John 11 - Either Jesus Was the Messiah Or He Wasn't!

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The Death of Lazarus

Jesus learns that his friend Lazarus is sick and near death from his sisters Mary and Martha. We know from other verses that Jesus was close to this family. His sisters tell Jesus the "one he loves is sick". Apparently this was a serious sickness as Jesus says, "This sickness will not end in death."

Though Lazarus was very sick, Jesus stayed there for two more days. He said that Lazarus' sickness would glorify him through the sign he would do. The disciples wonder why he would go right back to Judea, where he was a wanted man. But Jesus says, "Are there not 12 hours in the day?"

Jesus is saying that he has a lot of work to do during the day. There will be a time when darkness will cover the earth, but while there is still light out, he has work to do. He is the light of the world. Jesus tells the disciples that he is going to wake up Lazarus, implying that he was going to raise him from the dead. The disciples told Jesus that if Lazarus slept he might get better. They didn't get what Jesus was saying. 

Jesus Comforts the Sister of Lazarus

By the time Jesus got to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. Martha ran out to meet Jesus, while Mary stayed at the house. When Mary met Jesus she said,

"If you had been here, he would not have died!" 

Jesus let her know that Jesus would rise again. Martha replied by saying that indeed her brother would rise in the resurrection at the last day. This was a commonly held view by Jews, who believed in the resurrection, which would come when the Messiah came. Then Jesus makes another "I am" statement.

He says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Everybody who believes in me will live even though they die." 

Jesus is telling Martha that he is the Messiah who brings the resurrection into the world for those who believe in him. Martha affirmed that she did believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah.

Martha went back and got her sister Mary. When she came back, many came with her. When she met Jesus she said the same thing as Martha, "Lord, if you had been here Lazarus would not have died."

The two sisters said the same thing, but commentators wonder what kind of tone they had when they said it. One could have been tinged with disappointment, as if Jesus had come earlier, he wouldn't have died. Another could be a statement of faith that Jesus would have certainly raised Lazarus from the dead if he were there. If only we were there. 

When Jesus joins those who are grieving and sees their grief, he also begins to experience grief at the loss of his friend. By the time Jesus reached the tomb, he was overcome by emotion and wept. If there was ever a time we see the humanness of Jesus it is here when his good friend Lazarus died. What makes it all the more authentic is that Jesus knew that he would eventually raise Lazarus from the dead. 

But others were more critical of Jesus. They wondered why Jesus didn't keep Lazarus from dying. After all, he healed the blind man. 

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

When Jesus came upon the tomb, he asked them to remove the stone. But, Mary said, "Don't realize he has been dead for four days. There will be a really foul odor!"

When they removed the stone, Jesus called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus come out!" Lazarus came out with this grave cloths and linen on, and Jesus told them to remove them. 

The Plot to Kill Jesus

Some of those who came to support Martha believed in Jesus, whereas others went to tell the Pharisees what happened. Do you see the pattern here? Almost every time Jesus does a miracle some believe and others don't. The ones who don't usually start plotting to kill Jesus. There is no middle ground here. Either they are for him and against him. 

The same is true today. Either you are for Jesus, or against him. You can't really be moderately for him. Either Jesus is the Son of God, or not. He did not really give us any other options. Some people say he was just a good teacher, or a prophet. But Jesus clearly says that He is the Messiah. Either you believe he is or you don't. There is no gray area here. He didn't leave any. 

As the Sanhedrin was debating what to do about all of this, Caiphas spoke up and said something prophetic in nature. I am not sure if he really knew what he was even saying. 

"You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

Little did he know that Jesus would die for the sins of the world. He would die both for the Jews and the scattered nations of the world. From that point on the religious leaders looked for a way to kill Jesus. Jesus withdrew to Ephraim and stayed with his disciples. 

The time of Passover was near, so the people from Ephraim started to make their way to Jerusalem. They didn't see Jesus in Jerusalem, so everybody started wondering where he was. Meanwhile the Pharisees had warned people that if they found Jesus to turn them in.