Lazarus Raised

Lazarus Raised
John 11:7-10

7 Then [epeita] after [meta] that [touto] saith he [lego] to his disciples [mathetes] , Let us go [ago] into [eis] Judaea [Ioudaia] again [palin] .
8 His disciples [mathetes] say [lego] unto him [autos] , Master [rhabbi] , the Jews [Ioudaios] of late [nun] sought [zeteo] to stone [lithazo] thee [se] ; and [kai] goest thou [hupago] thither [ekei] again [palin] ?
9 Jesus [Iesous] answered [apokrinomai] , Are there [eisi] not [ouchi] twelve [dodeka] hours [hora] in the day [hemera] ? If [ean] any man [tis] walk [peripateo] in [en] the day [hemera] , he stumbleth [proskopto] not [ou] , because [hoti] he seeth [blepo] the light [phos] of this [toutou] world [kosmos] .
10 But [de] if [ean] a man [tis] walk [peripateo] in [en] the night [nux] , he stumbleth [proskopto] , because [hoti] there is [esti] no [ou] light [phos] in [en] him [autos] . KJV-Interlinear

7 Then after this He said to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.' 8 The disciples said to Him, 'Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?' 9 Jesus 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. 10 'But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.' NASB

Jesus and the twelve have just come from Judea and their welcome was not a warm one. Despite His miracles, and works which help all who come to Him, He was hated. Hated even to the point where people wanted to stone Him to death. So much for the objectivity of the rabble masses. You'll find this is a common characteristic with gossip circles. They are not interested in truth, but only in the violence of their action against their victim.

We know that the crowds are a fickle lot. Their attitudes change with every other blink of the eye. If a person is sound of judgment and discernment, then his opinions are stable and do not change. When you see volatile changes in the attitudes of the public, that is a good indicator of a spiritually weak society. A spiritually weak people means that there is trouble on the horizon.

The disciples are spiritually weak, and they will remain so until after the resurrection of Christ. Even then it will take some time before they begin to grow up and really understand the impact of their faith. It was about twenty to thirty years after the Cross before some of the books of the New Testament were started. Most were written by Paul. And He isn't even on the scene yet.

If you are spiritually sound within your soul, then there isn't anything that you should fear. If you are somewhat weak, then fear probably visits you frequently. Your moods change with the weather. You might be up emotionally for a few hours, especially when you are doing something you 'think' you like, but inevitably your high will slip away and you will enter into various forms of self pity, depression, apprehension, unhappiness and so forth. When you lack capacity within your soul, then you lack stability within your life.

Jesus explains it all here in these verses. The disciples represent the principles of emotional swings within these verses as well.

The danger is back in Judea according to the disciples. Don't go there and we will all be safe. But in this world there is no safe place, because sin natures rule the lives of mankind. Only within the spiritual realm of fellowship is their safety, because that is where Gods fortress exists. Inside that fortress there is the ultimate safety.

Spiritual growth helps you to maintain your fellowship status, because with spiritual growth there has already been wisdom learned and utilized within ones daily life. Gods wisdom is light. Absence of Gods wisdom is darkness.

If you have kids and have ever walked through your house in the night, tripping over toys and such, then you know that even within an environment with which you are familiar, there can be surprises. If you walk through an environment which is totally unfamiliar, and in total darkness, then you can only expect to stumble and often.

Walking through the house in the light, and walking through a strange place in total darkness is the contrast between spiritual enlightenment, and the lack of a spiritual life. With Bible study, in the proper format, you learn and grow and your understanding, of life in general and of God in particular, are increased phenomenally. You can see and understand life and your choices in life. You can see and understand the world around you and see the signs of the direction in which the world is heading. You are open minded, unselfish, responsible, and set others ahead of yourself and so forth. Your faith in God and therefore your confidence in Gods watching over your life increases significantly. Whatever circumstances exist in your life, you know that they have been provided for by God since eternity past.

Now, on the other side of that coin is the darkness of soul. When Bible doctrine is lacking, when indifference exists in ones life, then there is a lack of spiritual growth. There is selfishness, a lack of discernment, a lack of awareness of the realities of life, disillusionment, and so forth. Your moods will change often. Your opinions will change to whatever is compatible with your life style. You are brave when there is no threat of risk to yourself. You are fearful and critical of others when the heat is on in your life.

The disciples do not want to go back to Judea. They stone people there, after all. They are aware from the messenger, that Lazarus is very ill, but then lots of people get sick. They are aware of Jesus delay for a couple of days in returning - probably misinterpreting His reasons. Probably thinking that He is thinking about the stoning threat, when in fact Jesus is allowing Lazarus to die so that He can work yet another miracle which will be witnessed by some very weak in faith disciples, but also there will be some family and friends of Lazarus who need to learn realities by the shock method of teaching.

Remember that miracles are not intended to be the method of teaching, but are intended to get your attention, so that you will start to listen and learn. Often times mankind needs something beyond himself to shock him so that he will wake up to his spiritual deficiencies, and therefore understand that there is a need for a change in his life toward a spiritual life. This is true for individuals and is true for nations. God brings all sorts of problems into our lives just to keep us from getting too arrogant and to warn us, and to remind us that we are not the beginning and the end of ourselves. Sometimes that shock is very minor -a car fender bender. Sometimes it can be very intense - death or a severe disaster.

Sometimes we learn and get with a program of Bible study. Sometimes we weather the storm and then go back to our same old pattern of thinking and living. Sometimes we loosen up and become more pliable and begin to learn. Sometimes we get even more defiant towards life and become even more stubborn toward changing our way of thinking and living.

There are generally twelve hours in the daytime, and twelve hours in the night. We know by experience that it is much easier to live when we can see where we are going, than to live when we cannot see where we are going and when we haven't a clue as to where we are. To recognize this principle means that you will pursue a spiritual life in order to have a better life. To pretend, or to convince yourself that you do not need God is a fools choice.

To be patient and to wait on God means that you will have a great life, because God knows far more than we ever will with regard to our own personal destiny, both now and in eternity. To be impatient and to try to force your own life which you have convinced yourself that you are entitled to, is the path to total failure and misery.

All of these principles will become more clear as we progress through this chapter.

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