John 11:1-16 Glorifying God In Sickness - Part1

06.09.09 John 11:1-16 (NASB)

Audio Sermon File: John 11:1-16, Part 1

Going Deeper: Study Guide

Glorifying God In Sickness - Part1

Once upon a time there was a chicken egg farmer, that seemed to always to be sick. One day as the chicken egg farmer was rummaging through his old and forgotten tools, he found a small box at the back of his barn. When he opened the box he discovered something strange. Inside the box he found 3 eggs. And underneath the eggs was a stack of bills that totaled $1,000.00. His wife hearing the commotion inside the barn went in to investigate. When she got to the barn her husband asked her if she knew anything about this box. She sheepishly replied - Yes dear. Soon after we got married I realized that you got sick a lot, so I decided that every time you got sick and moaned and groaned and complained about your sickness, I would put an egg into the box. The husband had a smile of pride on his face - and he thought to himself - after 25 years of marriage there are only 3 eggs in the box….. I guess I really didn’t moan, groan, or complain too much about all my sicknesses. He turned again to his wife and asked…. Honey, what about this thousand bucks? She replied - well every time I got a dozen eggs I sold them…..
(Guy McGraw - ‘Hardship of Life’)

Today we are going to look at the topic of Glorifying God In Sickness. Sickness, whether it be a stroke, arthritis, a back that is injured, a hernia, the common cold or flu, migraines, breast cancer, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, or even terminal cancer…. sickness is realized by all. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, it doesn’t matter where you live, no position or status will exempt you, it does not discriminate on the basis of age, colour, gender, there is no amount of money that can be paid to rid ourselves of it. We have experienced, or are currently experiencing the forgoing personally, or have someone who is close to you suffering in one of these ways.

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:

We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Is Sovereign Over Sickness

We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Still Loves Us

Next time:

We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Trust Him

We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Teaches Us To Be Humble and Dependent Upon Him

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 …..

1. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Is Sovereign Over Sickness

v.1 - We are introduced to a certain man, from the small village of Lazarus of Bethany. His name means ‘one whom God helps’ - and that is certainly going to happen. In God’s sovereignty even the man’s name is fitting to what God will do in the life of Lazarus. Now if you remember back to chapter 1 and even at the end of Chapter 10 - a place named Bethany is also mentioned. This is not the same village as the one Lazarus resides at. This other village of Bethany, where Lazarus lived, was about 2 miles south east of Jerusalem on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives. As we are told, Lazarus is sick. It is very important to note that our chapter begins with the emphasis on the sickness and not on the man. (We know this because the word order and structure of the original language places the word sick before Lazarus is even mentioned). God is going to sovereignly use the sickness so that it becomes the vehicle which will bring glory to God.
The big question is why do people get sick? Why do we and millions of people have to suffer and often in pain? How do you give an answer to your child who can’t play today because he is sidelined in bed with an illness? How is it that after toiling years and building up our families and careers, that we are faced with terminal cancer? If our perfect God created all things and declared it good and even very good, then why is there sickness?

The answer to these questions must be found in God’s Word. The answer must be found in the realm that in a perfect creation - what has caused this perfect world to spin into this element of chaos? God’s gives us a one word reply - SIN. Romans 5:12 expresses this answer well - Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. SIN causes all pain and suffering, disease, and sickness. If man did not fall then the world would have remained perfect….very good. But the reality of sin can be seen in the face of sickness. Since God allowed sickness into the world we should believe that He can be glorified through it. Yes, sickness can be a curse, but in the hands of a sovereign God, it can be turned into blessing.

There are some other details that we are given. Lazarus has 2 sisters - Mary and Martha. These two women were faithful believers who had welcomed and opened up their home to Jesus a number of times (Lk. 10:38-39). For this reason Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were close friends of the Lord. Out of the two sisters it seems that Martha was the older of the two for her name usually appears first in the other Gospel passages which mention her name.

Sickness reminds us that we are mortal and that God is immortal. In the face of sickness we can see through our selves and through others that we are not as strong as we may think that we are. Our lives here on earth are limited. When we are young we often think that we are invincible and would do things that older more mature people would not do. Even if we are older, we sometimes think that our lives will go on for ever and that there is no need to think about God, Christ, and the eternal nature of our souls.

We keep living for today, without a care for eternity. That is why so many people are in shock when a person suddenly dies from a heart attack or something else. People can be heard saying - I can’t believe that she is dead….why? Are we so naive that we think that we are masters over the days of our lives? God can use sickness to wake us up to the reality that we are going to die one day… and we don’t know when. We Can Glorify God Because He Is Sovereign Over Sickness

v.2 - Since there are a number of persons named, Mary, in the Gospels, the Apostle John, makes a distinction as to which Mary he was writing about. John specifically identifies Mary by using the word this, and once again connects her with her brother Lazarus who was sick; and John then further goes on to state that this Mary was the same one who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair. This act of anointing by Mary will be seen in chapter 12. Now that Mary and her siblings are firmly identified….

v.3 - We find that the sisters are quite concerned about their brother that they sent [word] to Jesus of the situation. Jesus at this time is in Perea, the area across the Jordan river (cf. 10:40). It is interesting to note the fact that these 2 sisters either knew how to find Jesus or they knew where to find Him, so that they could send their message to Jesus. This could underscore the depth of their friendship. Anyway, when the message is sent, they don’t relay a lengthy one, but they simply have their messenger deliver these words - Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick. They don’t include in their message instructions for Jesus as to how to respond - like come right now - but they have a measure of confidence that Jesus would do what was best. Jesus as they address Him is Lord, after all. With these words they had hoped that Jesus would go to them to help a beloved friend. Yet we also see that these 2 sisters had a high level of faith in Jesus.

2. We Can Glorify God In Sickness Because He Loves Us

The phrase he whom You love is sick, speaks of a close relationship - friendship. In the Greek language there are a few words that are translated as love in English. The word, love, in Greek in verse 3 of our passage is - phileo - which indicates brotherly love, affectionate love, or to have deep feeling for. The city of Philadelphia in the book of Revelation, and even the US city, derives it name from this particular word and is known as the city of brotherly love. It is here that we can realize that Jesus does love His own. We see into the heart of Jesus, that He has feelings toward people - which sheds light on Jesus’ humanity, and is magnified by His Deity.

We should be thankful that Jesus understood the necessity of love between people. Jesus loved his friend who was sick. Jesus demonstrates a love at a human level. Jesus offered love and He also welcomed the love in return, as part of His humanity. In this we then know that Jesus understands our need for love. When we are lonely, or don’t feel that we are loved, or think we have no one to love - Jesus understands. We know for sure that Jesus will provide this basic need for you because God protects and provides for those who are His righteous people. Psalm 84:11 states this reality - For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. We Can Glorify God Because He Loves Us

v.4 - When Jesus heard [this], Jesus gives this return response to the messenger to take back to Mary and Martha - 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. This message was as much for the sisters, as it was for Jesus’ disciples who were with Him when He received the message. It was to reassure the hearer that Jesus was concerned and that He knew the outcome. The word no has a strong emphasis in the sentence to highlight the positive outcome of what is to take place in Lazarus’ life. The outcome is not to end in death - what is meant by this statement, as we will discover later in this chapter, is that the ultimate result of this sickness and situation for Lazarus, will not be a permanent death. The Great Physician, Jesus Christ, will instead use this situation for the glory of God. This sickness was the vehicle that would bring glory to God. It should go without saying that not all sicknesses are for the purpose of bringing glory to God. Sometimes sickness is directly related to sin. Sometimes God will not heal sickness, in order to strengthen His servant.

We find the example of the Apostle Paul, who had some kind of affliction. In 2 Corinthians it reveals the situation of this - 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 (NASB). So the result of such a trial was that the purpose of God might be magnified through the outworking of His grace. So the purpose of this ‘thorn’ was to cause Paul to utterly depend upon God for strength.

Jesus was sent by God to do His will and in all of the signs in the Gospel of John, it was not through threats but through demonstrations of power associated with compassion and care. After all Jesus did not come to destroy life, but He came so that we may have life, and have it to the full (cf. 10:10 - I came that they may have life, and have [it] abundantly). In this way God is given the full honour and glory which is rightly his. Yet God desires this glory to come to Him through the person of the Son.

This in turn will be the 7th and final sign of our Gospel, in order that Jesus - the Son of God may be glorified by it. As I had mentioned before - Jesus’ death is on the horizon, and in light of the what Jesus does for Lazarus, it will lay down the principles of eternal life through Christ, in a way which is very tangible and real.

v.5 - John adds a comment of Jesus’ love for His friends. This time the word for loved is from agape - a Divine supernatural unconditional love, and the tense indicates an ongoing love (in this case the choice agapao over phileis is possibly interchangeable). So it was that Jesus had an ongoing love for Martha and her sister and Lazarus. It is necessary to understand that Jesus does love his three friends, in light of Jesus’ immediate response.

Isn’t it good to know that Jesus doesn’t merely save us, but when He does that…. He loves us, He does not abandon us - as we learned from Jesus’ own declaration from John 10:27-28: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. So we see from the Scripture that the Apostle John takes note that - Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus - and from this we can draw out the reality that Jesus loves His own - you and I with no end.

We should be thankful today that Jesus does not respond to us based upon our love for Him. If that were the case we would be in big trouble because our love at best, is imperfect - selfish, and wavering. Instead Jesus operates in the realm of His vast measure of love for us. And as we look at the love of Jesus from the Scripture we find that - Jesus initiates that love - 1 John 4:10 - In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:19 - We love, because He first loved us. Jesus loves us when we love Him - John 14:23 - If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. And He loves us when we don’t deserve it - Rom. 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And even when we are sinning He loves us through discipline - For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives (Heb. 12:3-6).

Not only does God use sickness to remind us of His love but, He often also uses it to remind us of death and then that of judgment when we meet God face to face. Sickness makes us ask our selves this question - Are you prepared to meet God? I think most people if asked if they were ready to meet God right now and seriously reflected upon it - I think most would include in their answer that they would be at least a bit fearful of meeting God. If they were given the opportunity to get things in order first - people would choose this option. Only those who are in a vital and active, intimate personal relationship with Christ have no fear of meeting Him face to face for our sins are forgiven. Romans 8:1 - there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So as we close this first section of this passage, may we have been reminded that at least within the context of sickness may we: Glorify God Because He Is Sovereign Over Sickness; and may we - whether sick or well …Glorify God Because He Still Loves Us. The remembrance of these Biblical foundations will give us the perseverance through such trial and all these lessons will allow us to be a testimony of God’s grace.

　

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