Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
Verses 19-44
And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said, Where have ye laid him?
They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.
And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
[Title: The Best Friend]
Have you ever had a best friend? Were you someone’s best friend? I make that distinction because sometimes the feeling is not always mutual. I had what I thought was my best friend, but it turned out that I was a loving friend to him, but he was not one to me.
What is a loving friend?
• Someone who will go all out to support you emotionally, spiritually, physically, and financially, to the best of their abilities.
• Someone who will be there for you in the good times and the bad.
• It has been said, “A loving friend is the one walking in the door when the others are walking out.”
In this case I am not equating a physical or sexual relationship with a loving friend; I am talking about the kind of love that flies above the physical nature, a love that is rooted in the things of God. Jesus exhibited this kind of loving friendship, where He is there for you when you call upon Him, where he is there for you even before you call, where He is there for you in the good times and the bad. He is that loving friend that is knocking at your door, waiting for you to accept him.
Jesus is a loving friend, vv 3-5
Who loves each one of us individually. We see in verse 3 that the sisters sent word to Jesus that someone He loved was sick. Don’t get this love confused with a physical love, because the love we speak of here relates to that of friendship; care; and concern of the highest level I even say that it is one showing an exceptionally close relationship, much like the loving friend I mentioned earlier. You might be saying to yourself, “I thought Jesus loved all of us?” He does! But he also loves each one of us individually, because Jesus knows that each of us are unique, and again, that is what a best friend would understand, not treating you in a rubber-stamp style friendship. Jesus shows that love for us individually by helping and guiding us in a unique way suited just for you. Jesus is not a one size fits all kind of friend, no; he handles each situation differently and tailored to each of us. He wants to show you that he is your loving friend. Looking at verse 5 we see that he has a collective love, but again, it is unique for each one of them.
Oh, if Jesus would heal the world of all its ills, but that is not the plan of God. So, even though Jesus is the best friend, He nevertheless allows afflictions to befall us. v. 3
Some characteristics of a loving friend.
• They are ones who will tell you things straight. A good friend would not try to sugarcoat the truth.
• They are the ones who sometimes let you fall.
o It is a strange thing, but sometimes a loving friend will have to let you fall so that you can realize what a good and loving friend you have.
o Explain more on the point of letting someone fall.
o Jesus had to do this, He had to let Lazarus die and let his family and friends grieve so that he could show them what kind of friend we have in Jesus. In verse 6 we see that Jesus wants to wait two days before going to see Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Why would he want to wait? Verse 4 tells us that Lazarus’s sickness and death will bring glory to God and Jesus. The glory presented here is a glory of revelation, one that shows that God is all-powerful, the only one who can raise someone from the dead. It is a revelation of his control over heaven and earth, and in this event, He wants to reveal that glory. Now we need to remember this, as it sets the stage for Jesus being raised from the dead. This glory is not the type of glory that you and I seek, one of getting your name in the newspaper, exposure on social media, and of people clamoring around you seeking your autograph. It is one where God wants to show His love and sovereignty to all of us. So why does Jesus wait two days? Why not leave immediately, why not one day, why not three days? Why not, as He has done before, heal from a distance? If we look at verse 17, we see that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days when Jesus arrives. Ok, what difference does that make? Well, we need to understand that the Jews of the day believed that the soul of a dead person remained near the body for three days in the hope of returning to it. So, Jesus, to give glory to God needed to wait more than three days, so that the people will know that it was God’s work and not a confirmation of their beliefs. You see, Jesus knew that Lazarus was dead when he received the message, as is pointed out in verse 11.
Jesus is an understanding friend, vv. 21-36
o Who understands our deepest woes, vv. 21-26, 32
o We find in these verses Jesus providing comforting words to Martha. Martha is often remembered for her shortcomings as recorded in Luke 10:40 – 41, but here we see that Martha is indeed a woman with great faith.
o Who sympathizes in our deepest sorrows, vv. 33-36
o Here we find that Jesus is also moved to tears. These verses tell of Jesus seeing Mary and the Jews weeping, and because of their grief, even knowing that He would bring back their beloved brother and friend, Jesus was deeply moved. We sometimes forgot that human nature of Jesus: He feels, He loves, He hurts. For us to get a picture of what Jesus saw, we need to understand that the original words for weeping meant a loud expression of grief, like someone wailing, screaming out in agony. This wailing touched our Saviors heart because he also wept. An interesting note here is that the original word for wept is not the one used for the weeping that Mary and the Jews exhibited, but means quiet weeping, or just shedding tears. But nonetheless, Jesus wept! Sharing in their sorrow.
Jesus is a mighty friend, vv. 37-44
o Who can do miraculous things, v. 37
o As we read the books of the gospel, we find that Jesus had performed some 35 recorded miracles: 23 of those involving healings, 9 having to do with His power over nature, and 3 related to raising the dead. This does not even consider the number of miracles that the disciples would perform in the name of Jesus. But it does give us a great account of what a mighty friend we have in Jesus.
o Who performs His miracles when we meet His conditions, vv. 38-44
o You will find that Jesus will always have a command associated with His miracle. For example, in Luke 5:12-14 he heals a man with leprosy and tells the man to not tell anyone but go show himself to the priest; in Matthew 9:2-7 he heals a paralytic man and tells him to get up, take your mat, and go home; each one of these is a command or condition. In verses 38-44 of John, we also find a command or condition, “take away the stone”, even though Jesus could have moved it himself, He had them do it for what I believe is a show of their faith. Let’s face it, if I did not believe that Jesus could do what He said, I would not attempt to help push away a heavy stone covering a tomb. Another command for them was to believe.
So, in conclusion, I ask you, do you believe? Do you see Jesus as your best friend, a loving friend, and are you a loving friend to Him?
