  As His followers today, are we afraid that we will have to give up our place if we follow Him too closely?  Do we still view following Jesus to be for worldly power?  Verse forty-nine adds, And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,  A man named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year asked them if they knew nothing at all.  Verse fifty continues, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.   He was willing to kill a fellow Jew Who was doing great miracles for God in order to preserve his own power.  He also implied that he knew better how to deal with the situation than the other chief priests and Pharisees.  Today, if we begin to believe that it is okay or even better that innocent people die to protect our position in the world, we need to examine our motives.  We are to be a light to all people, even those who hate us.  Verse fifty-one states, And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation.  Even though he didn't realize it, Caiaphas stated what Jesus would do.  Jesus would die that all might live.  Verse fifty-two adds, And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.  He would die not only for the Jews, but for all people everywhere.  When we begin to regionalize God, to feel that He loves us more than any other people and that we should be more materially blessed than others, we miss the full truth of the gospel.  The chief priests and Pharisees thought Jesus was planning to establish an earthly kingdom and take away their power and position.  We today at times seem to feel that He came to give us power and position in the world, but He came as a Servant and expects us to be the same. Verse fifty-three adds, Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. From that day forward, they took council together to put Him to death. The world today takes council together to put God to death, but we can rest assured that it will never happen. 

 

John 11:45

John 11:45 says, Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. Many of the Jews who came with Mary, when they saw Lazarus resurrected, believed in Jesus.  We would think that seeing a man resurrected from the dead by Jesus simply telling him to come forth would cause all those with her to believe.  We know though, that even after Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection there are still many, many people today who do not believe.  Though we may not have seen this happen physically, by faith we can know of the certainty, and God will even give us the faith.  Verse forty-six, adds, But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. We see that some did not believe, and they went to tell the Pharisees what things Jesus had done.  They had seen what Jesus did but went to the Pharisees to see how they would explain it.  They were not looking to believe, but to find someone to give them an explanation of what they had seen.  Anytime we have to ask someone else what God is doing when we have seen it with our own eyes, we are not looking to believe.  Verse forty-seven continues, Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. We find that the chief priests and Pharisees had a problem.  They asked, what were they to do because Jesus had done many miracles.  They still saw Him as just a man, but they could not deny the miracles He was doing.  That is the problem the world still has today.  How can they discount God, and His plan for salvation, when they see the miracle of the universe.  A person has to have great faith in nothingness and chaos to discount God. A person also has to have great faith in their own goodness to feel that they can reach God on their own.  The chief priests and Pharisees could not explain Jesus away, nor has anyone been able to since. 

John 11:38

John 11:38 says, Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.  Jesus was still groaning in the spirit, I believe over their disbelief, when He came to the grave.  Even if God is disappointed in our lack of complete faith, He is still at work in our life.  Verse thirty-nine adds, 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.  When Jesus got to the grave, which was a cave, , He asked for the stone to be moved away.  In our life, if there is something standing between God and our dead faith, we need to remove it.  Martha said to Jesus that by this time he would stink since he had been dead for four days. She still called Jesus Lord but didn't think He could do anything for Lazarus. Even if our faith in God's ability to handle a situation is dead, if we are His followers, He will still be at work for us.  I believe sometimes our faith may stink, and we may grieve the Spirit, but if we simply listen to God, we will see great things happen.  Verse forty continues, Jesús saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?  Jesus asked Martha if He had not told her that if she would believe she would see the glory of God.   God says the same to us today.  Look to God in faith, and not to the world in doubt.  As long as we are capable of doing everything for ourselves, we don't really have to live by faith.  It is only when we move into a situation beyond our control relying totally on God that we will truly see the glory of God.  Verse forty-one says, 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. They moved the stone and Jesus said, "Father, I thank Thee that Thou hadst heard Me.  Jesus first thanked the Heavenly Father for hearing Him, as we should thank Him today for hearing our prayers.  Verse forty-two adds, 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.  Jesus then said He knew the Heavenly Father always heard Him and that He said this for the benefit of the people were standing there. We need to make sure that when God does something through us that those around us know that He is the One Who did it.  We don't have to pray out loud for God to hear us, but it is good for others to know Who is listening to our prayers. Verse forty-three continues, And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. Jesus said in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth."  He called only Lazarus, and when He is dealing with us today, He will call us forth by name, whether it is to new life in Christ or to renewed faith in Him.  Verse forty-four concludes, And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Lazarus came forth bound in the grave clothes, and Jesus told them loose him, and let him go.  When we come to Christ, bound by sin, He says, "Loose him, and let him go.” 

                                                                                

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.