470. Walking in the Word, Lazarus' Death

Have you ever questioned God's response? Why is His silence sometimes deafening? Are there times God just decides to ignore us? Jesus' actions and response leading up to His greatest miracle, Lazarus' resurrection, must have confused His followers. Let's study John 11:1-16 together and see what we can learn about what it means to truly walk in faith.   ***   Welcome to Walking in the Word, the biblical teaching arm of the Women World Leaders' podcast. My name is Julie Jenkins, and it is my honor to walk with you as we open God's Word and ask Him to teach us what He wants us to know. Today, we are continuing our walk through the gospels —I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am. God's Word is a treasure trove that never stops producing wisdom for our lives. I don't know what is happening in your day today, but God does, and when you give your attention to Him, He will speak to you. If you've been listening to our podcast for a while, you know that Women World Leaders is a ministry whose purpose is to empower you to walk in your God-given calling. We are an eclectic group of women from around the world who share a love for Jesus Christ. If you've ONLY been listening to the podcast up to this point, we would love you to join us on yet another level. On the 3rd Monday of each month, we gather together at 7 pm ET on Zoom for 90 minutes of connection and leadership growth; this is open to every woman, no matter where you are! And then, on the 4th Monday of each month at 7:30 pm ET, we gather, again on Zoom, for 30 minutes of prayer. We spend this time praying for each other and the ministry. Both of these options are easy ways for you to connect with women from around the world and find out more about the ministry—no strings attached! To receive the Zoom links and join us, simply visit our website, womenworldleaders.com, and fill out our contact form so we can email you our monthly newsletter and meeting reminders and information. Before we dive in, let's pray… Dear most holy God, we thank you for meeting us each where we are today. As we open your Word together, we ask you to enlighten us, teach us, and mold us. Father, cleanse our hearts and clear our minds so we can hear directly from you. Protect us in the coming minutes from any distractions that the world or the devil or our own flesh may try to use to derail our thoughts from you. We give you this time. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Today, we will be opening to the book of John as we study John, chapter 11, verses 1-16. This is the introduction to one of Jesus' most famous miracles—when He raises His dear friend Lazarus from the dead.   Jesus has been traveling with His disciples, teaching them and preparing them for what He knew was to come – His own death. As He continued to preach unashamedly, the danger He was in increased, a fact Jesus' disciples and friends were acutely aware of. Let's read from John 11, beginning in verse 1 from the New Living Translation… A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair.[a] Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, "Lord, your dear friend is very sick." If you've studied the Bible, you are likely well aware that Jesus loved and cared for the siblings Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. They lived in Bethany, about 2 miles from Jerusalem, which was Jesus' "danger zone" – the place where His life was clearly threatened. Because they had such a close relationship with Jesus, when Lazarus fell ill, the sisters sent a messenger to inform Jesus. They knew, however, the dangers Jesus could encounter should he enter the area, so many theologians suggest that Mary and Martha did not expect Jesus to come to Lazarus' side, but that instead, they had faith so great that they trusted Jesus could heal their brother from afar. That would've been a nice, clean story, right? How many times do we ask Jesus just to "fix" something? And then we sit waiting and wondering where He is? Jesus' answer seems to be what the sisters hoped for, but God's ways are not our ways. Verse 4 continues… 4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, "Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this." Sounds promising. But later, we find out that Jesus didn't heal Lazarus from afar, and, in fact, Lazarus DID die, making Jesus' words seem very confusing. But as we take that information apart, we uncover the truth in Jesus' words as he stated… Lazarus's sickness will not END in death. And Jesus foreshadows the WHY, stating that this all will happen… for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this." Imagine if we faced all our trials holding tightly to the foreknowledge that God will use EVERYTHING we go through for His glory – to shine the light on Jesus. God's vision is beyond ours. His ways are perfect. And He loves us so much. When we put all those things together, they all point to the fact that we can trust that God has a purpose and plan for everything that happens in our lives. Our God is organized, prepared, and intentional. Remember when He was feeding the 5000? Before He did, He organized everyone into groups and set forth a PLAN. Our God never operates haphazardly or on a whim. Everything He does and allows to occur is purposeful and meaningful. What that means is that even when we are in the fire of pain, illness, or persecution, we can trust God's plan and faithfully walk in obedience how and when He calls. Verse 5 continues, as if to underscore this point…  5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days. Jesus had a plan. He wasn't ignoring Mary and Martha's pleas for help, and He didn't have something better to do. He had a plan…although He LOVED Martha, Mary, and Lazarus…he stayed where he was for two days. Seemingly not responding. But purposefully waiting for the perfect timing. Verse 7…  7 Finally, he said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea." 8 But his disciples objected. "Rabbi," they said, "only a few days ago the people[b] in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?" 9 Jesus replied, "There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. 10 But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light."  This teaching is both practical and spiritual. Let's look at the practical side first. God has given us a rhythm of light and darkness, work and rest, that fits together like a puzzle. We ARE called to work – to do what we can do as the daylight allows. God has gifted each of us with special talents, interests, and aptitudes to fulfill the calling that He has given us. Using what He has given us is our responsibility. We are to work hard, serving God and others. We all depend on each other. I know NOTHING about farming. In order for me to eat, I need farmers to do their job. I have visited multiple medical doctors in the past weeks on behalf of myself and my loved ones. I NEED the expertise of doctors, nurses, and medical technicians. And although I work in ministry, spending my days empowering and teaching others, I also need and depend on others who hold me up. We ALL have a responsibility to WORK in the light. And yet, we also are responsible for resting in the dark. If we try to work in the darkness, we risk getting overtired and stumbling. We must rest and spend time in prayer and fellowship with our loved ones. That's the practical. And then the spiritual side of Jesus' statement is that when we walk WITH Jesus, we can trust HIM to light our path. Without Jesus, we will simply stumble along in the darkness. Jesus goes on to explain to the disciples that they will head off together, trusting the light, to fulfill a mission…verse 11… 11 Then he said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up." 12 The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!" 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 So he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I'm glad I wasn't there, for now you will really believe. Come, let's go see him." Have you ever endeavored to learn something you know nothing about? This can be mind-bending…and I'm guessing the disciples felt a bit out of their element at this point. I have taken classes that I've felt were so far over my head I would never get through. I've sat there with a pen in my hand, catching about every 10th word. When I DID understand something, I'd write it down. And then I'd keep listening, intently trying to find SOMETHING else to grab onto. When you are in a position like this, eventually, you begin grasping more and more as the pieces start coming together. And whereas, at the beginning, you didn't even know enough to ask questions, eventually questions begin forming in your mind. We read the Bible, even this story, already knowing that Jesus Himself died and rose from the dead, an understanding that Lazarus died and Jesus resurrected him. But the disciples—they were at the point where they were trying to understand every 10th word. Jesus said Lazarus was asleep, and they thought, Great! He can heal if he is sleeping soundly. But Jesus corrected them, plainly telling them, No, Lazarus is dead. First of all, I'm sure they wondered – how did Jesus know that Lazarus had died? And second of all…what could He possibly mean when He said He was GLAD He hadn't been there. And then Jesus says to the disciples, let's go see Lazarus. What? He just said he's dead. Can you imagine the brain fog? And yet….though they couldn't begin to understand…they followed Jesus… in total faith. Verse 16… 16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin,[c] said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go, too—and die with Jesus." They were headed to a place where they were likely to be killed to see a man who was dead. Yet Thomas said – Let's go. We serve a God who has a plan. A PERFECT plan. A plan that sometimes, we can't BEGIN to understand. Following Him takes faith. Walking in His light takes faith. Faith is obedience to God even when we don't understand the path. It is following in complete trust the One who is leading us. Faith is going where God tells us to go and KNOWING, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that what happens will be purposeful for all eternity. We don't HAVE to understand right now. It's okay if we are walking in a fog – as long as we have enough light to follow the one who is leading us. All we have to do is trust that those words we CAN grasp onto are all we need to know and understand right now. And as we walk in God's light and do the work He has called us to do, He will show us glorious outcome after glorious outcome – growing our faith and revealing His glory and perfection. Let's pray… Dear Most Holy God…sometimes the road is hard and we don't know where you are leading us. Sometimes, it feels like you are ignoring us or that you have something better to do than to answer our prayers. Thank you for helping us see the truth in today's reading. Thank you for reminding us how much you love us, and that it is BECAUSE you love us that we can trust that you are orchestrating everything perfectly. For your glory and our good! We praise and thank you, Father, for being our ever-present light and our perfect guide. Help us walk in faith today. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.