seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 11:17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
b. John 11:18 Or about 3 kilometersIt's awful to see someone so distraught and not be able to do a thing about it. Lazarus had to die..... of natural causes.... so Jesus could bring Him back. It's awful to say it.... but Lazarus was like a test rat..... the human body has to be capable of coming back to life. Remember, humans sent a dog and a monkey to space before a human got in the capsule.
I've always wondered what they were talking about.... life after death.... they learned in the Temple. Well this is it....
Daniel 12:2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
Sometimes the commentaries have some "new" information about a topic. I had not heard about this particular three days thing.... He had already been in the tomb four days: Jesus waited four days because He knew the Jewish superstition of that day that said a soul stayed near the grave for three days, hoping to return to the body. Therefore, it was accepted that after four days there was absolutely no hope of resuscitation.
Martha and Mary must not have heard about the Soldier's son. Jesus was only a few miles away.... and if He didn't need Lazarus to get stinky in the grave.... He would have just said "Lazarus, get up" or "go back home, Lazarus will be fine". But He didn't. I bet He knew Lazarus was His test subject. That's why He wept.... He hated to hurt those women so badly.... and no doubt Lazarus was going to have some side affects after getting stinky in the grave.... and Jesus would have wept over that too.
The most memorized verse in my old church is in this section of John 11. It's right there in verse 35. "Jesus wept". People use it all the time. Some even use it instead of saying "damn it" or that other word for "poop".
Mary and Martha had been kind to Jesus. They were good women.... just women... not quite as important to others as their male brother Lazarus... but wonderful women. In yesterday's lesson I read that this is the Mary who could afford to pour expensive perfume on Jesus. So they were from a wealthy family. Jesus told His disciples that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to see Heaven. So... since Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were rich enough to afford that perfume.... and they had so many relatives and other mourners.... they must have been good people who are wealthy. That gives a rich guy some hope... right??
My dad was in the Navy. For a while.... he was stationed at Bethesda.... at the Naval Hospital. My dad would take me to where he worked once in a while. Daddy was in Medical Research. He had to go in and feed the rats and mice.... come to think of it... he never fed them... he only gave them a shot.... oh brother... funny the things we selectively remember. My dad was doing tests on rats at the Naval Hospital in Bethesda. Ugh.... I was there. I didn't even notice that we weren't there to feed them... I remember wanting to pet them.
Jesus had to test the results of death on the human body. He had to have a test subject. He used Lazarus.
Yesterday I looked at the other side of the "human" coin in this particular story.... the "fear" a human faces and it's affects on humans. I saw the fact the Pharisees and the Sadducees were going to be there. Now that I've seen Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were wealthy people... I'm even more sure that someone from the Temple would have been there with the sisters, morning the death of their brother.
It just occurred to me.... Mary and Martha were women. They didn't have the "right" to own land. They would have been thrown out on the street at the demise of their brother. Their house had to be in his name.... women were no better than slaves.... second class... especially in the Temple.... and women could not own property. Sure there were exceptions.... but there had to be at least one relative putting price tags on every vessel in the house. I didn't see that point in the commentaries.... but then again... the one in the grave is Lazarus... and everyone is upset about that... not the future demise of the sisters into poverty.
Jesus was there to perform a miracle that would be the talk of the nation. Word would definitely get back to the Temple. This was going to cause His crucifixion. This must have been a terrifying moment for Jesus. Remember... in order to judge a man who is going to face the "death penalty" Jesus had to go through the experience Himself... and not loose it to "sin". Jesus knew... as soon as He got Lazarus up.... His beating and humiliation would begin. He had to be scared. He had to be afraid.... was He weeping in fear? Jesus didn't want to see Mary and Martha hurting so deeply. Jesus didn't want to see them thrown out in the street because their brother died and women can't own land. Jesus didn't want to face that hornets nest of hate spewing Pharisees and Sadducees who would swarm Him as soon as Lazarus breathed his next breath.
One more tiny little thing.... the other day I talked about the Evolving of God. I'm pretty sure They had tried to bring humans back to life up in Heaven.... but on earth things are different... and if this is indeed a medical experiment before Jesus has to face the human crucifixion and required death.... and survive.... suppose that human mind of Jesus was harping on "what if it doesn't work"..... and He is stuck here.... as a human.....that would be horrifying for Him. What if when He evolved to become a human and experience "human" so He could properly judge "human"... it didn't work and He got stuck on earth... I bet that fear would make the Human who was now Him weep.
Maybe the next time someone quotes John 11:35 "Jesus wept".... maybe I should ask them "Why did Jesus weep?"
