Because Jesus Loves You

“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ’This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he 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 seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ’Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ After saying these things, he said to them, ’Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ’Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him’" (John 11:1-15, ESV).

My father loved wine. He did not want milk. But when I was a baby, according to my mother, my father would taste first the milk from the milk can before giving it to me. He would like to make sure that before I drink it, it’s perfectly okey for me.

Someone I knew before, who was an instructor in College of Fisheries in the nearby City, was sent by the Government to England to further his study. According to him, while they were in the field work, their professor brought his small child with him. Later, he saw that the child was about to hold a crab that is alive. And, of course, he tried to stop the child from doing it. However, he was prevented by the father. The Englishman told my friend just to let his child do it, so he could learn a lesson to be careful in touching a live crab.

My father loved me and he did not want me to get sick. Of course, the Englishman also loved his child. Though he placed him at risk, he wanted him to learn something.

Now, what would you desire or do for someone you love?

We want always to be with them. We desire for them to be safe, to be happy, to advance or to learn good lessons in life. And we try to do something to help them when they are in need, or when they suffer difficulties.

What do you think the Greatest Lover would desire for those He loved? Is it possible also for us to have the same desire for the persons we loved?

Let us, then, go to our topic, BECAUSE JESUS LOVES YOU, while we study some verses in our text (John 11:1-15).

Because of the love of Jesus, what do you expect He would like you to experience even during this life?

Again, be reminded that the Gospel of John was written by the one who addressed himself as, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” The writer, who is John, focused on the life and words of Jesus in His remaining hours on earth. He emphasized that Jesus is God. And he showed the importance, not only of belief on the Gospel, but also in the genuine love for Jesus.

In the early verses of John 10, John related that Jesus told the Jews that He was the good Shepherd. And He laid down His life for special group of people. He identified them as the sheep.

Then, when He was in Jerusalem, He further told the Jews about the identity of the sheep. According to Him, they were the special people given to Him by the Father for eternal preservation. So, not only they believed, but they persevered to believe, persevered to follow.

Now in our text, John pointed out an unexpected action of Jesus toward those He loved. And if we count ourselves as among them, we could also experience it. Much greater than the earthly favors we could enjoy, what’s the loving desire of Jesus for those He loved?

-- To behold the Glory of God (verses 1-6).

We read verses 1-6, “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ’This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.”