Lent Devotionals – Day 21

John 11 : 28 – 57

Yesterday’s devotional looked at how, in the face of despair, John 11:1-27 was more about love than anything else. Of course, it is in this section (28-57) that this idea is truly manifested.

What I want to look at in today’s post is not only the magnificent glory of the Lord in showing Himself completely sovereign over death, but also the greater meaning behind the whole chapter. Namely, that in Jesus we have the ultimate resurrection. In Jesus, we have the ultimate life.

At this point in the chapter, Jesus and His disciples have returned to a place near Jerusalem, in Bethany. Here, three different people approach Jesus and begin to question His love for Lazarus and the sisters, since He had not immediately returned but had waited. These are Martha, Mary, and the Jewish mourners. Their questioning of His love disturbs Jesus greatly.

John Piper believes that the emotions described in this passage reflect more of anguish, due to these suspicions of His motives for waiting, than lamentations of the death itself. Jesus knew Lazarus would be raised again within the next few moments. Yet His anger, because of their doubt in His love, is, in fact, an expression of His love for them. He knows that in that moment they are choosing to distance themselves from a deeper understanding of God’s glory, failing to know Him in a more profound way.

But Jesus turns to the tomb, responding to their unbelief and suspicion by showing all who were there what love is capable of. And at His command, the dead man obeyed the word of God and came back to life. God’s glory was on display; all who were there could not doubt His power and magnificence. But, as we have been talking about, God wants to take us deeper and deeper into the understanding of how glorious He really is.

That is why in the time following Lazarus’s resurrection, another seemingly tragic event took place that shook the limits that they had placed on His power and love. Jesus died on a cross.

There and then, glory was emitting from what seemed like lost hope. Yet three days later we know He was resurrected, God drew to a close the end of an age of separation. Lazarus’s resurrection was just a taster.

If you are saved, what happened to Lazarus happened to you when your spirit was united with His. God said “Live!” and your dead body, as it were, obeyed.

What is God saying then in times of tragedy? He is saying to you now that He has so much more to show you, deeper and higher levels of His love throughout eternity; we will never reach the end of it. But we have a hope. The resurrection of Lazarus is truly waiting for us after death; we can spend eternity reaching higher levels of realising how utterly magnificent He is and the sheer depth of love He has for us.

God’s love is not sparing us from suffering or death but is giving us more and more of Himself. So we cannot measure God’s love for us by our health or wealth. Thus, in the days of darkness, God doesn’t show His love by taking it away, but by revealing Himself more. That is what we truly need.

Genuinely knowing this means we remain steadfast in times of trouble, because we know we’re about to encounter a whole new level of His glory.