Context: The
Gospel of John is frequently divided into two halves by scholars: “The Book of
Signs” (1:19-12:50) and “The Book of Glory” (13:1-20:31). By far the most
astounding sign-miracle in “The Book of Signs” is the concluding one—the
raising of Jesus’ friend Lazarus from the dead—a man who had been dead for four
days. The famous “I am” statement in this study is found within the lengthy (44
verses) account of this event.
Study:
The statement, “I am the resurrection and
the life…” is found at John 11:25, which is part of the larger pericope
beginning at John 11:1 and extending to John 11:44 (It is very common to
include John 12:9-11) as the tail end to this story.
- Take time, as a small group to read this entire story out loud
together: John 11:1-44; 12:9-11.
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| The Raising of Lazarus (John 11) |
General
Overview/Observation of Passage:
Grant Osborne asserts that of all the so-called resurrection miracles (there
are ten not counting Jesus’ bodily resurrection) the raising of Lazarus is the
most clearly identified with the afterlife. Jesus demonstrates the presence of
resurrection both now (the spiritual
dead hear his voice and live, John 11:25) and in the future (those in the grave come forth, John 11:28-29).
This is actualized in the person of Lazarus—Jesus raises him as a clear
foretaste of the final resurrection—and emphasized in the juxtaposition of
Martha’s confession, “I know that he will
rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24) and in Jesus’
bold claim, “I am the resurrection and
the life.”[1]
Indeed, the I am statement at
John 11:25 is the theological culmination of John 5:21, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so
the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.” Jesus is equated with
the Father as the one who gives “resurrection and life,” so uniting the
realized (raising the spiritually dead) and the actualized/final (last day
bodily resurrection) eschatology (end times events).
- For more background on the above paragraph, as a small group read
out loud together John 5:19-30.
- What does this passage teach us about resurrection from the dead?
- What does this passage teach us about eternal life, and how does
one attain resurrection/eternal life?
- What does vs. 25 in particular teach us about the future
resurrection?
- Read together, out loud as a small group John 11:1-16 again.
*Side note—It is worth noting
that when the author writes, “It was Mary
who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother
Lazarus was ill” that event doesn’t
happen until chapter 12—AFTER Lazarus has been raised from the dead. This may
indicate that the original community that John is writing to may be aware of
Mary and her loving act towards Jesus before they ever read this gospel
account.
As this narrative begins we
must bear in mind that in chapter 10 Jesus and his disciples have escaped Judea
to a region where John the Baptizer had been baptizing (Bethany across the
Jordan—also known as Batanea). The Bethany mentioned at 11:1 is a small village
two miles southeast of Jerusalem on the road to Jericho. When the
representatives of Mary and Martha find Jesus in Batanea and urge him to come
to Lazarus’ aid, they are, in effect, begging him to return to the dangerous area
from which he just narrowly escaped. Depending on the route taken it was a one
to three day walk from where Jesus and his disciples were staying to where
Lazarus lay dying.
At verse 5 we learn that
Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. While this is the first time they are
mentioned in this gospel, it is clear that Jesus knows this family well. Jesus’ response to the messenger is curious
at verse 4, “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.” D.A. Carson explaining
the sentence construct writes,
The
death of Lazarus will prove to be for
God’s glory—not ‘in order that God may be glorified, ie. praised’, but ‘in
order that God’s Glory may be revealed’, since in John ‘glory’ is more commonly
not the praise that is God’s due but his revelation, his self-disclosure.[2]
In the Gospel According to
John, and based on the previous “I am” statements that we have studied, in what
manner (in whom!) does God reveal his glory? The answer to this question is
Jesus—the eternally begotten Son of the Father in whom the fullness of God
dwells. So, if the death of Lazarus came about so that God’s glory may be
revealed, this particular revelation of God’s glory is so that God’s Son may be glorified through it. That is, the raising
of Lazarus from the dead provides an opportunity for God, in revealing his
glory, to glorify his Son, for it is the Father’s express purpose that all
should honor the Son even as they honor the Father (Remember back to John 5:23!).
At verse 5 and following we
learn that Jesus delays going to Lazarus. If he loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
why would he delay going to them?
The disciples are reluctant
to go back to Judea. Why is that? Do you think they struggled at this point with
a lack of faith and trust in Jesus?
After telling the disciples
that their friend Lazarus had fallen asleep, and causing some confusion amongst
them, Jesus tells them plainly, “Lazarus
has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may
believe. But let us go to him.” Take note that in verse 16 Thomas appears to be a brave man of
action. That is not the image many of us have; i.e., “Doubting Thomas.”
- Read John 11:17-27
As Jesus approaches Bethany
with his disciples word arrives at the house of Mary and Martha the he is near.
Martha runs to Jesus and appears to gently chastise him for his late arrival, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother
would not have died.” And then makes a curious statement at verse 22, “But even now I know that whatever you ask
from God, God will give you.”
-What
do you think Martha meant by this statement to Jesus?
-If
you think she was referring to raising Lazarus from the dead how do you
understand the tension with verse 39?
Jesus replies to Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” At first
this appears to be a simple statement of orthodox Jewish belief in the last
things. Sometime in the future, at the end of the world, the “Day of the Lord”
will take place and there will be a bodily resurrection of the dead. Certainly
one of the great promises and hopes of Scripture is that death will not have
the last word—that life in God will conquer the pain, oppression, and darkness
of death. Verse 24 indicates that is how
Martha understood Jesus’ statement, but unbeknownst to Martha Jesus is
promising a more immediate resurrection of Lazarus—she will soon understand the
true meaning of his words.
This dialogue regarding
resurrection at the last day is the entry point for Jesus’ “I am” claim at
verse 25-26, “I am the resurrection and
the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and
everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
-What
do you think Jesus means by, “though he
die, yet shall he live”?
-Stay
on that line of thinking and discuss what Jesus means by, “and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Martha’s response at verse 27
is breathtaking. She makes a powerful confession of faith to Jesus, “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ,
the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” This response is more that a
confession and assent to the points that Jesus has raised pertaining to
resurrection life. She has deduced that the only way for Jesus to be “the resurrection and the life” is for
him to be the Messiah—the promised Savior to God’s people. Her faith is a rich
mixture of personal trust and of confidence that certain things about Jesus are
true; that he is the Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he is the one
who was to come into the world.
-The
Bible teaches us that we cannot make professions of faith like Martha’s in this
passage without being empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so. Martha is grieving
the death of her beloved brother. Yet, at the same time, she is open to the
work of God within her. Have you ever deeply grieved the death of a loved one?
Did you feel more open or more closed to the work of the Holy Spirit during
this time?
- Read John 11:28-37 out loud together as a small group.
During this passage Mary, Martha’s sister, goes to Jesus outside the
village and falls at his feet pleading, “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died.”
Jewish funeral custom
dictated that even a poor family was expected to hire at least two flute
players and a professional wailing woman. Mary and Martha’s family does not
appear to be poor which means that Jesus was greeted at the village by both the
intimate tears of Mary and Martha as well as the “professional grievers.” At
this point in the account we are given a beautiful glimpse into the humanity of
Jesus. “Jesus wept” (the shortest
verse in the Bible). He wept for his friends sadness and grief, he wept that
his friend had died, he wept for the condition of humanity—made in the image of
God yet held in bondage to death and sin…Jesus is deeply grieved and displays a
deeply human emotion—tears.
- Read John 11:38-44; and 12:9-11 out loud together as a
small group.
At this point we should be
mindful that while Jesus told his disciples previously that Lazarus would be
raised for God’s glory, he had not said this to Mary and Martha. This is worth
noting because of Jesus’ statement in verse 40, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of
God?” In verses 23-26 Jesus was promising Martha that he would raise
Lazarus from the dead (she didn’t realize he meant now!)—her faith in him and
amazing confession at verse 27 that he is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God,
exhibits a trust in Jesus that even in the face of death, God’s glory revealed
in him is to be trusted. This is why she consents to the stone being rolled
away even through her brother has been dead for four days.
As to Jesus’ public prayer as
the stone was rolled away is nicely interpreted by Carson,
…the
prayer seeks to draw his hearers into the intimacy of Jesus’ own relationship
with the Father; the prayer demonstrates the truth from (John) 5:19ff that
Jesus does nothing by himself, but is totally dependent on and obedient to his
Father’s will. The Son may ask; the Father grants. What Jesus is hoping will be
accomplished is that some of his hearers will in consequence believe that he
has been sent by God himself.[3]
Lazarus, though dead, obeys
the Lord and rises. Jesus is “I am.” Even the powers of darkness must obey the
Son of God, who is God! He has the power to raise the dead. It is important to
note, though, that Lazarus has been resuscitated rather than resurrected. He
has not received his resurrected, glorified body as Jesus did on Easter
morning. That will come when Jesus returns.
Lazarus will physically die again. According to 12:9-11 that may have
happened sooner than later.
-What
are your initial reactions after reading through this study?
-Do
you have the courage of Thomas to go where Jesus leads?
-Do
you have the faith of Martha to confess Jesus as Lord at even the most
vulnerable of times in your life?
-Do
you implicitly trust the power of Jesus’ light over the powers of death and
darkness and do you recognize that the
great hope of the faith is not spiritual but bodily resurrection?
- Close with prayer.
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