Reading: John 11-12
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. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go(John 11:41-44).
The Bible tells us very little about the private life of Jesus. We know next to nothing about His relationships with friends and family, which is probably why every little bit of information we are given seems precious. Jesus’ all-encompassing Godly love for all of the ‘lost sheep’ He came to save is apparent in every aspect of His ministry. Still, there is something about knowing that Jesus had friends that He loved on a personal level that enables us to more easily relate to Him as a mortal man and better understand what He sacrificed for our salvation.
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus (John 11:5). These three siblings had opened their hearts and home to Him, and a close friendship had been formed. They had accepted Him as their Lord with no reservations. When Lazarus fell grievously ill, Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus. Therefore his sisters sent unto Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick (11:3). In faith, they placed their brother's life in Jesus’ hands.
As days passed and Jesus did not arrive, their faith was put to the ultimate test. The long, anxious hours spent tending Lazarus on his sickbed ended in bitter sorrow and disappointment when their brother died. With the support of neighbors, family, and friends, they buried and mourned their dead. Four days later, Jesus arrived. As he stood at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus wept (11:35).
To those gathered in mourning, Jesus’ arrival seemed illtimed. And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died (11:37)? Even Martha had noted that if Thou (Jesus) hadst been here, my brother had not died (11:22). The faith reflected in those words was heartwarming, but incomplete. Jesus was not merely a skillful healer; He was God incarnate. Upon His arrival, He had wept for the pain His dear friends were enduring, but He rejoiced at the lesson that His perfect timing would enable Him to offer them. For with God nothing shall be impossible (Luke 1:37).
The power of God is boundless. There is nothing that can prevail against it, not even death itself. Martha had believed in the saving power of Christ (11:24), but only in an abstract, future sense. It was not until she saw her brother emerge from his grave at Jesus’ command that she could fully understand that all things, at all times, were totally and completely under the Lord’s control. When we live under His protection, we have nothing left to fear.
I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things (Is. 45:5-7).
Thought for Today: The Bible does not mention Jesus’ close friends as a way of establishing a hierarchy of personal importance to God; It does so to reveal to us what each and every personal relationship with Him can become.
Cross Reference: For John 12:13: See Ps. 118:26. John 12:15: See Zech. 9:9. John 12:38: See Is. 53:1. John 12:40: See Is. 6:9-10; Ex. 4:21.
Word Studies: 12:46 I am come a Light = I have come to reveal the Truth.
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