John 11:28

Vv 28-32) Mary Meets with Jesus

After the confession of Martha, she runs back into the village to get her sister Mary and tell her that, “the teacher is here and is calling for you.”

This is quite remarkable. The Creator of the universe and the Savior of the world had come to Bethany and now was calling for her.

It is still the same today. The same God Man stands and calls people in the words of the gospel. Each one invited to open the door of their heart and let the Savior in.

The Teacher: Notice the important article before teacher. Among His followers Jesus was designated primarily by His teaching activities.

But He is recognized as incomparable. After all He taught with authority.

Another interesting tidbit was this term “the Teacher” was used by a woman. The Rabbis refused to instruct women, but Jesus took a very different view.

We do not know exactly why she didn’t go with Martha. One observation from last week was that it was important for Martha to meet with the Lord one on one.

What do you notice about Mary’s response?

It was immediate. She wasted no time, but rose quickly and went to Jesus.

How do we respond to Jesus’ call?

[32] Mary fell down at Jesus’ feet.

Was this an act of worship? or an act of grief?

It was probably both.

She uttered the regret that Jesus had not been present in Bethany, for if He had their brother would not have died.

This is probably something that the two women likely talked about.

Like Martha, this is one of the places in Scripture where we wish we could hear the tone of voice and see the expressions on their face.

This could have been noble statement of faith, saying that if Jesus was there they have no doubt at all that He would have healed Lazarus.

Or perhaps, it could also be seen as a criticism of what seemed to be the tardiness of Jesus.

Vv 33-38) The raising of Lazarus

[33-34] Why was Jesus deeply moved and troubled?

To see Mary and her friends in sorrow weighted heavy. Doubtless He thought of all the sadness, suffering, and death which had come into the world as a result of man’s rebellion against God. It caused His inward grief.

What does this tell us about God?

God sees the tears of the grief stricken and is moved with compassion.

God sees our tears.

Matthew 10:29 ESV

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

God is touched by our tears.

Luke 7:13 ESV

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

God remembers our tears.

Psalm 56:8 ESV

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?

God acts to dry our tears.

Revelation 21:4 ESV

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

When we feel utterly crushed by the tragedy and sorrows of life look to Jesus.

Psalm 30:5 ESV

For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 34:18 ESV

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

We must remember that during this time and place the Jews were not reserved in their expression of grief.

This would be almost hysterical wailing and shrieking, for it was the Jewish point of view that the more unrestrained the weeping, the honor it paid to the dead.

There is an important contrast between the tears of Mary and the tears of Jesus.

Mary’s weeping describes loud wailing.

Jesus wept is another word that indicates a quiet weeping.

Jesus was greatly moved, but not out of control.

But what is happening in this moment goes further then sorrow. “Deeply moved in His spirit.” That phrase is powerful. It literally means to snort like a horse. Implying anger and indignation.

So not only was Jesus grieved by what is happening. He also had feeling of indignation at the havoc wrought by the evil one.

Jesus was angry and troubled at the destruction and power of death, the great enemy of humanity.

It wouldn’t be long before Jesus would break the dominating power of death.

[35] Verse 35 is the shortest in the English Bible. It is one of the three instances in the NT where the Lord is said to have wept.

He wept in sorrow over the city of Jerusalem and in the garden of Gethsemane.

What do you find interesting about this verse?

Jesus shared in the grief of those who mourn. Yet unlike any other, God the Son was able to do something about their grief.

Isn’t that beautiful. Jesus allowed this sympathetic passion to uniquely do for Lazarus what He will one day do for all the righteous dead.

What are some aspects that you see in these two words?

Jesus was truly a man.

There may be no sin or shame in tears.

Jesus was acquainted with grief.

Jesus was not ashamed of His humanity.

Jesus identified with others in their sorrow.

Jesus loved people.

Jesus had humanity in its perfection, and humanity unadulterated is generous and sympathetic.

Jesus dignified the tears of others in the Bible who wept, and all who weep.

Abraham wept when he buried Sarah.

Jacob wept when he wrestled the Angel.

David and Jonathan wept together.

Hezekiah wept over his sickness.

Josiah wept over the sin of his nation.

Jeremiah was the weeping prophet.

The mind of the ancient Greeks about God was that He was apatheia: The total inability to feel any emotion whatsoever.

The believed in an isolated, passionless, compassionless God. That couldn’t be further from the truth of the God of the Bible.

[36] The Jews saw in the tears of the Son of Man an evidence of His love for Lazarus.

Of course, they were correct in this. but He also loved them with a deep and undying love, and many of them didn’t understand it.

See how much He loves you! When we see him pouring out his blood and life upon the cross for us, we get to exult and cry out with joy, “behold how he loves us!”

[37] The words of the mourners seem to be genuine and sympathetic. They thought it truly sad that even Jesus, in all His greatness, could do nothing for Lazarus at this point.

They recognized Him as the same One who had given sight to the man born blind. They wondered why He could not also have kept Lazarus from dying.

Of course, He could have done so but instead He was going to perform a mightier miracle, which brought greater hope to believing souls.

[38] It would seem that Lazarus’ tomb was a cave under the earth, into which one would have to descend by means of a ladder or a flight of stairs. A stone was place on top of the mouth of the cave. It was unlike the tomb of Jesus in that the latter was carved out of rock and a person could could doubtless walk into it, as into the side of a hill, without climbing or descending.

Vv 39-40) Jesus commands the stone to be removed.

Take away the stone: Everybody thought this was a strange thing for Jesus to ask.

After all, Martha knew that his body was beginning to rot. People probably thought that Jesus was so taken with grief that He wanted one last look at His dear friend Lazarus.

In any case the condition of the body was irrefutable confirmation of Lazarus’ death.

Jesus was fully capable of this miracle without the faith of Martha or Mary. But if they would not believe, then they would never see the glory of God

What I mean by that is they could see the end result and be happy in that, but they would miss the glory of working together with God in the fulfillment of His plan.

Vv 41-42) Jesus prays

[41] This was an incredible step of faith to remove the stone.

Jesus compelled Martha and Mary to act on their faith and they did by obeying Jesus and His unusual request.

We see that Jesus dealt with Martha according to steps deliberately intended to stretch and build her faith.

Jesus gave her a promise.

Jesus drew attention to Himself.

Jesus called upon her to confess her faith.

Jesus called her to act on her faith.

Lifting up His eyes and said: Jesus likely had the traditional posture of prayer- hands raised, eyes open upward as if looking towards heaven.

“Father, I thank You” Jesus was confident in His relationship with God the Father.

The public nature of the prayer was for the sake of Mary, Martha, and the people who were around.

Notice about Jesus’ prayer: There was no pomp of incantation, no wrestling in prayer even; but simple words of thanksgiving.

Vv 43-44) Lazarus is raised.

“Loud voice” means that Jesus had a decisive tone of authority.

Not because the dead needed to hear it. It could also have been for the crowd to know that it was no work of magic, but the very power of God.

Isaiah 8:19 ESV

And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?

Not the Son of God though.

John 5:28 ESV

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice

This was what Jesus previously said about the time he would call all who were in their graves. This occasion was a single demonstration of that authority.

Jesus simply called Lazarus out of the tomb. Others whom God used to raise the dead bodies in the Scripture often used far more elaborate procedures.

Romans 4:17 ESV

as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Jesus spoke to a dead body as if Lazarus were alive because He is God.

Lazarus, come out could be paraphrased as “Lazarus! This way!

Jesus fought death at Lazarus’ tomb and plundered the grave! Jesus told death that he would soon conquer it completely.

“Wrapped with cloth” What is interesting here is that Lazarus was not resurrected, but resuscitated.

He arose bound in grave-clothes, for he would need them again; Jesus left His grave-clothes behind in His tomb, never again having need of them.

Jesus did not miraculously remove those grave-clothes from Lazarus, but He asked attendants to do so. Jesus did what only God could do, and then He looked for man’s cooperation for the completion of Lazarus’ deliverance.

The man was wholly raised, but not wholly freed. See, here is a living man in the garments of death.

What a man can do for himself God will not do for him, and what Christian people can do for sinners they must not expect the Lord to do, they must work themselves according to the ability God has given them up to the point of possibility, and then they may look for divine interposition. -Spurgeon