1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 7Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9Jesus answered, “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.” 11This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” 12The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
17So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. 21Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22“Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” 28When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him.
Interesting Words
sleep
(κοιμάομαι – Greek) – koimaómai ► sleep, fall asleep, sometimes of the sleep of death… Acts 12:6; Acts 13:36; 1Cor 15:3-4, 5-6; 1Thes 4:13, 14, 15;
sick
(ἀσθένεια – Greek) – astheneia ► sickness, weakness, frailty, want of strength, weakness, illness, suffering, calamity, frailty… John 5:5; Luke 13:11-12, 13; Matt 8:17; Luke 5:15; Heb 4:15; 2Cor 12:9;
die
(θάνατος – Greek) – thanatos ► derived from “to die”, physical or spiritual death; (figuratively) separation from the life (salvation) of God… Phil 2:8; James 1:14-15; Rom 6:23; 1Cor 15:3-4; Rom 8:2, 6; Heb 2:14, 15; 1Cor 15:55; John 5:24;
death
(ἀποθνῄσκω – Greek) – apothnéskó ► dying, about to die, wither, anastasis, from apó, “away from,” which intensifies thnḗskō, “to die”) – properly, die off (away from), focusing on the separation that goes with the “dying off (away from).” stresses the significance of the separation. Matt 9:24, 22:24; Luke 16:22; John 4:47; Rom 7:2,
resurrection
(ἀνάστασις – Greek) – anastasis ► standing up, a resurrection, a raising up, rising again, (from aná, “up, again” and hístēmi, “to stand”) – literally, “stand up” (or “stand again”), referring to physical resurrection (of the body) – Matt 22:31-32, Luke 20:35-36, Acts 4:33, Phil 3:10, 1Peter 1:3 , Rev 20:6
Cross References
▪︎ Heb 2:14, 15 – Fear of death.
▪︎ Matt 4:16 – Shadow of death.
▪︎ Rom 6:5- United in and with Christ.
▪︎ Col 1:24 – Sharing His afflictions.
Discussion Questions
1. How would you describe the cycles of life, sickness, sleeping, dying, death?
▪︎ God has defined life to be be a series of cycles, cycles of renewal… days, years, seasons, epochs, eras. They all repeat. If used according to God’s plan, they can be periods of renewal.
▪︎ Lazarus was sick (astheneia), but Jesus said this situation would not end in death (thanatos). He later described the situation to His disciples as Lazarus’ sleeping (koimaómai) in John 11:11-12, 13-14. Finally, Jesus confirms that Lazarus had died (apothnéskó).
▪︎ We have the fortune of being outside the cycle, looking back in time at Lazarus’ situation. We see that Jesus would intervene to bring glory to God, in God’s timing.
▪︎ Not every cycle ends the way we may want, but in Jesus we can be assured that every situation brings glory to God.
▪︎ Another example was Jesus’ healing of the blind man in John 9:1-2, 3-4, to glorify God.
▪︎ Other scriptures: Eccl 3:1-2, 11;
▪︎ The resurrection is the ultimate, the best of all renewals… not just restoration, and not just full recovery, but complete renewal, re-creation (physically and spiritually) to a point beyond expectation, 2Cor 1:9-10;
2. What were the various stages that Lazarus experienced here in John_11?
▪︎ He had some kind of serious sickness.
▪︎ He took a turn for the worse in just a matter of a few days.
▪︎ Not every friend or family member was able to make it back to see him in time. This was probably a hugh disappointment to Lazarus and to everyone else.
▪︎ He finally succumb to the illness.
▪︎ I assume there was some kind of burial service and he was placed in the tomb 4 days earlier.
▪︎ These facts were public knowledge and completely verifiable.
3. Starting with Jesus’ announcement to the disciples (John 11:7), how did Jesus use this situation to glorify God?
▪︎ There was sufficient time to let each aspect sink into their minds:
► He was sick.
► He would sleep it off.
► He will recover.
► What? This may be serious?
► Oh no, he died!
▪︎ It provided opportunity for His disciples to think about reprocussions of returning to Bethany, (John 11:7-8).
▪︎ It gave Jesus opportunity to model for them the right way to respond and ultimately increased everyone’s faith (John 11:15).
▪︎ It gave opportunity for the disciples to volunteer to die with their Lord (John 11:16).
▪︎ With the additional time provided by the delays Jesus had a larger audience (John 11:18-19) maximizing glory.
4. What stages did some of the disciples go thru as they considered what Jesus had planned?
▪︎ They had opportunity to rationalize a solution, “he will get better”, a plan to basically do nothing.
▪︎ They reasoned with Jesus to minimize risk and stay away (John 11:12).
▪︎ When Jesus told them flat out, “He is dead… lets go”, they had to decide who’s side they we on.
▪︎ They finally set their will to follow Jesus no matter the consequence.
5. Summarize Jesus’ message to the twelve from John 11:9-10 and John 11:14-15.
▪︎ We are in a battle for God’s Kingdom.
▪︎ It is a battle against the forces of evil (Eph 6:10-21).
▪︎ We have to fight while it is day to overcome the darkness of Satan.
▪︎ This is a struggle to the death. We fight the fight of Light against Darkness. Our weapon is the Light (2Cor 10:3-4, 5).
▪︎ Remember Jesus said previously that He was the Light of the world (John 8:12).
6. What did Jesus teach about the resurrection (John 11:25-26)?
▪︎ He taught that He was the resurrection (one of His most significant “I am” statements in Scripture). The “I am” statements:
► I am the Messiah (John 4:25-26)
► I am the bread of life (John 6:35)
► I am the light of the world (John 8:12)
► Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58)
► I am the door (John 10:7-8)
► I am the good shepherd (John 10:11)
► I am the resurrection and and the life (John 11:25)
► I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)
▪︎ He taught that belief is the key to eternal life and thus the resurrection, (similar to many other aspects of life, we walk by faith – 2Cor 5:7);
▪︎ He taught that if you believe, you go directly into His presence and bypass death all together (see also… Luke 23:42-43). Jesus says you will never die.. Then, He says you will live even though you die. Either way death has certainly lost its sting for those who believe in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice (1Cor 15:54-55).
7. Describe the connection that Thomas (John 11:16), Paul (Col 1:24) had with Jesus? How does this play out in the future for other believers like Lazarus?
▪︎ We all want to do everything we can to draw people to Christ. This is a growing process that will improve over time.
▪︎ As we grow in maturity, we find new and more effective ways to share the Good News of Jesus with our friends and neighbors. Studies like this are an example.
▪︎ Every acspect life takes effort, effort that will eventually end in death. We struggle to know when and where to go with our battle against the darkness.
▪︎ The struggle was evident to Thomas. He chose the right path, even though he may have faltered when Jesus was sent to the cross.
▪︎ Some extra-biblical traditions claim that Thomas went to India to spread Jesus’ teachings. There, he was martyred by decapitation.