John 11:1–4 Sermon

Scripture Text

John 11:1–4 ESV

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. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 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.”

Introduction

Last week we finished chapter 10.

In it we covered that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

He spoke of knowing His own people by name and we saw that Jesus because He’s good and will always be good we will always be kept.

A hired hand, who is not a shepherd, flees when the sheep are in danger. The result of abandoning God’s people is that they would then be snatched and scattered.

But Christ the Good Shepherd will keep us. No one will be able to snatch us from His hand or the Father’s hand who is greater than all.

Jesus went on to solidify this in telling those who had surrounded Him in the temple, that He and the Father are one. Which was a claim to deity.

They sought to stone Him because of that claim but He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.

In chapter 11 we see that there was a certain man in Bethany.

Read Verse 1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

We know that in John 1:28, Bethany was the place where John was baptizing. And again, in John 10:40, this is where Jesus had went to that was across the Jordan.

Now there is a Bethany that was near Jerusalem. At the end of chapter ten when Jesus fled from being stoned He traveled north at about 70 miles north to a Bethany that was across the Jordan River.

But the village mentioned in verse 1 of chapter 11, was the village near Jerusalem.

We know this because of what Jesus said to His disciples in verse 7 of John 11.

John 11:7 ESV

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

Judea was south of the Jordan River. So the village Bethany in verse one was the one near Jerusalem in Judea.

A 70 mile journey would be equivalent to walking from here to Philadelphia. Which is about a 21 hour journey. Not counting rest.

We also have more details that this was near Jerusalem because of what the disciples said in verse 8.

John 11:8 ESV

8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”

Lazarus is actually mentioned here only in the gospel of John.

He is not to be confused with the Lazarus in Luke 16.

This Lazarus was from Bethany and He was ill.

Notice that the writer mentions Mary and her sister Martha.

Verse explains to us who Mary was.

Read Verse 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

The account of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet can be found later in John 12:1–8.

Martha, in all three accounts in the gospels seems to take a leading role as a homeowner and hostess..

She is also the one who goes out to meet Jesus and was very direct with Him.

While Martha sought to serve Jesus with the best she could, Mary had shown more of a quiet desire to sit at His feet to listen.

They were sisters and their brother Lazarus was ill.

Read Verse 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

Read Verse 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.”

The sisters sent Him a message about their brother Lazarus being ill. And His response was, “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.”

This is what we have to remember for the rest of this chapter.

The illness that Lazarus had would not lead to death. It is for the glory of God.

I would make the argument that this is the case for any sickness we face. Especially in our time today.

I do not believe it to be a coincidence that we are on this chapter in this time.

To say that sickness is for the glory of God is not popular.

The reason why many struggle with this is because they do not have a biblical view of suffering. A theology of suffering.

Jesus is clearly speaking of the intent and purpose of Lazarus being ill. It is for the glory of God.

Question: Does it sound insensitive to tell someone that an illness is meant to give God glory?

I think this chapter answers this question for us.

In it we see that Jesus loves Lazarus who needed healing. And yet what was of greater concern was the glory of God.

Question: So what does it mean when we talk about the glory of God?

Glory (doxa) is meant to speak of something as being deserving of honor. It is meant to say that something or someone is praiseworthy.

“This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God.”

The illness that Lazarus had was meant to show God as praiseworthy.

Question: How would God use this to show God as praiseworthy?

Answer: “so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

The illness that Lazarus had was meant to glorify the the Son of God. And in the glory of the Son of God, God would be glorified.

John 13:31–32 ESV

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.

A theology of suffering is held when one knows that their greatest priority is to display God as praiseworthy. Which is what this chapter is about.

The illness here that caused Lazarus to die did not lead to death.

He would be raised to life by Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ would be glorified in it. And in Jesus Christ being glorified the Father would also be glorified in Him.

A theology of suffering sees the present suffering as not worth to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us!

The gospel show us the holiness of God and our need to for a Saviour because of how unholy we are without Him.

And those of us apart from faith are dead in sin. But God makes us alive when He works faith in us.

Those of us of faith have been given life. We have been raised to life with Him in being given salvation with a future hope where we will be raised with Him in glory.

But apart from Him we will only be left with our sin and condemnation. That is why we must trust in Christ for salvation!