In studying John 11, you can find a lot of information, discussion, and opinion on a wide range of topics. I wasn't kidding when I told the congregation this morning I could get several messages out of the material in this chapter.Much attention is paid to Jesus' statement to His disciples about the glory of God, to the responses of Martha and Mary, to the mourners who were present, and of course to the great statement "I am the resurrection and the life."
The one character who seems to be neglected is Lazarus. Many studies I looked at almost treat the raising of Lazarus as an afterthought, as if it was done just to illustrate the previous portions of the passage. Yet the raising of Lazarus shows us Jesus in a powerfully emotional light, one that is almost perplexing as we read the strong words used of His reactions.
Verse 33 is the key. Depending on which translation you read, you see words like "angry," "deeply moved,"and "groaned," followed by "deeply moved" and "troubled." The Greek words translated here are not often used, and they are very strong words. Clearly something in this scene affected Jesus greatly. While some commentators believe Jesus was just caught up in the general emotion of the family and friends, I don't believe that does justice to what He felt, especially given that He was going to bring Lazarus back to life shortly.
I believe that what upset Jesus was seeing the effects of sin on the world He had created. There was sickness, death, pain, sorrow, and unbelief all around Him. A world which had originally been created "very good" was now corrupted and cursed due to sin. Jesus did not take the corruption of the world lightly; it brought out strong emotions in Him, even as He was about to do something about it-not only here at Lazarus' tomb, but shortly thereafter on the cross.
It is easy for us to shrug our shoulders at all the disasters, corruption, and evil in our world and say, "Well, that's just the way it is." While that certainly may be so, we should never treat the effects of sin and the curse on our world with indifference. Jesus was powerfully moved emotionally, so much so that He took the greatest action possible and sacrificed Himself to erase the judgment of sin for those who believe on Him. We should not only mourn with those who mourn, but be moved to act to alleviate the effects of our sinful world in whatever way we can.
Of course, the greatest way to defeat sin is to see someone come to faith in Jesus. Like Lazarus, the person who is still in their sins is dead. They cannot help themselves, and they need to respond to Jesus' call to life. We can be used by the Spirit as the voice of Jesus calling to the dead to come to life. Only Jesus has the power to bring life, through the work of His Spirit, but He chooses to use us to call sinners to life in Him.
As you meet "dead people" this week wherever you go, be the voice of Jesus, and show the life He gives, and call people to eternal life through Him.
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