John 11

We are approaching the final events of the Lord’s life on Earth. The first 11 chapters cover three or four years of Yeshua’s life. The last 10 chapters of the Book cover the last two weeks of His life. That tells us that these final events, these final teachings, these final prayers, are of particular importance.

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany which was only two miles from Jerusalem), the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Yeshua knew this prominent, wealthy family, and had a close relationship with these two sisters and their brother. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick (that was a very well known incident in the life of the Messiah, and we will get the details in the next chapter).

So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." Yeshua, your good friend Lazarus is very sick. We know that God uses You to heal the sick, so please come and do something for your friend. Look, he really needs you.

Have you ever prayed about something really important, and there is no immediate response? Have you been tempted to believe that God doesn’t care, that prayer doesn’t work? But God does care. Going through Yeshua is right. Prayer does work, in spite of some delays.

But when Yeshua heard this, He said, "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it." Yeshua, who was a prophet, and who declared Himself to be the Son of God, already knew what was going to take place. He knew that His friend Lazarus would die, but that God would empower Yeshua to do one of His greatest miracles, and Lazarus would come back to life, bringing glory and honor to both God and His Son.

Now, John gives us some important background information: Now Yeshua loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yeshua cared for these two wonderful sisters. John wants us to know that, because of what happens next:

So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Yeshua receives the message, and purposely delays going to Bethany.

Let’s place ourselves in Mary and Martha’s place - what may have they been thinking? Where’s Yeshua? We called for Him. Lazarus is getting sicker and sicker by the moment. Where is Yeshua when we need Him? Where’s Yeshua? Why doesn’t He come?

Then after this - two days later - He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." It’s time to go to Bethany, which is only two miles from Jerusalem in Judea, to help our friend Lazarus.

The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews - meaning the Jewish leaders - were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?" Judea? Lord, have You forgotten so quickly that the religious leaders almost killed You at Sukkot in Jerusalem? And, they still want to arrest You and execute You - and probably us too? Back to Judea so soon? You’re putting us in danger. That doesn’t make sense.

But Yeshua knew that He was not putting them in unnecessary danger: Yeshua 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. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." I am not leading us into danger, because I know what I am doing. Understand that I am constantly in communication with My Father - God. He tells Me what to do, and where to go, and when. Don’t worry - we’re quite safe.

This He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep - actually, he’s dead, but when I’m around, death isn’t final - it’s more like taking a little nap and then waking up again; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep." I need to go to Bethany because Lazarus is dead, and I must raise him back to life!

But the disciples didn’t understand that the Messiah was speaking metaphorically. The disciples then said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." And, John kindly explains for us: Now Yeshua had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.

So Yeshua then said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead - that’s plain, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe - it’s a good thing I wasn’t there when Lazarus was sick and dying. I’m happy I wasn’t in Bethany, because now something great is going to happen, that will build up your faith in Me. You are going to understand more about Me, and about My power, and who I am, and you will place greater trust in Me than ever before; but let us go to him."

Therefore Thomas, the skeptic among the disciples, who is called Didymus - which means the Twin, since he likely had a twin brother or sister, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." Friends, I think this adventure is crazy! Yeshua is going to be arrested and die.

We too are going to be arrested with Him, and be executed. But if the Rabbi wants to go to Judea and be killed, we might as well go along! I like Thomas! He was a skeptic, and didn’t place his faith in the supernatural right away - but he was even more loyal to Yeshua, and His loyalty and love overcame his skepticism, and he stayed with Yeshua, and eventually became one of the greatest men of God who ever lived, and a man of the greatest faith!

And, that’s the secret to overcoming skepticism - stay close to Yeshua! Keep reading what the Word of God writes Him, and reading good books from those who know Him, and ask God to show you the truth.

The story continues: So when Yeshua came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; and many of the Jews - meaning Jewish leaders - had come to Martha and Mary from the capital city, to console them concerning their brother. They were sitting shiva with the relatives of this prominent family, which is an act of kindness.

Martha therefore, when she heard that Yeshua was coming, went to meet Him, - she ran outside the village to Him - but Mary stayed at the house. Martha then said to Yeshua, "Lord - a term of honor, indicating that she still respected Yeshua - if You had been here, my brother would not have died. “Yeshua, I know that You are able to do miracles. I believe in You. If only You were here in person, I know You would have done a miracle and healed my brother and prevented him from dying. And even though You weren’t here, and I am sure You had your reasons for not coming when we sent for you. I trust You. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Yeshua, I continue to believe in You. I still know that you are a prophet of God, even the Messiah, sent and empowered by God to do great miracles.

My friends, that’s faith! That’s trust! That’s placing Your confidence in God, and not in the circumstances, even when you suffer a terrible loss, like the death of a dear brother. We need to have the kind of faith that continues trusting God when our prayers aren’t answered the way we want, and we experience great loss, like the loss of a son or daughter, father or mother, husband or wife, brother or sister.

When we demonstrate this kind of faith, God rewards it. This kind of faith enables us to go from strength to strength, from grace to grace.

Martha, you still believe in Me in spite of your disappointment. Well, your reward is that I am going to reveal more truth to you. You believe - I am going to add to your belief. Yeshua said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha - Lazarus is not truly and ultimately dead. We Jews know that death is not the end. For those who die atoned for, in a right relationship with God, based on their faith, they will be brought back to life. They will be resurrected to live forever!

Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the Last Day." Yeshua, I know that. I’ve been taught about T’chee-at HaMayteem - the Resurrection of the Dead. I believe that my brother will be raised in that final period of history, on HaYom HaAh-cha-ron - the Last Day.

Yeshua said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; Martha, I, Yeshua of Nazareth, the son of Joseph and Mary, declare to you that I am the One who will raise the dead to life on the Last Day. I am the One who gives life - eternal life, God’s life, to the righteous. Since I am the One who will resurrect the dead, and give eternal life to the Righteous, you must place your confidence in Me. He who believes in Me will live even if he dies - those who place their trust in Me, and follow Me, even if they do die, will be resurrected from death, and they will live again in the World To Come. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Every human being - Jew or Gentile, man or woman, who comes to understand that I am the Messiah, and the Son of God, and the only Savior that God has sent to rescue mankind, will not experience death - not physical death, but the Second Death - Gehenna, Hell, the Lake of Fire, the ultimate separation from God, who is the Source of Life. Do you believe this?"

She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Messiah - the Son of David, the long awaited Anointed Ruler of Israel and the Savior of mankind, the Son of God - who is close to God and shares His Name and Nature, even He who comes into the world." Yes, I believe that if you say You are the One who will bring the dead back to life, and give them everlasting life, You will do it.

Wow! What a blessed response! What great understanding and faith! Now, let me ask you, if Yeshua asked you, “do you believe?”, could you respond the same way! You should. You need to. You must!

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Last week we began the eleventh chapter, in which John tells us about a special family - two sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus. Yeshua had a close relationship with prominent, wealthy family.

Lazarus was very sick, and so Mary and Martha sent word to Yeshua, so that He might come and do a miracle of healing, so that Lazarus wouldn’t die. But Yeshua, who was a prophet, already knew what was going to take place. He knew that His friend Lazarus would die, but that God would empower Yeshua to do one of His greatest miracles, and Lazarus would be raised back to life, bringing glory and honor to both God and His Son.

Therefore He purposely delayed going to Bethany. After two days Yeshua said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." It’s time to go to Bethany, which is only two miles from Jerusalem in Judea, to help our friend Lazarus.

The disciples were not happy about that plan. They said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jewish leaders were recently trying to stone You, and You want to there again?" They still want to arrest You and execute You - and probably us too. Back to Judea so soon? You are putting us in danger. That doesn’t make sense.

But Yeshua knew that He was not putting them in unnecessary danger because He knew what He was doing. He was constantly in communication with His Father - God. God told Yeshua what to do, and where to go, and when, and so, Yeshua and the disciples were quite safe within the plan of God, in spire of how the circumstances looked.

Then Yeshua informed them that Lazarus had fallen asleep - actually, he died, but when Yeshua is present, death isn’t final - it’s more like taking a little nap and then waking up again; and He went on to tell them that He needed to go to Bethany in order to raise Lazarus back to life!

Furthermore, it’s was a good thing that He wasn’t there when Lazarus was sick and dying, because that would allow something even greater to happen, that will build up their faith in Him. They are going to understand more about Yeshua, and His power, and who He really is, and they will place greater trust in Him than ever before.

Thomas, the skeptic among them, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with Him." Friends, I think this adventure back into Judea is crazy! Yeshua is going to be arrested and die. And, we are going to be arrested and executed along with Yeshua. But if the Rabbi wants to go to Judea and be killed, we might as well go along!

I like Thomas! He was a skeptic, and didn’t place his faith in the supernatural right away - but he was even more loyal to Yeshua, and His loyalty and love overcame his skepticism, and he stayed with Yeshua, and eventually became one of the greatest men of God who ever lived, and a man of the greatest faith!

And, that’s the secret to overcoming skepticism - stay close to Yeshua! Keep reading what the Word of God writes Him, and reading good books from those who know Him, and ask God to show you the truth.

When they arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had already died and had been in the tomb four days. Many of the Jewish leaders had come to Martha and Mary from the capital city, to sit shiva and try to comfort the sisters.

When Martha heard that Yeshua was coming, she ran outside the village to Him - but Mary stayed at the house. Martha then said to Yeshua, "Lord - a term of honor, indicating that she still respected Yeshua - if You had been here, my brother would not have died. “Yeshua, I know that You are able to do miracles. I believe in You. If only You were here in person, I know You would have done a miracle and healed my brother and prevented him from dying. And even though You weren’t here, and I am sure You had your reasons for not coming when we sent for you. I still trust You! Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Yeshua, I continue to believe in You. I still know that you are a prophet of God, even the Messiah, sent and empowered by God to do great miracles.

My friends, that’s faith! That’s trust! That’s placing Your confidence in God, and not in the circumstances, even when you suffer a terrible loss, like the death of a dear brother. We need to have the kind of faith that continues trusting God when our prayers aren’t answered the way we want, and we experience great loss, like the loss of a son or daughter, father or mother, husband or wife, brother or sister.

When we demonstrate this kind of faith, God rewards it. This kind of faith enables us to go from strength to strength, from grace to grace. Since Martha stills believe in Yeshua, in spite of her disappointment and sadness, her reward is more truth that will be revealed to her.

Yeshua said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha - Lazarus is not truly and ultimately dead. We Jews know that death is not the end. For those who die atoned for, in a right relationship with God, they will be brought back to life. They will be resurrected to live forever!

Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the Last Day." Yeshua, I know that. I’ve been taught about T’chee-at HaMayteem - the Resurrection of the Dead. I believe that my brother will be raised in that final period of history, on HaYom HaAh-cha-ron - the Last Day.

Yeshua said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; Martha, I, Yeshua of Nazareth, the son of Joseph and Mary, declare to you that I am the One who will raise the dead to life on the Last Day. I am the One who gives life - new life, eternal life, the life of God, to the righteous. Since I am the One who will resurrect the dead, and give eternal life to the Righteous, you must place your confidence in Me. He who believes in Me will live even if he dies - those who place their trust in Me, and follow Me, even if they do die, will be resurrected from death, and they will live again in the World To Come. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Every human being - Jew or Gentile, man or woman, who comes to understand that I am the Messiah, and the Son of God, and the only Savior that God has sent to rescue mankind, will not experience death - not physical death, but the Second Death - Gehenna, Hell, the Lake of Fire, the ultimate separation from God, who is the Source of Life. Do you believe this?"

She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Messiah - the Son of David, the long awaited Anointed Ruler of Israel and the Savior of mankind, the Son of God - who is close to God and shares His Name and Nature, even He who comes into the world." Yes, I believe that if you say You are the One who will bring the dead back to life, and give them everlasting life, You will do it.

Wow! What a blessed response! What great understanding and faith! Now, let me ask you, if Yeshua asked you, “do you believe?”, could you respond the same way!

When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, "The Rabbi is here and is calling for you." And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him. Now Yeshua had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.

Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Therefore, when Mary came where Yeshua was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

“Yeshua, I like my sister Martha, know that You are able to do miracles. I believe in You. If only You were here in person, I know You would have done a miracle and healed my brother and prevented him from dying. And even though You weren’t here, and I am sure You had your reasons for not coming when we sent for you, I still believe in You. I too trust You.”

When Yeshua therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled - troubled by the human condition - sin and death, troubled by the sadness that has entered the world, troubled because of our lack of belief in Him, when He is the answer to the human dilemma, and so willing to help us, and He said, "Where have you laid him?"

They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Yeshua wept - because He was a human being, and is able to feel our pain, and enter into our sorrows, since He is a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief. He wept for Lazarus’ family, and for the rest of the Jewish people there, who were saddened and weeping. Yeshua wept because He genuinely cares for us; Yeshua wept because of mankind’s ruined condition; Yeshua wept because most people refuse to believe in Him, and be restored to God and life.

So the Jewish leaders were saying, "See how He loved him!" Yeshua must have especially loved Lazarus. But not all were sympathetic to Yeshua, even in this time of grief. And so some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?" No, you don’t understand. Yeshua is a fraud. If He really loved Lazarus, as some of you are saying, then why didn’t Yeshua save him? He has the power, doesn’t He? After all, not too long ago at Sukkot, He did heal that man who was born blind, which admittedly was a mighty miracle.

So, Yeshua either doesn’t really love Lazarus, while pretending that He does, which means He is a fraud, or maybe He couldn’t save him. Yeshua is either not good, or He is not powerful. Either way, He is not worth trusting.

So Yeshua, again being deeply moved within - because the reality is that He does deeply care for us - from His innermost being, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Yeshua said, "Remove the stone."

Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days."  This is a hot Middle Eastern country Lord, and what remains of my brother’s body will be in an advanced state of decomposition.

Yeshua said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" Martha, I know what I am asking may seem irrational - dishonoring to the dead and to your family, but trust Me and something great will happen that will add to the honor that is due God.

So they removed the stone. Then Yeshua raised His eyes - praying with His eyes open, looking to God in Heaven,, and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. My Father and My God, I have already prayed to you about this situation, and I know that You have already answered My prayer and are about to act! I knew that You always hear Me - I always pray to You about everything I do, and You hear and direct Me to do exactly what you want Me to do; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me."Now I am praying out loud to You publicly, not because I need to, but for the benefit of these men and women, to help these human being know that I am in touch with You in a very unique way, and that You hear and answer My prayers, because I have been sent by You, from Heaven to Earth, to accomplish the redemption of the human race.

When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." And God added His power and authority to the word of Yeshua, just as He did in the beginning, when God made the entire universe through Yeshua, and the man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.

Wow! Stunning! Amazing! There’s Lazarus, who had been dead and buried for four days, and decomposing, standing there, still wrapped up in his burial wrappings! That’s powerful my friends! That’s full of hope, my friends, because here is Someone among us who has the power and authority to overcome one of one mankind’s greatest enemies - death!

Did Mohamed ever raise anyone back to life? No. Did the Buddha? Did Bahaula? No. So don’t look to them! Mankind needs Someone who can raise the dead, my friends, and Yeshua is the only One who can!

And, my friends, just as Yeshua raised Lazarus from the dead, He will also bring you back to life, if you trust Him, follow Him, love Him, obey Him.

Yeshua said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." Bob Mendelsohn, who is now leading Jews for Jesus in Australia, once observed that this part is our job. Yeshua issues His powerful command, “Loren, come forth! Judy, come forth. Rick, come forth. You have been spiritually dead, now I am commanding you to come alive! And the Spirit of God infuses Loren, Judy and Rick with the life of God, and they become spiritually alive.

But often we are still bound, still struggling, with the wrappings of our previous existence. We need to learn how to do things God’s way. We need our minds to be renewed. Then Yeshua will say to those of us who know Him, “unbind Loren; unbind Judy; unbind Rick! Take off those wrappings, and help them live a righteous and proper and new life. Teach them, instruct them; remove those things which keep them bound.”

Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. This powerful, public miracle convinced many of these Jewish leaders to believe in Yeshua, that He was a holy prophet, even the Messiah, and place their trust in Him. But the heart of humanity is very hard my friends, and still it was only a small minority of the Chosen People who believed in Yeshua. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Yeshua had done.

And what was their response? To come to Yeshua, and apologize to Him for their misplaced antagonism, and ask for His forgiveness, and acknowledge that He was Israel’s Messiah? Not quite...

Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees - two of the powerful groups most opposed to Yeshua - convened a council - a meeting of the Sanhedrin - Israel’s main ruling body, and were saying, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. He is doing miracles, but we don’t believe they are of God. Our policy toward Yeshua hasn’t been effective, and so we must take more decisive action. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and with this huge following, those who have conquered us will feel threatened, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

It sounds so reasonable - they want to protect the Jewish nation from disaster, and also protect their positions as Israel’s leaders, which they assumed they were best qualified to fulfill. Their motives seems so well intentioned, but the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. The truth is they were terribly deceived, and their deficient leadership was the true danger to the nation of Israel.

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." The decisive action we must quickly take is that Yeshua must die.

Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Yeshua was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. The words of the High Priest were true. He couldn’t have been more deceived, but ironically, he spoke better than he knew. He announced the truth that God wants communicated to the whole world, that Yeshua died so that the nation of Israel might live, and not just the nation of Israel, but people from every nation on the planet - if we only place our faith in Him.

So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. The plans to eliminate Yeshua became more determined, more firm, more urgent. And Yeshua knew it. Therefore Yeshua no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.