My wife is one of
the most compassionate people I’ve ever met. If she sees someone in need, her
first instinct is to rush forward and help them in any way she can. I admire
that about her, and I try to become more like her at times. But as this passage
shows, sometimes our Lord doesn’t do it like that.
Jesus had a family that he loved to hang around with. We
don’t know how he came to know Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. But today’s passage,
along with the rest of the chapter, indicates that he had an especially warm
and intimate relationship with them. Likely this is where he and his apostles
regularly stayed when he visited Jerusalem, since Bethany was only about two
miles outside the city.
By the way, what does it mean that he “loved them”? Does
this mean that he didn’t love everyone else? This also brings up the phrase
when referring to the author of this Gospel. He keeps on calling himself “the one whom Jesus loved.” Does this
mean that he didn’t love the other disciples? Of course not. He loves all of
us. And he died for each one of us, so in that sense he loves all of us
equally. But there's a sense in which he can “love” someone more than someone
else. I think it means what I said in the last paragraph. Some of his followers
have more of an intimate and warm relationship than others do. And I'd
guess that if I don't have as intimate a relationship with Jesus as I'd like, that's probably my fault.
But here we have a very mysterious phrase. Vs. 5 tells us that Jesus loved those people. But vs. 6 tells us, "So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days." Let's not try to soften the
blow. Jesus loved the family, so he waited two more days before
leaving to help them.
Why did Jesus’ love for them compel him to wait while his
beloved friend lay dying in agony, not to mention the emotional agony of the
sisters? I don’t know for sure, but I guess we can speculate. Jesus makes it
clear in this passage that he was planning on raising Lazarus from the dead. So
maybe he wanted them to experience a deeper understanding of who he is. Maybe
he wanted them to have a more solid faith in him. He does say that this whole
situation has been brought into the plan because “it is for God's glory so that
God's Son may be glorified through it.” Exactly how that works into the fact
that he loves them, I don’t know.
But I do know this. I’m sure that just about everyone who's reading this can relate to Mary and Martha. We know that he loves us, and
that he has compassion on our suffering. And if we’re mature believers, we know
that he has a higher purpose than our comfort. But the thought that he’s
letting us suffer because he loves us?
That’s a tough lesson. All I can say, both to you and to
me, is that he knows what he’s doing. And in the end we won’t regret trusting
him to do all things well.
Lord Jesus, I do trust you, but sometimes it’s so hard when
I don’t understand what you’re doing. Please help.
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