The Lord’s Timetable - John 11:1-16

So Jesus heads to Judea and connects with his old friends in Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in spite of the threat of being stoned. Mary and Martha are mentioned in the other gospels as well. Luke 10 is the famous story where Martha is busily working, while her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. And Martha is upset with her, but Jesus tells her that Mary has “chosen the good portion.” That account is likely one of Jesus’ first encounters with this particular family. So it makes sense that Lazarus is ill and near death when his sisters send an SOS to Jesus. But what’s most troubling about this whole story is the fact that Jesus drags his feet going to Judea.

It seems odd doesn’t it? Especially when you consider the fact that Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were good friends with Jesus.

No doubt, there are lessons for us in these initial sixteen verses, but one of the major things that I think we can take away from this passage is that we should not understand the Lord’s delays as his denials.

And we see this in three ways: First, the Lord’s delays remind us of his sovereignty (vv. 1-4), second, the Lord’s delays do not mean you are unloved (vv. 5-6), and lastly, the Lord’s delays force you and me to rely, trust, and believe on Him even more (vv. 7-16).

The Lord’s delays remind us of his sovereignty (vv. 1-4)

Verse one simply tells us that Lazarus was “ill.” He is clearly on the brink of death. And obviously, his two sisters are very concerned about him. So concerned that they send a messenger to Jesus. They try to tug on Jesus’ heart strings with their message: “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

And the implication is obvious: they want Jesus to come see Lazarus immediately. They need Jesus to do something dramatic and do it right now, because they know that only he can heal Lazarus!

But notice how Jesus responds to Mary and Martha’s message. “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Jesus wasn’t saying that Lazarus wasn’t going to die, rather, Jesus was saying that death wasn’t going to have the final word. And this statement could be easily misunderstood. In fact, that statement could be understood in a very positive way. It really sounds like this illness wasn’t going to kill him. It sounds like Jesus is saying Lazarus will make a full recovery.

But of course, we know what Jesus really meant by that statement. He certainly didn’t mean that Lazarus wasn’t going to die - rather he meant that he was going to do something profound. Something so profound in fact that “...the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Through a great miracle he was going to demonstrate his power over the grave and death itself.

That’s what is actually meant by the word “glory” there in verse 4. We normally think of “glory” as the brilliance of his holiness and majesty. But that’s actually not what it means here: In verse 4, “glory” means power and majesty being displayed or demonstrated through a mighty act.

Doesn’t verse 4 sound very similar to what Jesus said in John 9? Remember what Jesus says when he and his disciples encounter the man born blind? His disciples asked him, who sinned: him or his parents? Because in their minds, the man’s blindness was the result of sin.

But what was Jesus’ response? “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

It sounds incredibly similar to what we see here, doesn’t it? “It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

And we know how this story ends, right? We know that Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, and this is precisely what he is referring to when he said that the “Son of God [would] be glorified through it.”

And so somewhere along the way, Lazarus passed away. So by the time that the messenger returned to Mary and Martha, Lazarus was probably dead. And here’s the real kicker: Jesus allowed Lazarus to die.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus never seems conflicted? There’s no inner turmoil over whether he should go to Judea or not. He doesn’t make a pro con list or anything like that. He’s not weighing his options or trying to figure out what he should do. He knew exactly what he was doing and he never doubted it even for a second.

Have you ever noticed that, more often than not, people who are confident in a particular situation are often totally relaxed? The opposite is true if you’re anxious, right? The more stressed or anxious you appear the more it seems you lack confidence. But relaxed certainly communicates control.

It’s the baseball player who calmly walks into the batter’s box in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and hits a home run.

My point is, the fact that Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do demonstrates his sovereign control, doesn’t it? He deliberately waits for Lazarus to die before going to him and so that He will receive maximal glory for raising him from the dead.

Again, his sovereignty is crystal clear because at no point does Jesus try to appease Mary and Martha by going to see Lazarus. He allows Lazarus to die so that he can reveal his power and glory.

It’s a glorious reminder that God operates according to his will, not ours. So often we want God to do things when we want him to don’t we? In fact, we often expect Him to do things exactly when we want him to. But his delays are not denials, sometimes they are a mere reminder that he is in control and we are not. Wouldn’t his sovereign control be called into question if Jesus had rushed to Lazarus’ side?

And again, we know that Lazarus’s life is ultimately restored, but it wasn’t in the manner or compliance with Mary and Martha’s wishes. Ironically, the way Jesus handled the whole situation was infinitely more glorious, wasn’t it?

Because the reality is we often have a very difficult time accepting the situations and circumstances that we so often find ourselves in. Who hasn’t thought at some point: God why are you allowing x, y, or z to happen to me? I’m not supposed to experience this or that! My life is supposed to look like his or hers! Or why can’t I land my dream job, find a wonderful spouse, or have perfect children?

Don’t you think Mary and Martha were thinking something like that? They wanted the messenger to reach Jesus and then for Jesus to take off in a dead sprint all the way to Judea in order to heal him.

But God’s glorious decree is hidden behind the curtain so to speak. We can’t see the whole picture or why the Lord is doing what he’s doing, but we can, should, and must trust that it is somehow for our good.

It’s Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Even when you can’t see the beauty, goodness, and glory of God in your immediate circumstances we cling to the reality that his ways are not our ways and his ways are higher than ours. One day we will see his glorious sovereign plan and appreciate the fullness of its beauty.

God’s sovereign plan is always better than ours.

The Lord’s delays do not mean you are unloved (vv. 5-6)

The next thing we need to see is that the Lord’s delays do not mean you are unloved. There’s a real temptation to believe that if our life, situations, and circumstances do not play out in the exact manner we want them to, then God’s goodness, grace, mercy, and love has departed from us.

Look at verses 5 and 6 with me. “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.”

Don’t those seem like contradictory statements? Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus so much that when Lazarus was ill with a deadly sickness, he stayed exactly where he was for two more days. Huh?

In our minds, Jesus should have jumped out of his chair and sprinted however many miles to Judea in order to heal Lazarus, right? But instead, Jesus waits an additional two more days in order to allow Lazarus to pass away.

It seems pretty cold-hearted when you consider the fact that Mary and Martha were good friends of his and begging him for a miracle. They knew that Jesus was their only hope. And to be fair, isn’t what they did exactly what you would have done if you were in their shoes? If your loved one was on the verge of tragically passing away, you’d be pulling out all the stops, you’d be grabbing at every straw in an effort to save them? Who wouldn’t do exactly what they did?

Wouldn’t it be easy for Mary and Martha to draw the conclusion that Jesus didn’t love them? He didn’t want to heal Lazarus, therefore, he didn’t love them. It’s easy to draw a conclusion like that.

Millions of dear Christians die every single day. Which includes the best kind of Christians: the reformed and presbyterian ones! The ones that have their theology totally buttoned up! Of course I’m kidding! But it’s true! Wonderfully faithful Christians die tragically every single day, and you better believe they have people praying for their healing. Should we conclude that God doesn’t love everyone he doesn’t heal?

Of course not! Just because God doesn’t immediately answer your prayers in the precise manner you want him to doesn't mean He doesn’t love you or care about what you're going through.

It may be that the Lord is demonstrating his love to you because he’s not giving you exactly what you want.

It certainly doesn’t help that our culture has a warped view of love. Aren’t we often taught that in order to demonstrate your love for someone you have to give someone precisely what they want when they want it?

But genuine love is so much more than that.

I’m sure all of us had a friend growing up who’s parents simply gave him or her whatever they wanted when they wanted it. And at some point, you were probably jealous and thought, “why can’t mom and dad be more like Johnny’s parents?” Because Johnny had all the cool stuff the second it came out.

But hopefully as you grew older, matured, and had your own children you began to see that that isn’t truly loving. Any responsible parent knows that capitulating to their child’s every whim, wish, and desire isn’t just irresponsible but potentially unloving. True love is so much more than compilation and acquiescence.

After all we’re told in 1 John tells us that “God is love.” And what do we know about God? He doesn’t always give you what you want when you want it because, just like a responsible parent, he ultimately knows what’s best for you and me.

And by the way, the Lord Jesus did demonstrate his love for Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and he did it in an infinitely greater way than merely healing Lazarus. He ended up demonstrating his love for them in a far greater way than they could have ever possibly imagined.

The Lord’s delays force us to rely on Him (vv. 7-16)

So just to remind everyone, first, God’s delays should remind us of his sovereignty. Second, his delays are not an indication of his lack of love for us. And lastly, the Lord’s delays force us to rely on him all the more.

After delaying the trip two days, Jesus finally tells his disciples that they should go to Judea which caused some serious concern among his disciples. Judea had been hostile toward Jesus - they had tried to stone him.

But his response in verses 9-10 is quite interesting: He says, “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.”

Like most of Jesus’ illustrations it operates on two levels: a literal one and a metaphorical one. Taken literally, the Jewish day consisted of twelve hours, and traveling by foot during the light of day is always easier than traveling by foot during the dark of night. You can see where you’re going during the day, whereas, it’s more difficult to see what you’re doing at night. It’s painfully obvious isn’t it?

You know I learned a long time ago that sometimes you have to state the obvious, because it’s not always as obvious as you might think it is. But I digress.

On the metaphorical level Jesus is saying something about his earthly ministry. He is saying that just as the hours in a day are fixed, so is the time and timing of his earthly ministry. His earthly ministry cannot be extended or diminished. And that’s true even in the face of what may be a hostile crowd in Judea.

But to Jesus’ point, the hostility they’ll face in Judea cannot cut his earthly ministry short because his time is fixed.

And they’re not going to Judea to necessarily face a hostile crowd, although that's what the disciples think: it’s why Thomas says in verse 16, ““Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

They’re going to Judea for Lazarus and he tells them that in verses 11-13. And as is so often the case with Jesus, he speaks whenever he speaks euphemistically he’s misunderstood.

Look at these verses with me: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples 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 meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died…”

Scripture often refers to death as “falling asleep,” which is something that his disciples should have known. But they clearly think he’s speaking literally and suggesting that Lazarus is merely asleep in his bed but will recover. But of course, Jesus is saying that Lazarus has died.

But notice the manner in which Jesus speaks of Lazarus’s death: he’s “fallen asleep but I go to awaken him.” He knows he’s going to raise him from the dead.

However, what I want is for us to focus on the second part of verse 15, “and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.”

Jesus is telling his disciples that he is glad that they were not with Lazarus when he died, because their faith will be strengthened and encouraged when he raises him from the dead. But of course, not only will his disciples' faith be strengthened, so will Mary and Martha’s faith in Jesus be strengthened as well.

But what did everyone have to do in the meantime? They had to wait!

Waiting is the worst, isn’t it? If you’ve ever ridden a roller coaster, it’s just part of the process. Without fail, I always forget when I go to an amusement park that 80% of my time will be spent waiting in lines. And that’s probably a low ball estimate. But you’re totally beholden to the process. You have no control over the situation.

I think something similar happens when you’re forced to wait on the Lord. The longer you wait on the Lord, the more dependent you become on him. Because when you’re in those seasons of waiting you quickly realize your own insufficiency and lack of control. After all, it’s why you're waiting, isn’t it? Because there’s nothing you can do about it.

The disciples' response when Jesus said, “and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe” should have been, “what does that mean?” “What is Jesus going to do?”

It’s like when you're stuck waiting in line for a rollercoaster, your anticipation and excitement builds as you get closer to the ride. In a similar manner, Jesus’ words should have built his disciples' expectation that he was going to do something incredible.

Too often we think that because the Lord hasn’t done something, He’ll never do anything.

But I think instead of diving headlong into the pit of despair, our hopeful expectation that God will do something should build.

We often think that if God doesn’t immediately respond to our prayers, then that means he’s simply rejected them. And to be fair, that is always a possibility. God has every right to say “no” to what you and I want.

But what we fail to take into consideration is God may be delaying his response because he’s preparing something far better!

Isn’t that what happened at the cross? It looked like Jesus had simply died a criminal’s death, but of course, he rose in glorious power on the third day. Over and over and over again the Lord pulls victory out of the jaws of defeat.

And that’s what we see here in the beginning of John 11. Jesus wasn’t denying Mary and Martha when he waited for two additional days allowing for Lazarus to die. What we know is that Jesus was preparing them for something far better than they could have ever imagined.

Delays are not always denials from the Lord. Delays from the Lord should encourage you and me to look for, anticipate all the more eagerly seeing the glory of God.