Your Plans-God's Plans Series

Maybe you know someone who always has a plan. They don’t make a move without a plan for the day, for the week, even for months ahead. They check the weather, know the timetables for public transport, and plan for all possible contingencies during the day. They have a solution or back up plan just in case the original plan doesn’t work out. But what sometimes throws them off are the unanticipated delays, detours, and dead ends.

We all know that life doesn't always work the way we plan. For example, we are at the beginning of a new school semester. For the parents and kids, it means rising up early in the mornings again, getting the kids dressed, fed, out the door, and making sure they get to school on time. No one expects to wake up to a leaky ceiling, to see a flat tire when they walk out to their bike or car, or expects to leave the keys in the house - all of which require waiting on someone for help. And when we call someone to come and help, we expect them to come in a reasonable amount of time, don’t we?

When life doesn't go as expected, and we are counting on others to help us, how do we act or react in these situations?

Today, we are in John chapter 11 in our study of John’s gospel. At the beginning of this chapter Jesus is asked to come and heal a friend who is very sick, but His response time was not something this family was expecting - it was not according to their plan.

John 11:1-16

1 Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus.)

6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and yet You are going there again?” 9 Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks during the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

11 This He said, and after this He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going so that I may awaken him from sleep.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will come out of it.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about actual sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus died, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.” 16 Therefore Thomas, who was called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go, so that we may die with Him!”

We can see in this passage that Jesus does everything:

? For God’s glory

? To accomplish God’s purpose

? For our good

1. For God’s glory

A man named Lazarus was sick. His name meant “whom God helps.” Which we will see how God helps him throughout these passages. He lived in a certain town called Bethany, about 2-3 miles from Jerusalem. Lazarus was the younger brother of Mary, the woman who cried over Jesus’ feet and wiped her tears with her hair and then anointed His feet with oil. Lazarus lived with Martha and Mary and when he got sick his sisters were very worried about his condition. They had seen Jesus heal multitudes of people so they asked Him to come and heal him with the expectation that He would. This was their plan and it was the logical thing to do.

So, in v. 3, the sisters sent this message to Jesus, “Lord, Lazarus, our brother and Your friend, the one You love is sick.” This family knew they were loved by God and knew Jesus personally cared about them and so they expected that He would come right away. But what was Jesus’ response? He said, “Lazarus’ sickness will not end in death, but will be for the glory and honor of God, so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” The word glory here means that people would see God’s visible splendor in this situation. Jesus knows that in God’s plan He will reveal His glory.