The Final Word

John 11:1-44

Main Idea: When we learn to trust Jesus, we will experience the triumph of life over death.

1. Mary’s and Martha’s Plan (11:1-16)
2. Mary’s and Martha’s Pain (11:17-37)
3. Jesus’s Power over Death (11:38-44)

When our plans fail, it hurts. In John 11 two sisters—Mary and Martha—have a great plan. They’re confident it will work, but it doesn’t. And they come face-to-face with the person who could have made it work, but he didn’t. Through their failed plans and in the midst of broken hearts, they learn Jesus has something much bigger and much better than their plans. Jesus doesn’t conform to their pre-conceived ideas, and it’s a good thing because he knows what he’s doing and he can do whatever he wants. When they learn to trust him, they see and experience things they could never have seen and experienced on their own.

Mary’s and Martha’s Plan

John 11:1-16

Mary and Martha know Jesus well (vv. 1-2). That they send the note to Jesus shows a close relationship. They know their note will get to Jesus, and they know Jesus will want to know. The sisters have a plan (v. 3). They’re telling Jesus about their situation so he will do something about it. They think, If we tell Jesus Lazarus is sick, Jesus will heal Lazarus.

When Jesus gets the message, he responds in a couple of head-scratching ways: he says the sickness won’t lead to death (v. 4), but we find out ten verses later (from Jesus’s own mouth) that Lazarus is dead. Then Jesus, because he loves Lazarus and the sisters so much, decides to stay where he is and not go visit them (vv. 5-6). At first blush that’s puzzling behavior. He does give a reason: the purpose of the illness is to glorify both him and the Father.

Nothing happens by chance. Nothing is without purpose. Whether sorrow, sickness, or death, nothing happens to you that God does not permit for a reason. You will encounter no situation in life in which God cannot be glorified. It doesn’t matter if it’s an impossible boss, a loveless marriage, a crushing tuition bill, or a dysfunctional family; God can be glorified in every situation. You need to learn to ask, no matter the situation, “How can I glorify God in this?” Our normal response is to ask, “What’s the fastest way out of this situation?” Christian maturity is learning to look at a situation and knowing that, whatever you face, you face it so God can be glorified through you. Does that make it feel like your life is insignificant and you’re a pawn in God’s global chess game? On the contrary, this passage shows that the glory of God and the love of God are not at odds. Jesus stayed for two reasons: the glory of God (v. 4), and his love for the family (v. 5). God’s glory and his love for you are not enemies. Reject the temptation to pit the two against each other. God’s glory is displayed chiefly in his bottomless love for his people.

Was it unloving for Jesus to stay two extra days? If you were Mary and found out Jesus delayed, would it have felt unloving? It would have felt like betrayal. But your feelings are fallible. They are pathological liars. Your feelings say, “Jesus doesn’t love you. See? He won’t come. He won’t act.” Don’t trust your feelings. Let the truth shape your emotions, not your emotions the truth.

Jesus decides to go visit Lazarus, but his disciples aren’t keen on the idea, for good reason (vv. 7-8). I can imagine the disciples looking at Peter, and Peter stepping forward, clearing his throat, and saying, “Uh, Lord, have you forgotten what happened last time we were there? The religious leaders tried to kill you. I think getting that close to Jerusalem is a bad idea.” Jesus responds with a metaphor (vv. 9-10). Just as it’s safer to travel during the day when the world’s light (the sun) is out, it’s safe to travel with Jesus, the true light of the world. This is a subtle and sweet rebuke: “Thank you for your concern, but I have nothing to worry about. I am the light of the world, and the light won’t be darkened until time runs out. I’ve still got time” (my paraphrase). He then lets them know why he wants to head to Judea. “Lazarus has fallen asleep,” and Jesus wants to wake him up (vv. 11-16).

Why does Jesus call death “sleep”? He’s showing them a distinctly different perspective on death. They fear death. They see death as the ultimate winner. It’s why they don’t want to go to Judea. Jesus sees death much differently. Death is no worse than sleep, and there’s no reason to fear sleep. This is the reason he can say he’s glad he waited for Lazarus to die. It’s not because he dislikes Lazarus; it’s because he knows death is powerless before him. He can wake Lazarus up from death. It is no harder for Jesus to rouse Lazarus from death than for you to rouse your child from bed. On second thought, Jesus may have the easier task.

I love Thomas’s response. He’s like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh. I can almost hear him: “We might as well go and die with him” (v. 16; my paraphrase). Now, Thomas has earned the nickname of Doubting Thomas not only for this account but also because he doubts Jesus’s resurrection. The nickname is unfair, however. I think we should call him “Logical Thomas.” It’s not illogical to think they might die with Jesus if they go up to Judea. Later on Jesus will die there, and eleven of the twelve disciples will die because of their faith in him. Thomas isn’t crazy; he’s logical. The problem is that our logic can’t account for the power and plan of God. Human reasoning falls well short of the divine. Like Thomas we’re tempted to believe only when we can figure it all out. I wonder how often our logic keeps us from seeing God do something miraculous. I wonder how often our critical thinking blinds us to God’s glory.

Mary’s and Martha’s Pain

John 11:17-37

By the time Jesus arrives in Bethany of Judea, Lazarus has been dead four days (vv. 17-18). The timing is not an accident. After four days there’s no doubt Lazarus is dead. It’s too long for it to be a mistake. It also allows a crowd of mourners to gather and witness the power of Jesus. However, before Jesus reaches their house, Martha comes out and meets him and expresses her disappointment (vv. 20-22). She had a plan. She called Jesus, and he could have fixed Lazarus, but he didn’t come in time. Her intense disappointment reveals her deep confidence in Jesus. She knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Jesus could have healed Lazarus. Now here he is four days late! Nevertheless, she still expresses great faith (v. 22). She essentially tells Jesus, “I don’t know what you can do now, but I know you can do whatever you want.”

Jesus responds with a simple statement with profound implications: “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). Martha knows the Old Testament. She understands God’s promise that this life is not all there is. She knows the grave is not the end (v. 24). But Jesus is talking about something even bigger, even more remarkable. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life” (v. 25). He doesn’t say, “I can resurrect people, and I have life.” He says, “I am resurrection, and I am life” (emphasis added). Our hope is not in an event (resurrection) but in a person (Jesus). Nothing can hinder him from giving life because he doesn’t have life; he is life. This is just one of the ways Jesus is different from you and me. You have life. He is life. You can lose your life. He cannot and will not lose his life. He laid it down, but his resurrection was proof that death could not take life from him.

Jesus then makes a promise that goes beyond what he’s going to do for Lazarus (v. 26). What he does for Lazarus proves that he has the power to keep his promise. He promises that those who believe, though they die physically, will live on forever. Those who live spiritually will never have to worry about their spiritual life ending. Christians live with great hope for the future. We hope in Jesus Christ. We believe, like Martha, that he is the Son of God, come into the world, just as God promised, to rescue us from death and hell. We know that he is the only one we can trust with our lives, so we give our lives to him.

After Martha responds in faith, she goes to get her sister Mary (vv. 28-30). Mary says the same thing, word for word, to Jesus that Martha said (v. 32; cf. v. 21). How many times before Jesus got there had they discussed it? How many times in their grief had they said, “If only Jesus had been here, our brother would not have died”? This was their plan. They were sure Jesus would heal Lazarus. But he didn’t, and it hurt.

The next few verses show Jesus’s response to Mary’s and Martha’s sorrow (vv. 33-38). Jesus knows what he’s going to do, but before he does it, he responds with deep compassion. Followers of Jesus are commanded in Romans 12:15 to “weep with those who weep.” We do what Jesus did. We love others enough to enter their suffering. Oh, to be more like Jesus. Oh, to willingly enter others’ suffering. The most remarkable part is that Jesus is going to do something that takes their suffering away, but before he fixes their problem, he joins their pain. He enters their grief before he exiles it. We can’t be afraid to enter other people’s pain. We need to be more like Jesus in this way. So often we shy away from the uncomfortable. We try to smooth over the brokenness. We need to, out of love, sit and weep with those who weep. Pray for a heart that breaks with heaviness when others suffer.

Jesus’s Power over Death

John 11:38-44

After entering their grief, Jesus moves to end it (vv. 39-42). Why did Jesus let this happen if he knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead? Why did he let those he loved experience four days of grief? Jesus is doing things we can never grasp. He’s God. He’s got purposes far beyond what we can even imagine. We don’t know all that Jesus is doing, but we should never doubt his love for us, his desire for us to experience his glory, and his call for us to trust him. His love, his glory, and our need for faith are often most clear in the darkest times. This miracle was about something bigger than removing their grief. This miracle was about the power of Jesus over death. They were intimate witnesses to death’s demise. It was high noon, and they were lining the streets to watch the duel between Jesus and death. That never would have happened if Jesus had submitted to the sisters’ plan.

The end of the story is almost anticlimactic (vv. 43-44). It seems more should be said. Why so few words about the resurrection of Lazarus? Because if Jesus really is life, then this wasn’t a fair fight. The outcome had been decided long ago. It was a mismatch from the moment Jesus was born. When Lazarus walks out of the tomb, he is still wrapped in the funeral garments. Ten chapters later we read about another resurrection. As big as this one is, that one’s even bigger. If this is the first blow, the next resurrection is the knockout punch. Jesus is life, and death never stood a chance.

Jesus and death fought, and Jesus got the last word. Up to this point, death always won. Death would sweep in, and whoever was in the way lost. Death always got the final word. Even if a person seemed to rally, death would eventually silence him. Back in verse 4 Jesus told the disciples, “This sickness will not end in death.” But it did, didn’t it? Yes and no. For Lazarus the train stopped at death, but the journey didn’t end there. The train started up again. Death didn’t get the last word. The sickness didn’t end in death but in resurrection.

Few passages are filled with more hope than this one, because no occasions feel more hopeless than when a person dies. It’s all over. No more chances. No more hope. Death has spoken, and it is final. Not anymore! Jesus has spoken. He has the final word, and the final word is this: “I am the resurrection and the life” (v. 25).

Reflect and Discuss

1. How does Jesus’s waiting to go to Lazarus display his love for Lazarus and the sisters?
2. What assurance can we find in this passage during our own times of suffering?
3. Why do the disciples not want to go to Lazarus? What is Jesus’s response?
4. Why does Jesus call death “sleep”?
5. Does your response to Jesus’s teachings ever mirror Thomas’s? What hope do you have from this passage?
6. What does it mean that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Why is this good news for his followers?
7. Why does Jesus weep at Lazarus’s death?
8. Why does Jesus let Lazarus die? Why did he let those he loved experience four days of grief?
9. What is one explanation for how abruptly this story ends?
10. What did Jesus mean by “this sickness will not end in death”?