Delayed

If you heard your friend was sick, you would go to him, right?  Well, Jesus didn't.  Not right away.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” - John 11:1-16

Why would Jesus wait until Lazarus died?

Mary and Martha send a message to Jesus hoping he will come to save their brother, but he waits an extra two days before going.  It seems cruel. 

John's portrayal of Jesus is different than the other Gospel writers.  John has Jesus take each situation he is confronted with and turn it into a teachable moment.

They call him Rabbi, after all.  So, here he is using the moment to teach about the resurrection, and he uses his friend to do it.

There is the added tension that Jesus may be killed if he goes, and that is a consideration.  It is a tough decision to make.

Throughout the pandemic, many of us were faced with similar circumstances, not being able to go to be with someone who was sick or in the hospital.  Part of you wants to defy the mandates and just go, but part says no.

So, perhaps we can look at this situation through a new lens, seeing the choice and the delay as something real for us as well as for Jesus.

I wonder how he felt as he went to Lazarus, knowing he would probably have already died.

Knowing he could revive him is one thing, but feeling the emotion from the sisters may not have been something he was totally prepared to bear.

More to come...