'He whom you love is ill... It is for the glory of God' (Draft)

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Introduction

So we’ve come a long way in the book of John so far.

We began in chapter 1 with this amazing introduction, with Jesus being introduced as the cosmic Word, through whom the entire world was created.

And then John takes us from that grand scale of the cosmic universal Jesus, as the Word, and John tells us that the Word became flesh. John takes us into Jesus’ earthly human life - Jesus coming from eternity and entering into human history.

And then the next 11 chapters from chapter 1-11, even though Jesus is in the flesh, as a human being, John constantly reminds us who Jesus truly is. He’s not just a man, but He is God. He is the Son of God. And how does he remind us?

He reminds us through Jesus words! In so many places Jesus clearly tells us that He is God, and He has this unique and extremely close relationship with God the Father.

But it is not just through Jesus words that John reminds us that Jesus is the Son of God, but it’s also through Jesus’ miracles. And remember, unlike Matthew/Mark/Luke, John doesn’t call them miracles, John calls them signs. And the reason is because the miracles are not just mighty feats or displays of power, but they are signs to communicate to us who Jesus is, and the purpose of the signs are to help us believe in Jesus Christ.

So that’s why the first 11 chapters of John, are sometimes called, the book of signs. And there are 7 signs in total. And we’ve already gone through 6. Do you guys remember any of them?

Water into wine (John 2:1-11)

Cleansing the temple (John 2:12-17)

Healing the Nobleman’s son (John 4:46-54)

Healing the lame man (John 5:1-15)

Feeding the 5000 (John 6:1-15)

Healing of the blind man (John 9)

Raising of Lazarus (John 11).

And we come to the final sign today. The raising of Lazarus from the dead. Many of you have probably heard this passage before. And the reason this sign is so important, is because if the previous signs showed that Jesus is the bread of life, the water of life that gives the Holy Spirit, and the light of life, this sign shows that Jesus is life itself and gives true resurrection eternal life.

The amazing contrast is that, in this very chapter, where Jesus demonstrates that He is the ultimate source and giver of life, is the turning point in John’s gospel, where suddenly there is a shift from Jesus’ public ministry doing all these amazing miracles showing who he is, to this rapid decline in the story where in the rest of John’s gospel it spirals and spirals and descends into Jesus’ death.

But that’s the whole point - it’s not a death where God is not in control, and He panics last minute and resurrects His Son. God’s in control from beginning to end, because it is through His very death, that He gives us true life, and a resurrection in the future.

And this is the point that this passage today is showing us - God is in control, even when things don’t seem like it.

God control in our suffering

So the word we use to explain this idea is ‘sovereignty’. Who knows what ‘sovereignty’ means? Sovereignty is where God is king, LORD, ruler of all, and because he is king, he can do as he likes! He is in control of everything, and he is free to, and can do, whatever he wants to do without being affected or interfered by others.

But when we think about God’s control and his sovereignty, we often get confused, we are often unsure. And this is especially the case when we face suffering. In the hardest moments of our lives, when we are in the deepest depths of our suffering, it is so easy to question whether God is in control. If God is a good God, a loving and gracious Father, how can he let us suffer? How can he let us get injured? How can he let us have terrible diseases? How can he let us or our close family/friends die?

And this is a really important question to ask. Because if you don’t have a correct understanding of suffering as a Christian, then when you go through trials and difficult times in life, that is when you question whether God exists at all. This is one of the reasons why people leave the church, because they can’t understand how God can exist if all these bad things are happening to me? If God is a good God, how can bad things happen?

But if you have a solid, good understanding, that God is in control, and is sovereign, even in my sufferings, then sufferings and trials can actually strengthen your faith and belief in God.

So it is crucial, that from today’s passage, that you understand that in all things in life, even in our sufferings, God is sovereign. It is all under his control.

So how is this idea of God’s sovereignty, God’s control, shown to us in today’s passage? It is told to us through the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

This was a family that Jesus had a special heart for. Read John 11:5 “5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” Jesus deeply loved this family.

Remember, Mary was the woman who sat at Jesus feet, totally captivated by what He was saying, absorbing everything He said. Mary was the one who wipes Jesus feet with her own hair and pours expensive perfume over him.

And despite this family holding a special place in Jesus’ heart and being deeply loved by Jesus, what happens to them? Read John 11:1–2 “1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.”

Lazarus becomes sick, and he is at the point of death. Despite being loved and special to Jesus, God allows Lazarus to have a terrible illness.

But God is not someone who did not expect this. It’s not as if what happened was out of God’s scope of control, and he now makes a last minute plan to fix things. Remember, God is sovereign, and all things are under his contorl, even in terrible situations like this. How do we know this? Well all we need to do is see how Jesus responds. He doesn’t rush over to try and help Lazarus. In fact, he does something that we don’t quite expect: he initially does nothing. Read John 11:6–7 “6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.””

I’m sure what Martha and Mary wanted was for Jesus to rush over and miraculously heal their brother. But Jesus doesn’t do that. Jesus instead does nothing for 2 days, and it is only after these 2 days, after Lazarus had already died, that Jesus begins to make his journey towards the family. And the distance between where Jesus was to where Lazarus was, was about 150km, which would take around 4 days. That’s why we read in verse 17 that by the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus had already been dead for 4 days. So this shows that Jesus isn’t make up a last minute plan to rescue Lazarus, but everything was according to his expectations, and he has a precise plan that he is carrying out. Jesus’ actions are deliberate and planned. God is sovereign and in control.

And we see further evidence that God is in control in the next verses. Read John 11:8–9 “8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus 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.” Here, Jesus’ disciples are worried about Jesus going back to Judea because they know there are people trying to kill Jesus. But Jesus says that when He is doing God’s work, He will not stumble, nothing can stop him, because God has planned those works. God again, is sovereign and in control.

So this passage shows that even in the darkest moments of our lives, even in death, God is in control. Nothing in our lives is out of God’s hand. But God is not only in control, but He is sovereign - God can do as He pleases. And this means that God can act in ways in our lives that we don’t expect, or in ways that don’t make sense to us. And this is what Jesus does here. He delays his journey to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

But does that mean although God is in control, when God does as he pleases, He is a random God, that does as He pleases like a child, doing everything on a whim? Completely uncaring or unconcerned about us?

God’s heart in our suffering

Well this passage tells us a bit more about God’s heart towards us, his heart in our suffering, and his heart in his control over our lives. And in one sense, God is supremely and ultimately interested in himself. Read John 11:4 “4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “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.””

God is supremely interested in his own glory. We and all creation were made to praise and glorify God’s name. That is why we were created. And here, God uses even suffering to glorify himself, and glorify His son Jesus Christ. We read here that Jesus says ‘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.’ God is using the death of Lazarus, and his resurrection to bring praise and glory to his name.

And sometimes this kind of idea can be uncomfortable for us. It almost makes God seem like a selfish being, and some people would call him a cosmic partypooper! If God is loving, how can he only care about his own glory and his own name? If he is truly loving, why would he let any of his creation suffer?

Well you would be right to call God a selfish being, only interested in his own name and glory, if he was a stand-alone God, with no relationship to anything else. But remember, although God is one, God is also 3, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And they have the closest and most unique relationship, perfectly united and bonded in love, and it’s not a glory about themselves, but it’s about glorifying each other (eg, John 17:4-5). So God seeking his own glory is not a selfish glory, but it is a glory that is connected with relationship & love. It is a glory that is other-person centred. It is the complete opposite of selfish.

And this matters for us in this passage, because when we look at God being glorified through the suffering of this family, God is not glorified by laughing at and taking pleasure in the suffering of this poor family. God is glorified by showing his love for this family in their suffering. We’ve already seen that it’s clearly stated that Jesus really loved this family and they were really special to him. And what does Jesus say in verses 14-15? Read John 11:14–15 “14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.””

Jesus tells us he deliberately delayed and waited for 2 days to go to Lazarus, to make sure that Lazarus was dead before Jesus arrived. And on the surface that seems ridiculous, unloving, selfish, and it doesn’t make sense to us.

But what does Jesus say next? ‘And for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.’ God was sovereign, he freely allowed, all the things in this horrible, because he was in control and had a greater plan and purpose: which was to use of death and resurrection of Lazarus to give faith to all those who witnessed this miracle. It was an expression of his love and care for us. And it is through the showing of His love and the giving of faith, that God brings glory to himself.

So suffering doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about you, and it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t exist. And when God uses suffering for his own glory, that doesn’t make God selfish, because He is glorified when He shows His love and care for you, in your suffering. And you know what’s remarkable? You know how I said the first half of the book is called the book of signs? The second half of the book is called the ‘book of glory’. And what happens in the book of glory? It is that downward spiral of Jesus being attacked, persecuted, and suffering, and dying on the cross for you, showing his ultimate love for you -> it is this that is called the ‘book of glory’.

So our lives are to glorify God, even in our suffering, and we know that God’s heart is first and foremost interested in praising and glorifying His own name. And that is not the opposite or incompatible with God’s love for us, but rather God’s love for us and His interest in his own glory go hand-in-hand together, because it is through his love for us, his suffering and death on the cross for our sins, that He is ultimately glorified. So whenever you face suffering in life, remember all things in our lives are for the glory of God, even our sufferings, and suffering doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you, or God is distant, or God is distant, but He is still there, with you, in love and care.

Our response to God in our suffering

So we’ve talked a lot about God’s sovereignty, and God’s all complete control. And it can make it seem like we are just little puppets and we don’t have any freedom and God controls everything. But this passage shows us that’s not the case. In addition to divine sovereingty and God’s control, there is human responsibility. Although God is in control, we still have to act properly as well. And in this terrible situation, there are two key people that show faith in their response: the first is the sisters Mary and Martha, and the second is Jesus’ disciple Thomas.

Let’s look at Mary and Martha first. Read John 11:3 “3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”” The two sisters say, ‘Lord, He whom you love is ill.’ When their brother is sick and dying, they don’t say to Jesus, why have you abandoned us, why are you not helping us, why is my brother Lazarus dying. Their statement is an amazing expression of faith because they talk about their brother Lazarus as ‘He whom [Jesus] loves’. Even in this dark moment, they still have this confidence that Jesus loves them and has not abandoned them, even though the situation looks dire and even though it looks like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

And they say ‘He whom you love is ill.’ They just merely describe the situation. They don’t say, ‘my brother is dying, can you please rush over and help him.’ They trust and have confidence in Jesus’ love and power for them so much, that all they do is inform Jesus that Lazarus is sick, and they leave it up to him. This doesn’t mean that we can’t make specific requests when we pray to God, but what we can learn is their attitude and posture in suffering, which is is one of complete confidence and trust in Jesus. They know what whatever happens, whatever Jesus does, Jesus loves them, and He knows best. So these sisters show us that in our suffering, even in our darkest moments, we are to trust in Jesus and have confidence in his love for us, and his infinite power that can even raise the dead to life.

And what about Thomas? Read John 11:16 “16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”” Thomas makes a very bold statement. Thinking that if Jesus goes to Judea, he will be caught and killed, He says ‘let us also go, so that we may die with him.’ Now when Thomas said this, there were a lot of things he didn’t understand and he didn’t quite get right. But despite all his misunderstandings, Thomas shows this dedication and devotion and courage to take up his cross. In Mark 8:34, Jesus says ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’ As Christians, as disciples of Jesus, we are to show the same boldness, courage, and devotion to Christ, to take up our cross daily, and that sometimes means we will suffer in this life. So sometimes, the suffering that we face in our lives, is taking up our cross for Jesus.

Conclusion

So to summarise the points of this passage today:

1. Remember, no matter what suffering you face in life, God is in absolute perfect control. When bad things happen in your life, it is not a mistake that God made. He is in control. And He is sovereign and He does as he pleases, so that means, what God does in our lives sometimes doesn’t make sense to us. We can’t understand everything that God does. But that doesn’t mean God acts randomly, on a whim. It doesn’t mean that God is distant and doesn’t care about us.

2. So secondly, this passage today shows us that in the midst of our suffering, God’s attitude and heart towards us is love. But that love is ultimately for his own glory, and He brings glory to himself by showing us his love in our suffering. Our lives, even our sufferings, is not about ‘me, me, me’, ‘why is my life like this, how can God do this to me, life is so unfair to me’. Our lives, even our sufferings, is first and foremost for God and His glory, by showing us his love in our suffering. So when we suffer, God is deeply caring and loving for us. He hasn’t abandoned us, he is not distant.

3. And lastly, even though God is in control what is our responsibility? How are we to respond in our suffering? Just like Mary and Martha, we trust and have confidence in God’s love for us. Even though life is hard and times are dark, we know and believe and trust that God hasn’t abandoned us, but God deeply cares for us. And just like Thomas, sometimes our sufferings in life, are to take up our cross for Jesus, we embrace our suffering and step out in faith, and courage, and boldness, so that we rejoice in our suffering, because it is for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.