Welcome to the Daily Disciple podcast, where we seek daily to be with and to become like Jesus, our teacher. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Daily Together on Mission podcast. This is Travis, and it's great to be with all of you. We're gonna do what friends that are friends of Jesus do.
We're gonna chat with each other, chat with Jesus, and then continue to chat with Jesus throughout the rest of the day. And we're in the Gospel of John. We're doing daily meditations in the Gospel of John in the season, the podcast. And we're gonna be in John chapter 11 in just a moment.
The title is the Cost of. And I was just reading through the Gospel of John, John chapter 11, and I saw something that I'd never seen before. I saw something that was new, at least to me. Now, maybe you've already picked up what John was laying down, which is what we're gonna talk about today, but for me, it was new.
I've been thinking about it for the last 30 minutes, and so now I'm excited to share it. I'm excited to talk about it. And we're gonna get to the passage in just a moment. But first a question.
And the question is simply this. What would cost you, but really, really bless someone else? And often those things that would really bless another person are going to cost us. That's kind of how it works.
So think for a moment about what would really bless someone, but it would really, really cost you. And I think a good way to think about it is something as simple as buying someone a present. It's going to really bless them and it's going to cost you something. And maybe it would have to do with, you know, welcoming someone who's sitting alone at work, at school to your table for lunch, right?
It's going to bless them. It's going to potentially cost you. Maybe listening to your spouse talk about their day. When it's at the end of your day and you're tired, it will bless them, but it's going to cost you.
Maybe spending a few hours on Saturday at the manor house giving away food, it's going to cost you time and energy, but it's going to bless them. Maybe giving a compliment when you actually need a compliment, that's going to cost you and it's going to bless someone else. I could go, I love to talk about this kind of stuff. I love to think about this stuff, but what would really cost you, but it would really bless another.
And that's honestly how it works when someone else is blessed. Usually that involves a cost from us. And so I've been thinking about that as I've been meditating this morning on John, chapter 11. This is the famous story where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
And again, I saw something in this story this morning I'd never noticed before. It was. It was new to me, and I'm really excited about it. And so when Jesus.
And we're In John, chapter 11, when Jesus gets the news that Lazarus has died. And he says, okay, guys, disciples, friends, we're going back to Jerusalem. This is what his disciples, his friends, say to him in verse eight. But, Rabbi, they said a short while ago, the Jews were there, and they tried to stone you.
They tried to kill you. And are you going back there? And so Jesus goes on to tell his disciples, you know what? Lazarus has fallen asleep.
And the disciples think that Jesus just means sleep. And so they say, oh, don't worry. Lazarus is gonna wake up if he's asleep. And Jesus says, no, no, I'm talking about death.
Lazarus has died, and I need to go to him to wake him from death. And the disciples are dumbfounded because last time Jesus was in Jerusalem, as they said, the Jews tried to stone it. It's very risky. It's very dangerous.
It's very costly to go back to Jerusalem. And then in verse 16, Thomas, one of the disciples says, all right, guys, let's go with him. Let's go with Jesus. Let's go also.
And Thomas says that we may die with him. And so the disciples are literally thinking, if Jesus goes back to Jerusalem, he's going to die. It's very dangerous. It's very costly.
And so Jesus does, you know, arrive near Jerusalem at Lazarus's house. He raises Lazarus from the dead. It's an incredible sign. And we've told this story before, and if you look in your Bibles, John, chapter 11, verse 45, it's this whole story on the plot to kill Jesus.
The Sanhedrin who were stationed in Jerusalem, heard what Jesus did, and they made plans as to how they might kill him. And so it was incredibly dangerous for Jesus to be near Jerusalem. And Lazarus lived right near Jerusalem. And Jesus was trying at this point in time in his ministry to avoid Jerusalem because they were trying to kill him in Jerusalem.
So going back was very, very risky. And we see that Jesus knew that the discip. And they were actually right. Because after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and news spread to Jerusalem and the Sanhedrin, they plotted about how they might kill him.
And this is probably the thing, the miraculous sign that led to Jesus's death. So it was a great blessing for Lazarus, but a major cost for Jesus. I mean, Jesus actually, In John chapter 11, he actually, in a sense, trades his life for the life of his friend. He's willing to risk his life, lay down his life so that Lazarus might live.
Very risky, very costly. And it's costly to bless other people. And I've never seen this before. I've never seen this so clearly.
I've never noticed this in the text. I haven't picked up what John's, you know, laying down here. But it took a great amount of risk and cost. It was incredibly dangerous for Jesus to go and raise Lazarus from the dead.
But what a blessing for Lazarus, for Mary, for Martha, for the family. And Jesus was willing to do this. He was willing to count the cost. He was willing to sacrifice in order to bless others.
And that's always the case. Whenever others are blessed, it requires a sacrifice on our part. I listed a few things earlier, and I could go on, but let's just think about it. Let's ponder it, and let's not think about it in general.
Right? Let's think about it specifically. I don't want us to walk away from this podcast thinking, you know, oh, when we are willing to, you know, pay the cost, other people are blessed. Right?
I don't want us to think about it in a general sense, but more of a specific sense, like, what is the spirit of God saying to you? What is the spirit of God, you know, saying to me about what it would look like to risk, to pay the cost in order for someone else in our life, at our work, a neighbor in our marriage, someone that's hungry, hurting, or struggling, you know, as we look out into this broken world, what could you do that will cost you something, and it will really, really bless someone else? Ask the question. That's what Jesus did.
And did Jesus wrestle with this decision to go back to Jerusalem? Of course he did, and so will you, and so will I. And did Jesus disciples encourage him to stay away from Jerusalem, to not pay the cost? Of course they did.
And there's all kinds of things in our life, people, pressures, appointments, insecurities, that will encourage us to not sacrifice, even if it will bless someone else. But Jesus chose to do it because ultimately, to give up our lives is to find our lives. And so I'm excited about this passage this morning. I love when I'm reading scripture and God opens my eyes to see new things.
And so the question I'm really asking is Travis, what does it look like to sacrifice, to be willing to count the cost in order for that person to be blessed? What does that look like? So let's ponder, let's meditate, let's read, let's enjoy, and let's spend the day walking and talking with the Jesus that went to Jerusalem, paid the cost in order to bless his friend Lazarus, and then let's go and let's do likewise and we'll talk soon. Thanks for listening to the Daily Disciple Podcast.
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