A big if, a good plan

               Two facts are clearly presented from the very beginning of John 11 and the dramatic account of Lazarus’s illness, death and resurrection.  First, this man and his sisters knew Jesus personally and had demonstrated devotion to Him.  Mary had anointed Jesus’s feet with oil and wiped them with her hair.  The affection was mutual, revealed when the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 

               Secondly, God had a plan, a good plan from the very beginning.  When the sisters’ entreaty came to Jesus, He prophetically replied, “This sickness in not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4).  So the very next detail is perplexing.  After saying Jesus loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus, He waited two more days before departing.  Shouldn’t the Godly response have been to get to the ones loved as quickly as possible?

               I have known this story since my early days of Sunday school and vacation Bible school.  But while studying John in an adult Sunday school four years ago, I felt particularly challenged by what happens next.  Both sisters encounter Jesus when he finally shows up, four days after Lazarus died.  They both tell Him if He had been there sooner, their brother would not have died.  But Jesus tries to keep them engaged, listening to Him as He challenges them with this question, “I am the resurrection and the life. . . Do you believe this?” (John 11:25,26).

               Before a second challenge, the very human Jesus sees the sisters and others weeping and is troubled, groaning in His spirit.  Standing at the tomb, John simply states, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).  As a man, he felt sadness at what all of them had been through.  But, as the Son of God, He moves to the next part of the plan, telling those at the tomb to “Take away the stone” (11:38).  Martha protests saying, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (11:39).  And here is the even more commanding challenge, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?” (11:40).   Jesus sticks with His father’s plan, and He wants them to join Him in believing it.

               That’s a big if, isn’t it—a big if for them and a big if for us.  Our “Lazarus stories” can span months, even years.  Like the sisters, we call on Jesus and believe in His power;  it appears nothing is working.  But Jesus asks us as He asked them, “Give Me something to work with.  Listen to what My father’s good plan is—and believe, believe with the faith and power only My Spirit can provide for you.”

               As many others, I know some of what those sisters were feeling, but I also know Jesus wants us to keep listening to Him, above all others.  What do we believe?  As I thought on this today and the many entreaties Jesus has made to me to press on toward what looks impossible, this is my response:

               I do believe in miracles, in the continuation of the ministry of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.   It is not wishful thinking.  It is not a denial of the very “convincing” and discouraging reality around me.  Patient, persevering hope and faith come from God as we listen for His good plans and await their fulfillment. 

               Jesus asks us still, “I am the resurrection and the life . . . Do you believe this?”