I Am The Resurrection And The Life

I AM the Resurrection and the Life: An Exposition of John 11:1-45

John’s gospel is a dramatic portrayal of the person of Jesus whereas truth is portrayed in extended story and narrative. This does not mean that John avoids propositional truth, but even these propositional truths are illustrated by these long narratives. God’s approach to presenting the Good News is expressed in different ways by writers of the New Testament. It is the same truth, but some relate to story and narrative, and others to deductive and propositional statements about Jesus. What God wants us to do is to come to the knowledge of the truth which is expressed by the words of Scripture interpreted by the help of the Holy Spirit as well as in the person of Jesus Himself.

Today’s passage for the gospel reading for the 5th Sunday of Lent comes from the 11th Chapter of John’s gospel, a part of which is often quoted and preached upon at funerals. It is a very long passage to preach upon, so detailed exegesis of the passage would make it a very long sermon. It will be long enough as it is, but I will only bring out the major themes. A detailed study of the passage will add additional light, so I would recommend your following up on this sermon.

At the end of the 10th chapter, the Jews tried for a second time to stone Jesus while he was at the Feast of the Dedication (Hanukkah). So this passage today happened somewhere between the end of December and Passover which would have been around he 1st of April. The memory of this incident would have been fresh on the mind of the disciples when news of the sickness of Lazarus of Bethany came to Jesus. We know that Jesus spent the last winter of his life around Jericho from the other gospels. Bethany was perilously near Jerusalem and would be a dangerous journey to take, at least in the eyes of Jesus’ disciples. We should realize that Jesus knew there was no immediate danger. He knew that He was not appointed to die by stoning but rather the more extreme death of crucifixion at the next Passover. If the disciples had only listened, they would have realized this as Jesus had plainly told them. But they did not want to listen.

John records the message coming to Jesus and adds additional detail that it was the brother of Mary who anointed Jesus for burial. This incident does not happen until the next chapter, so it seems to be an explanatory gloss added by John afterward in order to clarify which of the many Mary’s it was. The sisters reminded Jesus of His love for Lazarus. They had probably offered hospitality on several occasions for Jesus when He came to Jerusalem. Verse 5 shows that this was the case. Jesus loved them. He responded by saying that this sickness was not going to end in death but would be used to glorify God. Then comes the very odd statement that He remained in place for two days. It was a day’s journey to Jerusalem, so adding the travel day, this means he came to Bethany three days later. But Lazarus had already been dead 4 days. Lazarus must have already been dead by the time the news came to Jesus. The text later explicitly says that Jesus knew Lazarus was dead. Jesus was using this as a teaching moment to His disciples.

So when after two days, Jesus announces that He was going back to Judaea, the disciples were well aware of the danger of such a journey. Perhaps they thought this is why Jesus had waited for 2 days. They warned Him of the recent danger in Jerusalem. Jesus now teaches them that nothing will happen to them on this journey. The hour of darkness had not yet come. As long as Jesus was in the world, He was the light of the world. The disciples would be kept, for now. There is an ominous warning that the disciple of Jesus will always be safe. Most if not all of the disciples would die horrible deaths. It was not Jesus’ hour. Neither would it be theirs.

Jesus adds the statement that Lazarus had fallen asleep. The disciples, like they often did, drew the wrong conclusion. They thought that Lazarus had fallen into a natural sleep. Being able to rest from sickness is a good thing and is a sign that the person is recovering. If He was going to recover, then maybe this dangerous trip was unnecessary. Jesus did not need to heal him then. But Jesus now explicitly answers that Lazarus was dead. They knew that Jesus was an extraordinary man who had performed many miracles of hearing. They also knew that He did not need to get a tweet or e-mail to be informed about what was going on elsewhere. Jesus had told them that He is the light of the world. Yet their eyes only could see the natural things. They were all too often in the dark. This is why Jesus makes the cryptic statement that he was glad Lazarus was dead. This is hardly the statement that someone makes when a loved one has died. At least it should be tempered with the words “under the circumstances.” Jesus would later weep at Lazarus’ tomb. He loved Lazarus. This was not an insensitive statement. He goes on to explain that He was not there for the disciples sake, so that they might believe. He knew what He was going to do.