John 11:1-7
1Now was a certain being sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2And it was Mary, the one anointing the Lord with ointment and wiping His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was being sick. 3So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, listen! Whom You affectionately love is sick.”
4But Jesus having heard, said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God shall be glorified through it!” 5Now Jesus was loving Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when He heard that he is sick, then indeed He remained in the place in which He was two days. 7Then after this, He says to the disciples, “We shall be going again to Judea.”
Good Day Child of God! "Father? We open our hearts and minds to your instruction. Please make it plain and teach us. Amen." This is one of the times that when you read the Scripture you are apt not to take it too seriously because it is hard to fully understand what is going on. Generally speaking, Jesus is going to raise Lazarus from the dead, it will be evident very quickly.
On the other hand the story seems to be told backwards, and I am not sure why. For example we learn of Mary and Martha and Lazarus' relationship later on, after the introduction. Thus, only then do you understand why the Apostles questioned Jesus' notion to go back to a place of danger to Himself, well, and for them as well. Let's see what the Father has to say.
Today's easy lesson: At this point, there is not much to know except that if you are new to Christianity, the Bible, and more, studying the Bible alone, not realizing how much there is to this story is all you will get out of it. The reality is that Mary, Martha and Lazarus are old friends of Jesus, even more, close friends, almost family. Yet you would not know that at this point, so why John decided to put this section of his Gospel the way he did is a mystery. It makes me think that either someone tinkered with it, someone else was talking at the same time, or John was dictating and remembered he forgot to put the important fact of Lazarus up front. OR, it doesn't really matter who the man was that Jesus would bring back from his death. I know the thought is there that Jesus says in one place "sick", and in a very short sentence or so later uses the word "dead", and many come to the conclusion, "comatose". Not so. When you look up the words from the original Greek, it could have simply been stated correctly as dead, as I read it, but it wasn't. Keep in mind that at one point Lazarus was sick, he died, the timing is unclear, the relationship between the four of them is left open at this point as well, and all in all this, being a very familiar and necessary part of Jesus' Life, is not clearly stated at the start. It will become clear, in fact the whole Chapter is about this story, but at this time we can only pull one item that is important to know for all Christians.
How does this affect your daily walk with your Father? The Truth is, this is a very confusing read, but Jesus pointed out something very subtly that is True for you and I in our relationship with the Father. Jesus said Lazarus' situation is for a reason. So that the Father could verify the Son, and in turn the Son would verify the Father. Both getting what was needed at this time and in this place. For what reason? So that Jesus could continue to do the work the Father sent Him to do, and to prove that God exists, by the facts, not just by Faith alone. You see, by you allowing the Father to live and love through you, you accomplish things similarly. Every time the Father does something you know He had a hand in, your Faith did not do that, He did that so that your Faith could be factual, not fanciful. This is the reason you should try to stay close to your Father as much as possible, so that when the stuff hits the fan, or something that is needed by you, or someone you know or not, you are sure that your conversations regarding these issues, answered or not, are for the good, and nothing less; Both for you and for the Father. That is the basis of our relationship with God, and why we follow and He leads. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
1Now was a certain being sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2And it was Mary, the one anointing the Lord with ointment and wiping His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was being sick. 3So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, listen! Whom You affectionately love is sick.”
4But Jesus having heard, said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God shall be glorified through it!” 5Now Jesus was loving Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when He heard that he is sick, then indeed He remained in the place in which He was two days. 7Then after this, He says to the disciples, “We shall be going again to Judea.”
Good Day Child of God! "Father? We open our hearts and minds to your instruction. Please make it plain and teach us. Amen." This is one of the times that when you read the Scripture you are apt not to take it too seriously because it is hard to fully understand what is going on. Generally speaking, Jesus is going to raise Lazarus from the dead, it will be evident very quickly.
On the other hand the story seems to be told backwards, and I am not sure why. For example we learn of Mary and Martha and Lazarus' relationship later on, after the introduction. Thus, only then do you understand why the Apostles questioned Jesus' notion to go back to a place of danger to Himself, well, and for them as well. Let's see what the Father has to say.
Today's easy lesson: At this point, there is not much to know except that if you are new to Christianity, the Bible, and more, studying the Bible alone, not realizing how much there is to this story is all you will get out of it. The reality is that Mary, Martha and Lazarus are old friends of Jesus, even more, close friends, almost family. Yet you would not know that at this point, so why John decided to put this section of his Gospel the way he did is a mystery. It makes me think that either someone tinkered with it, someone else was talking at the same time, or John was dictating and remembered he forgot to put the important fact of Lazarus up front. OR, it doesn't really matter who the man was that Jesus would bring back from his death. I know the thought is there that Jesus says in one place "sick", and in a very short sentence or so later uses the word "dead", and many come to the conclusion, "comatose". Not so. When you look up the words from the original Greek, it could have simply been stated correctly as dead, as I read it, but it wasn't. Keep in mind that at one point Lazarus was sick, he died, the timing is unclear, the relationship between the four of them is left open at this point as well, and all in all this, being a very familiar and necessary part of Jesus' Life, is not clearly stated at the start. It will become clear, in fact the whole Chapter is about this story, but at this time we can only pull one item that is important to know for all Christians.
How does this affect your daily walk with your Father? The Truth is, this is a very confusing read, but Jesus pointed out something very subtly that is True for you and I in our relationship with the Father. Jesus said Lazarus' situation is for a reason. So that the Father could verify the Son, and in turn the Son would verify the Father. Both getting what was needed at this time and in this place. For what reason? So that Jesus could continue to do the work the Father sent Him to do, and to prove that God exists, by the facts, not just by Faith alone. You see, by you allowing the Father to live and love through you, you accomplish things similarly. Every time the Father does something you know He had a hand in, your Faith did not do that, He did that so that your Faith could be factual, not fanciful. This is the reason you should try to stay close to your Father as much as possible, so that when the stuff hits the fan, or something that is needed by you, or someone you know or not, you are sure that your conversations regarding these issues, answered or not, are for the good, and nothing less; Both for you and for the Father. That is the basis of our relationship with God, and why we follow and He leads. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
