13.09.09 John 11:1-16
Audio Sermon File: John 11:1-16, part 2
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Glorifying God In Sickness - Part 2
Last time we began to look at the topic of Glorifying God In Sickness. Sickness, no matter what it may be - no matter how simple or complex - how benign or malignant strikes each one of us.
So let us once again turn to John 11:1-16 which tells us:
11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 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 to end in death, but 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 us go to Judea again." 8 The disciples ^said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?" 9 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. 10 "But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." 11 This He said, and after that He ^said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep." 12 The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him." 16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to [his] fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him."
When we consider the issue of sickness, we can come to at least 5 reasons to be thankful:
last time:
1. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Is Sovereign Over Sickness
2. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Still Loves Us
this time:
3. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Trust Him
4. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Be Humble and Dependent Upon Him
5. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Care For One Another
Jesus has all along in our gospel been claiming to be God. And now on the heals of His last declaration of Deity, Jesus will prepare Himself to perform the 7th sign, which vindicates all of Jesus’ claims - and we can begin to see that Jesus is God because He can resurrect the dead. Jesus has power over sickness that leads to death. As we begin our passage we learn that …..
3. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Trust Him
v.6 - When Jesus heard about Lazarus’ condition, He didn’t pack up and start heading south to the village of Bethany but instead - He then stayed two days [longer] in the place where He was in Perea. For us it would be natural to think that if Jesus loved these friends so much why did He delay - and for two whole days at that - it would be plausible that Lazarus would not live that long? Didn’t Jesus care? And even the disciples must have been wondering what was more important than to save Jesus’ friend? But this helps us to think why? It just goes to show that God’s grace is poured out at the right time. God’s love is not gauged according to time, but often it is gauged according to our trust in Him. God’s help is not always dispensed according to the seeming urgency of the situation, yet His love is present. Jesus’ sovereign knowledge of events is the driving force behind the exact time to act - so we need to trust Him even with the timing to an answer to prayer.
When we are faced with impatience with God in our request - it is at that time that we should understand His timing - asking for patience and increased faith, and obedience to Him in prayer. For us, we should then learn to put aside our wants and lean upon Jesus even if He seems to be delaying in coming to help us. Yes Jesus delayed His trip by two more days, but He never forgets His friends - and like wise He doesn’t forget about each of you too.
Sickness has a great way of developing in us patience. It certainly is no fun to have to sit out of things that we enjoy, to be barred from foods that delight us, to be held away from friends that we can talk with. Sickness is very taxing on the body. To feel weak and unable to do anything makes us feel useless. What about the irritability, anger, and impatience that can well up? To be able to endure the dread of continuous pain and tiredness calls us to trust Him more. In these times we cannot go on by our own strength, but must come to the Lord for sanctification and sustaining grace. It drives us to the Lord with utter trust - to depend upon Him in prayer and to walk by His side closely.
Through sickness God can test the foundation of our beliefs. In sickness some people will question their faith asking - Do I belong to the right religion? Where is Jesus - why isn’t He coming to help me? Maybe I should try another religion and another god. Therefore illness often exposes the depths of our depravity. In health Satan will buffet us when we are strong…. but how much more are we susceptible to his assaults when we are down - he will desire to put doubt upon your mind and questions regarding the kindness of our God.
In these times we should remember that we need to trust Him more. We can trust God because we know that His Son Jesus Christ, has suffered like us but is without sin. He is our great High Priest whom we can turn to in the hour of need. He knows pain and suffering and even death. Often our trust in God will grow the most when we are suffering. So We Can Glorify God - in sickness - Because He Teaches Us To Trust Him.
v.7 - After the two days Jesus begins to show the concern for Jesus that others thought He should have when He had received the news. So now Jesus gathers His disciples, and says to them - Let us go to Judea again. So off they were to go - back across the Jordan and south to Judea.
4. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Be Humble And Dependent Upon Him
Often God teaches us through sickness to focus our minds on Him. When we are healthy we think we will live forever. But if we are sick and humble, then an illness can focus our thoughts on the purpose of life. When we think upon this we should be drawn to thoughts on God. Our souls are challenged to think long and hard of death. In the face of imminent death and eternal damnation - we can be humbled. God can use this to steer our wayward souls back to Him. A hardened heart can be softened. An open door to the gospel can be unlocked. Our fixation on earthly treasures can be shattered and instead we can think and begin to desire heavenly treasures. Suddenly our cars, homes, hobbies, food, and trinkets and toys of every sort lose their luster, and we discover that they are not to be the end goal of our earthly life.
v.8 - Now the thought of going back to Judea was of some concern to the disciples. They say - Rabbi, - the word Rabbi is a respectful term for a teacher. So they said - the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again? After enjoying a more civilized pace in Perea they perhaps were stunned that Jesus would want to return - since the Jews had been seeking to stone Jesus a number of times. If Jesus wasn’t fearful, these disciples certainly sensed danger by the possibility of having to be going there again. It appeared to be a mistake, a suicide mission, to undertake a return to that area.
v.9 - Because of the disciples concerns for personal safety - Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach His disciples a lesson on dependance. Jesus answers their concern with a rhetorical question - Are there not twelve hours in a day? The answer expected would be yes, because both the Romans and Jews acknowledged a day was a period of twelve hours. But what Jesus is driving at was that - If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble. The word stumble literally can be translated as ‘cut against.’ It is obvious that when we are going about our business in the day, we will be able to see and avoid any obstacles that we may be ‘cut against.’ We are enabled to move about like that because we can clearly see everything simply by the light of this world - the sunshine.
This served to reassure the disciples that a day cannot be shortened, and likewise their lives cannot be shortened - or even lengthened, for that matter - they are fixed by God - so don’t worry. When it’s your time - it is your time. This is also something important to understand if you don’t know Christ. No one’s life can be extended beyond God’s bounds, which means if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour then you only have a limited time to respond. Once your time has expired there is no time turning the hands of time back and a missed opportunity becomes locked into eternity.
v.10 - I don’t know if you have ever tried this, but quite often as I prepare to go upstairs at night - I would turn off all the lights on the main floor without turning any lights on upstairs - so I would be fumbling my way around in the dark for a while - and I have got some very minor injuries before. Jesus is making a contrast between darkness and light. It ties in with one of the running themes of the gospel which is spiritual blindness or darkness. Jesus’ point is that if we follow God’s will and do not depart from it - we will be guided by His strength and protection. It is like having a light on - a night light to get us upstairs, instead of fumbling in the dark. That is why Jesus can face the seemingly insane move to go back into enemy territory - because He is within the Father’s will. This is a similar principle as that of what Jesus said back in John 9:4 - We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work. "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When we are surrounded even by sickness leading to death, we can have the courage to move forward with God as our guide. John Calvin summarized these two verses by making this application - "God’s eyes are always watching over those who are attentive to His will. Once again we see that whenever people allow themselves to neglect and overlook God’s Word and do what they please, their whole lives are cursed by God, and vengeance on their rashness and blind passion is always imminent."
Sickness has a great way of humbling us. When we are stared in the face with illness we cannot help but to think that our bodies are frail. When we stare into the coffin of a loved family member or friend we cannot be so proud to think that we are going to escape the same destination of death. When Paul suffered because of an ailment, he learned this and wrote:
2 Cor. 12:7-10 - 7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. We can glorify God because He teaches us to be humble and dependent upon Him.
v.11 - After Jesus had made these comments Jesus said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. Jesus had already said back in verse 4, This sickness is not to end in death. In preparation for His and the disciples arrival, Jesus fills them in on what has taken place with Lazarus. This time Jesus is more explicit and tells His disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep - which is a euphemism for the word died. Jesus also reveals the very purpose that He must now go to Bethany, which is to awaken Lazarus out of sleep - that is to bring him back to life. Here we have a glimpse of the coming great display of power that Jesus possesses. We also realize that Jesus is the Lord over sickness leading to death.
v.12 - Verse 12 reveals the ignorance of the disciples - for they think that Jesus is referring to actual sleeping. In this line of thinking the disciples surmise that all Lazarus needs is some R&R, and then he will recover after this. There was probably some selfish hopes in the disciples comments - hoping that if Jesus said that Lazarus was going to wake up - then maybe they didn’t need to go back into enemy stomping grounds.
5. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us to Care For One Another
v.13 - For the benefit of the reader, the Apostle John delineates what Jesus was really talking about and what the disciples were thinking - that Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.
V.14 - Knowing that the disciples are not thinking in terms of heavenly realities, Jesus comes out and states plainly, "Lazarus is dead." The confusion in the disciples minds is now given focus. (As a side note - we see here Jesus’ omniscience - He had the ability to know the outcome of Lazarus’ death without being told or being present).
v.15 - Jesus goes on to express that He was glad - for His disciples sakes - that He was not there when Lazarus died. It was in Christ’s plan that He delayed His trip to Bethany for the sake of His disciples, in order that they may believe. If Jesus had gone right away to heal Lazarus, then they would have missed an opportunity for Jesus to perform this last sign of the gospel. The coming act of raising Lazarus from the dead after he had been in the tomb for 4 days would certainly be a more powerful testimony about Jesus’ power over death - than rushing over to the man and restoring his health.
The nature of the sign - the raising up of Lazarus, that was to be performed later in the chapter, would now be better understood by the disciples. There would be no doubt that the sign was beyond human remedy. It would then serve to grow their faith deeper in the knowledge of God. A purpose of this sign is that Jesus is preparing His disciples for the cross which He will bear. When the disciples understand that Jesus indeed can give life, they will be comforted that Jesus will be resurrected 3 days after He dies. At this point the cross is only about 3 months away. With this cleared up, Jesus summons His disciples with these words - but let us go to him. Now is the right time to go to Lazarus who is now dead.
In this we find that sickness gave the opportunity for Jesus and His disciples to do some ministry. So like wise when we as Christians discover that someone is sick it is also a call to us to minister to others. I think that at any given time frame, we know of someone who is sick. It therefore gives us the opportunity to go and minister these people - whether for the gospel of for encouragement or edification. In these times we can make a phone call that we often should have but never did, we can send a note a card, we can make a visit, help in some daily tasks - cooking, cleaning. We can bring a gift that will cheer. Or we can just ignore the need and focus back on ourselves.
James gives us the principle to follow - James 2:14-16 - 14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for [their] body, what use is that?
The ministry of compassion and care often softens peoples hearts, and builds closer bonds of fellowship. It brings a church out from a dead orthodoxy to a living and active faith - if we carry each others burdens (Gal. 6:2), and be kind to each other (Eph. 4:32). Even if others do not respond to your ministry - you will find yourself blessed for doing the Lord’s will, in the context of sickness. If someone is sick and you don’t care it becomes a really good test as to our own selfishness. We need to walk in the paths of righteousness and live responsively to our duty to our Saviour.
v.16 - As we end our passage we have Thomas, who is called Didymus which was his Greek name which means ‘twin.’ So as a side note Thomas probably had a twin sibling somewhere. At first - not only Thomas, but even the rest of the disciples were anxious about returning to Judea - and they were trying to give reasons to Jesus not to do so. But now Thomas is ready to accompany Jesus - saying - Let us also go, so that we may die with Him - risking his life to follow His Lord back into the enemies nest.
Thomas possessed great love for His Lord - a love which despite the cost, drove him to back to Judea, but his faith was a little shaky. We know this because when Jesus did go to the cross Thomas didn’t stay and die with Jesus, but instead he fled. Are you willing like Thomas to die for Jesus? It may be hard to say that you would, but when we look at our lives, do we find that we don’t even live for Him in stable conditions. Instead do you find yourself in a death defying battle with self.
So let us forsake our selves and in the context of sickness may we:
Glorify God In Sickness Because He Is Sovereign Over Sickness
Glorify God In Sickness Because He Still Loves Us (Whether Sick Or Well)
Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Trust Him
Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Be Humble and Dependent Upon Him
Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Care For One Another
All these lessons will allow us to be a testimony of God’s grace. That we are able to display the fruit of the Spirit in our lives without a single word - may we suffer in sickness gracefully… and when we aren’t sick ourselves (and even when we are sick - may we bring glory to God as we minister to those who are sick.
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