John 11:37-44

INTRODUCTION

God alone gives life. When Christ gave life to Lazarus, He proved beyond doubt that He was God. That's the main point of John 11. This chapter verifies Christ's claim to be God to two groups who were present at the funeral of Lazarus. First, Jesus wanted His disciples to witness His power so their faith would be strengthened. Secondly, He wanted the other Jewish people who were there to witness His power so they might believe He was their Messiah. He was performing a miracle of unbelievable power in calling the dead to life.

Jesus' claim to be the resurrection and the life is the key to John 11. He verified that claim by raising Lazarus from the dead and bringing spiritual life to some of the Jews who were watching. Many, as a result of the miracle, "believed on Him" (v. 45).

The Indirect Indication of Inspiration

It is significant that in a book designed to present Christ's deity, there were no qualms in the mind of the writer about presenting His total humanity. If the Bible were not true and John was trying to falsely claim that Christ was God when He really wasn't, then John certainly wouldn't have presented Jesus in the depth of His humanity. We would expect Him to bypass a portrayal of Jesus that would have hindered his objective. But John does not hesitate to give a complete delineation of Christ's humanity in a book where he is endeavoring to present the divine nature of Christ as God in human flesh. That helps to verify that the Gospel of John was inspired by the Holy Spirit and was therefore accurately recorded.

I. THE PERPLEXITY (v. 37)

Let's recall the scene: Jesus had arrived at Bethany, where many were mourning the death of Lazarus, who had been dead four days. Martha and Mary had wondered where Jesus had been, stating that if He had come sooner, their brother would not have died. Beginning in verse 37, Jesus encounters the perplexity of the Jews who were present: "And some of [the Jews] said, Could not this man [Christ], who opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man [Lazarus] should not have died?"

A. Its Cause

Although John primarily uses the word Jews to refer to the Jewish leaders, in this case it may refer to the people who were not followers of Christ. They were confused about why Jesus delayed His coming until Lazarus was dead if Jesus loved him so much. They could not reconcile the delay of Jesus with His power and His love for Lazarus, which they had witnessed as He wept (vv. 35-36).

The mourners had already been there four days when Jesus finally arrived. In their perplexity, they wondered why Jesus had been able to heal a blind beggar (Jn.9) but not Lazarus, whom He knew personally. Many of those present were probably familiar with that healing because it was the last major public miracle that Jesus had done near Jerusalem. When Jesus met the blind man by the Temple, "... He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam ..." (9:6-7). When the man had done so, he was healed, and his neighbors reported the miracle to the Pharisees. That was a notable public miracle. Those who had witnessed it assumed anyone who could do that could take care of a disease like Lazarus had.

B. Its Character

Some people have suggested that the character of the Jews' statement in verse 37 is sarcastic. But I don't agree. I think those Jews were honestly perplexed because they really did believe Jesus loved Lazarus--their comment in verse 36 is very objective. They couldn't reconcile His love and power with His delay. Before you chastise them, remember that is a common inquiry on our part as well. We often say, "God, why did You let such-and-such get so far? If You had only stepped in when I asked You, we wouldn't have gotten into this mess." We get become impatient and say, "God, I've been praying about this thing for thirty minutes and nothing's happened. Aren't You listening? What's going on?" That's the kind of questioning Martha and Mary did when they said, "... if Thou hadst been here, my brother [would not have] died" (vv. 21, 32). We think we trust God, but we don't always like to abide by His timing.

The Trilogy of Trust

We need to trust God by accepting His purpose and His timing. There are three essentials we must trust in to be an effective Christian: God's will, God's power, and God's timing. God knows what He's doing, and He knows when to do it. It's easy to waver in doubt and say, "God, things have gone too far; You're not going to be able to do anything about it now." When impetuous Peter couldn't understand why the Lord stooped to wash his feet, "Jesus answered, and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter" (Jn. 13:7). The Lord knew what He was doing, and He would explain it at the right time. We often want to run ahead of God because He doesn't seem to be working fast enough for us. We forget God is adjusting history to His purposes. He knows what He's doing. Trust His will, His power to do His will, and His timing to do it when the time is right--and not until then. That's the essence of real faith. God doesn't have to give you an account of what He does. Job 33:13 says, "... He giveth not account of any of His matters." God doesn't need to turn in a time card or tell you what His calendar is. God carries out His will in His perfect power and timing.

II. THE PROBLEM (vv. 38-39)

From the standpoint of human logic, the death of Lazarus seemed like an insurmountable problem. Martha, who was somewhat pessimistic about the situation, was outdone only by her sister, Mary, who was totally pessimistic. They assumed the situation was hopeless.

A. The Consequence (v. 38a)

"Jesus, therefore, again groaning in Himself, cometh to the grave...."

The phrase "groaning in Himself" means that Jesus was deeply moved in His inner man. It is difficult to translate because it can have so many shades of meaning. But perhaps the best translation is "indignation." Jesus was in a state of holy indignation against the effects of sin and death. He looked around and saw the sorrow and the curse of sin and experienced internal anguish. Combine His indignance over sin with His love and the anticipation of His own atoning death and you'll know why He was emotionally distraught. Jesus was no Stoic; He was "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief ..." (Isa. 53:3). He stood in front of the tomb facing death, the evidence of sin's curse. His spirit was grieved, so consequently He groaned again in an empathetic expression of His humanity even though He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead.

B. The Cave (v. 38b)

"... It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it."

The tomb of Lazarus was a very common kind of grave in Palestine. Tombs were either natural caves or caves that had been hewn out of rock. The average size of such tombs was about six feet long, nine feet wide, and ten feet high. Inside, there were usually about eight shelves carved into the rock, three on each side and two facing the entrance. As a family member died, he would be placed in the family's tomb on one of the shelves. The body was wrapped in a linen garment and aromatic spices were sprinkled in the folds. The hands and feet were bound separately; the Jews did not wrap corpses like Egyptian mummies. The head was wrapped in a towel. The tomb had no door; a cartwheel-shaped rock sat in a groove so it could be easily sealed and removed.

C. The Command (v. 39a)

"Jesus said, Take away the stone...."

It is significant that Jesus used men to take the stone away. Jesus was not in the business of doing tricks for public appeal. If He wanted to, He could have had that stone fly up in the air and do flips. Or He could have had it do skywriting! But Jesus didn't do things like that. Only God can raise the dead, but men can move the stone.

His command to remove the stone activated Martha, who was a very outspoken individual. She impulsively reacted in fear to what He asked. Her heart was already crushed with grief over Lazarus, and the command to roll the stone away shocked what was left of her reasoning power.

D. The Caution (v. 39b)

"... Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto Him, Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days."

Her impulsive reply reflects the universal approach to all problems: "Oh, forget it; it can't be done!" Even with her faith, doubt emerged on top. The seriousness of the problem was just too much. Her thoughts were on the corpse. She knew the process of decomposition was accompanied by an odor. She wanted to remember her brother as he was when they had laid him in the tomb. Evidently, she thought Jesus wanted a last look at her brother. She couldn't stand the exposure of his corpse. She probably figured that since Lazarus was going to be raised at the last day (vv. 23-24), it was therefore unnecessary to open the tomb because they would see him again on the day of resurrection.

Martha believed it was too late for Jesus to do anything. Things seemed past His control. The Jews recognized that attempting to preserve the body against the power of decay was useless. The Egyptians, on the other hand, believed that was necessary and had a very sophisticated method of embalming. They disemboweled the entire body and removed the brain so there would be no internal deterioration. The body was soaked in a chemical solution for seventy days and then wrapped in bandages. Such a procedure was a lot of effort for nothing. No amount of burial preparations can alter the state of death. Martha knew that. Consequently, she thought the corpse was an insurmountable problem, even for Jesus. She may have believed the Jewish tradition about a person's spirit floating around the body of the deceased for four days, hoping to gain a reentry. On the fourth day, because the face was no longer recognizable, it was believed that the spirit would depart. To Martha, it being the fourth day meant the situation was hopeless.

III. THE PROMISE (v. 40)

A. Analyzed

John 11:40 says, "Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" Jesus may have said that to Martha earlier. If He did, it is not recorded. He may have repeated to Martha what He had told His disciples in verse 4 and then summarized it along with what He had told her in verses 25-26. When the message first came to Jesus about Lazarus being sick, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified by it" (v. 4). In verses 25 and 26 He told her to believe in Him and His power. So He had directly told her to believe in Him and had indirectly informed her that she would see the glory of God.

Notice Jesus didn't say, "If you believe, I will do the miracle." No. He didn't condition the miracle on her faith. Rather, He said if she believed Him, she would see the glory of God. There's a great distinction between the two. The sovereign act of Christ raising Lazarus would have happened whether Martha believed or not. But, for her to see the glory of God in the miracle, she had to have faith in Christ. She had been fighting a battle of faith and doubt, focusing her thoughts on the corpse rather than on Christ. But Christ said, in effect, "In this miracle, Martha, I don't want you to just see a corpse resurrected; I want you to see the Son of God glorified. What you carry into the miracle is what you're going to get out of it."

The theme of the universe is the glory of God. God created everything for His glory. The only things that don't give Him glory are two groups of rebels: fallen angels and fallen men. Everything else in the universe gives glory to God. That's why Jesus said, "I want you to see in this the glory of God and Myself. I'm not nearly so concerned about what you think of Lazarus as I am about what you think of Me." The miracle of chapter 11 was primarily for the glory of God, not for the life of Lazarus, who would eventually die again anyway. Therefore, for Martha to limit her perspective to the raising of Lazarus would not have been what Christ wanted her to see.

What is the glory of God?

The glory of God is the revelation of all the attributes of His person. For example, when Moses asked to see God's glory in Exodus 33:18, God revealed His goodness, grace, mercy, patience, and truth (Ex. 34:6). His glory is the composite of His attributes. His power to give life is just one of those attributes. When Jesus came to earth, He was the glory of God embodied. Hebrews 1:3 called Him "the express image of His person ...." John 1:14 says He was the manifestation of God's glory. All the attributes of Christ revealed the attributes of the Father: You can see God's glory in the mercy, grace, goodness, love, judgment, and justice that Christ demonstrated. John 11 reveals one particular manifestation of Christ's glory: His ability to give life.

Did you know that resurrection life was one of the attributes of God's glory? Romans 6:4 says, "Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." The glory of the Father that raised Christ from the dead was His manifestation of resurrection power. Similarly, the miracle of John 11 was the manifestation of God's glory in resurrection power. That is why Jesus wanted Martha not to be so preoccupied with Lazarus. She was to focus on Christ and His glory. More than seeing a resurrected brother, Christ wanted her to see Him glorified. The miracle was evidence of His deity and glory.

B. Applied

Some people are like Martha: They go through life and only see the problems. They get ulcers, worries, and gray hairs over various difficulties. Then, when God answers their problem, all they see is the solution until they focus on their next problem and wait for another solution. But when a Christian keeps his eyes on Jesus Christ, he sees more than the solution; he sees the glory of Christ. Every time the Lord solves a problem, a believer can praise Him for who He is and what He has done. When we look at His glory, our lives become a manifestation of that glory. Second Corinthians 3:18 says, "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." What are we supposed to be focusing on in our Christian lives: our problems? No. We are to be focusing on the glory of the Lord. When we gaze into the face of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible, we are going to see His glory. As a result, we will be changed into His image--His glory becomes our glory as we become more Christlike and manifest His attributes.

Is a Christian supposed to keep his eyes on his problems? No. Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ. Don't worry about your problems. If you look at your problems, you'll probably only be looking for the immediate solutions to your problems. However, if you look at Christ, you will see His glory. The problem with psychologically- oriented preaching is that it focuses on everyone's problems. But if you focus on Jesus Christ, whatever happens will enable you to see His glory. His glory becomes your glory as the Spirit of God transforms you into His image. That's a great promise! I'm not interested in dwelling on problems; I want to see the glorious attributes of God.

IV. THE PRAYER (vv. 41-42)

After requesting that the stone seal for the tomb be taken away, Jesus offered a prayer to the Father--not a petition, but prayer of thanksgiving. Verse 41 says, "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." He didn't ask the Father for anything; He simply thanked Him for having heard Him.

You may ask, "Why was Jesus praying out loud like that? Verse 42 tells us why: "And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people who stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me." Jesus' great claim throughout His ministry was that He had been sent from God. As God in human flesh, He was publicly announcing that He and God were one. He was praying, "Father, it's wonderful to know that You and I have already agreed on this situation, and that You always hear Me because I always ask according to Your will." He didn't have to ask God for the power or right to raise Lazarus; He already had both. He didn't have to ask the Father what He wanted because He too was God, although distinct from the Father. Could any man other than Christ say that to God? No. That would be the epitome of egotism because man and God don't agree on everything. If Christ was not God, such a statement would have been blasphemous. So Jesus prayed out loud because He wanted the people present to know He was intimately connected with the Father.

V. THE POWER (vv. 43-44)

A. The Command of the Lord (v. 43)

"And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth."

Jesus had prepared the onlookers for His display of power. Everyone was standing in anxious anticipation of the tomb being opened. This was a critical moment because if Lazarus didn't come out, Jesus' credibility was on the line. He called the shot and it had to happen. The people must have immediately wondered whether Jesus' command for death to give up its victim would be obeyed or not. Panic must have filled their hearts. Did He have the power to get Lazarus out of that tomb by reversing death? Did He have the power to recreate fresh skin and organs?

Jesus "cried" (Gk. ekraugasen) with a loud voice. That Greek verb was used to describe the shouting of a multitude and therefore implies an extremely loud utterance. You may say, "Why did He shout so loud?" The Bible doesn't say, but there are three possible reasons. First, in keeping with the character of death as a deep sleep, it may have been necessary to shout to release him from it. Second, a loud shout was commensurate with all the power that would be necessary to resurrect Lazarus. Third, I think He did it to shock the people standing around into realizing that what was going to happen would happen because He had commanded it. The three words, "Lazarus, come forth," would associate the resurrection with His divine power. In fact, Christ had so much power, every grave on earth would have split open had He not directed His power by specifically commanding Lazarus of Bethany to rise!

Someday, if we die before we are raptured, our bodies will be resurrected like Lazarus's body was. They will come out of the grave and be united with our souls when Christ returns for the church. First Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ...." When Christ comes to collect the church, He will give a shout (possibly the command "Come forth"). Then the bodies of all believers--even those who have been dead for two-thousand years-- will come out of the grave with new resurrected bodies. What power that will take! We can't even fathom the power it takes to make so many dead people alive.

B. The Coming Forth of Lazarus (v. 44)

1. The Proof of Power (v. 44a)

"And he that was dead came forth ..."

The people stood by, hearts pounding in anticipation. They must have been relieved as well as shocked to see Lazarus walk out of the tomb wrapped in grave clothes. At the sound of Christ's voice, death yielded up its lawful captive, and Christ stood as the conqueror of sin, Satan, and death. The Book of Revelation says He has "the keys of hades and of death" (1:18), and He unlocks death for those who believe in Him. His raising Lazarus from the dead is absolute proof that He has power over death.

2. The Request for Release (v. 44b)

"... bound hand and foot with graveclothes; and his face was bound with a cloth. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."

Since each leg and arm had been wrapped individually, it wouldn't be any problem for Lazarus to get up and walk. Imagine him wrapped in bandages and his head covered with a separate cloth--what a vivid and unique picture that must have been!

Jesus instructed the bystanders to remove the grave clothes as if to say, "Now let's not stand around and ask him how he feels or get into a theological debate. Untie him and let him go. When you get back to the house you can talk about it." Can you imagine the apprehensive anticipation of those who removed the bandages and found Lazarus completely restored? He was alive!

CONCLUSION

There are some important lessons in this passage. In the commands for the bystanders to roll away the stone and unwrap Lazarus we learn that although only God can raise the dead, He still uses men to do the things they are capable of doing. That's how the Lord always operates. He does what He does, but we do what we can do. There's no greater joy in the world than rolling away gravestones and taking off grave clothes for the Lord! We play a part in what He does. The ministry we do for the Lord is an honored privilege not given even to angels.

Another truth from this passage is that if Christ can raise Lazarus from the dead by saying, "Lazarus, come forth," we can be assured that when Jesus returns and says to His own, "Come forth," we will come be gathered to be with Him forever. That's our hope. When Jesus said, "... I am the resurrection, and the life" (Jn. 11:25), He wasn't making idle conversation. He was proclaiming an eternal truth that He verified by His power over death in raising Lazarus. Someday He's going to verify that in our lives. According to the Apostle Paul, on that day "this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor. 15:54). Believers will experience eternal resurrection life. No more will we wear the old grave clothes of sin and death; rather, we will be in clean white linen (Rev. 19:8). Someday we will walk in heaven with Christ because He is the resurrection and the life. May our eyes be constantly fixed on Him and may we be "changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18).

Focusing on the Facts

1. What is the main point of John 11?

2.Before what two groups did Jesus wanted to verify His claim to be God?

3.What indirect evidence for divine inspiration is given in John 11?

4.Why were the Jews perplexed about Jesus? What couldn't they reconcile in their minds?

5.Why would many of the Jews at Lazarus's funeral have been familiar with the healing of the blind man in John 9?

6. What seemed like an insurmountable problem to Martha?

7.Why was Jesus "deeply moved" (v. 38)?

8.What is significant about Jesus not miraculously taking the stone away?

9.Why did Martha probably feel it was unnecessary to open the tomb?

10.Did Jesus condition Lazarus's resurrection on Martha's faith? What did Christ want her to see in the miracle (v. 4)?

11.Identify the theme of the universe. Explain.

12.What is the glory of God? What aspect of God's glory was demonstrated in the resurrection of Lazarus?

13.How can a believer's life become a manifestation of God's glory (2 Cor. 3:18)?

14.What was the nature of the prayer Jesus offered to the Father in verse 41?

15.Why did Jesus pray out loud, according to verse 42?

16.Why might Jesus have cried out with a loud voice in verse 43?

17.When will Christians who have died be resurrected?

18.What can we learn from the fact that Jesus requested some bystanders to remove the grave clothes rather than miraculous removing them Himself?

19.Because Jesus raised Lazarus, what can Christians be assured of when He returns?

Pondering the Principles

1. Do you trust God's will for your life? Do you fully believe that He knows what's best for you? Do you know what His revealed will for you is? Scripture tells us that God's will is for us to be saved (2 Pet. 3:9), led by His Spirit (Eph. 5:17-18), holy (1 Thess. 4:3), submissive to authority (1 Pet. 2:13-15), and willing to suffer for living a godly life (1 Pet. 4:19; 2 Tim. 3:12). If you are fulfilling God's will in those basic areas, you can trust that anything else you do will be in accordance with His will. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight thyself also in the LORD, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." If you are following the Lord's revealed will, your desires to pursue a particular career or ministry will automatically be His desires. Make sure you believe that the Lord can bring those desires to pass and wait patiently for His perfect timing. Verses 5 and 7 of Psalm 37 say, "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.... Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him ...."

2.What a privilege we have as servants of the Lord! We may not be involved in a visible dynamic ministry, but that doesn't necessarily reduce its importance in the overall divine plan. God uses people who are available. At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus enlisted some men to roll away the stone and remove the grave clothes from Lazarus. If you saw a need you could meet, and sensed the Lord's leading for you to meet it, would you be available to serve the Lord in that capacity? Or would you be so busy, it would be easy for you rationalize that someone else would do it? Pray that God would open a door of ministry for you or that you would fully commit yourself to your existing ministry.

3.Meditate on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 by reading it a few times. Praise God for His resurrection power and the promise of eternal life. Whom can you comfort with the truths of 1 Thessalonians 4? Who needs to know about Jesus' power over death and receive the life He offers? Make plans to call, write, or visit that person this week.