Lazarus Raised

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Lazarus Raised

John 11:3-6

3 Therefore [oun] his sisters [adelphe] sent [apostello] unto [pros] him [autos] , saying [lego] , Lord [kurios] , behold [ide] , he whom [hos] thou lovest [phileo] is sick [astheneo] .
4 When [de] Jesus [Iesous] heard [akouo] that, he said [epo] , This [houtos] sickness [astheneia] is [esti] not [ou] unto [pros] death [thanatos] , but [alla] for [huper] the glory [doxa] of God [theos] , that [hina] the Son [huios] of God [theos] might be glorified [doxazo] thereby [dia] [autos] .
5 Now [de] Jesus [Iesous] loved [agapao] Martha [Martha] , and [kai] her [autos] sister [adelphe] , and [kai] Lazarus [Lazaros] .
6 When [hos] he had heard [akouo] therefore [oun] that [hoti] he was sick [astheneo] , he abode [meno] two [duo] days [hemera] still [tote] [men] in [en] the same place [topos] where [hos] he was [en] . KJV-Interlinear

3 The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.' 4 But when Jesus heard it, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.' 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When therefore He heard that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer in the place where He was. NASB

There are basically three words for love, used throughout the New Testament. They are, 'phileo', a love that has to do with feelings of the heart. This connotes more emotional response or reaction to something or someone, as between a parent and child, or between friends, or even at viewing extraordinary scenery, or hearing music to which you either respond or react. 'Agapao', another word for love, deals with the mind. It has to do with ones attitude toward society, dealing more with tolerance, than emotional feelings of passion. The third word for love is 'eros' which is used in connection with intimate love.

The first reference used here is the word 'phileo.' Jesus had deep emotional feelings for Lazarus. The second reference to love is in the last verse, and there the word 'agapao' is used. Though Jesus has deep emotional feelings for Lazarus, He also has the sense to do what is right for all, not just what His emotions dictate.

Too often people are led by their feelings. They either are emotionally involved with a situation or they may be driven by guilt, or grief, or passion is some way, and ultimately make the wrong decisions. Parents often deal with their children in this fashion. The child pouts and the parent gives in to whatever the request from the child happens to be, rather than saying simply, 'No.' We are afraid to hurting someone's feelings so we compromise that which is right. The result - spoiled kids.

Here Jesus hears of the illness of Lazarus, but despite his friendship for him, Jesus delays his return to Bethany. Now folks would wonder how could He be so cruel, so emotionally cold as to refuse to go to a friend no less, and withhold the cure that He is capable of giving. Actually Jesus does not even need to go to Bethany. He could merely 'will' the cure and Lazarus would be healed. If fact as we have studied in the past, when Jesus Christ returns at the Second Advent, among the many things that will happen, the life spans of those who remain alive will be extended to last the entire 1000 years. There goes the vitamin business!

This could be done even in our time, But God does not run His plan for humanity based on the emotional wants of people. People are fickle and their wants and needs change as often as the weather changes across the planet. Most often, what we want is not what we really need. If we received all our wishes we would probably self-destruct. Of course you could never convince anyone of that.

We generally think within the plane of our existence. That is, we think only to the extent of our wants and needs or desires. What we see, hear, touch, smell, taste, we believe in. What we don't see, well we push to the back of our minds. Taking the leap from our perceived reality to a level where faith exists is very difficult.

Take the soldier who jumps out of a landing craft onto the beach. With bullets and bombs flying and exploding all around, he just knows that his life span may end in just a matter of seconds. But somehow when God is on the side of the assault, then the bullets coming from the enemy do not find their targets, even though the assaulting targets are out in the open. While the bullets of the landing force somehow find their targets even when hidden inside the bunkers and defenses of the enemy. No one generally thinks of life in this fashion, but D-day for example, saw more casualties on the side of the Germans who were well dug in, than on the side of the allies who were out in the open.

Now that is a very dramatic event in which faith is all one really has to fall back on. Training cannot dodge bullets flying every which way. Most of us have rather quiet lives when compared to a beach assault, but we have tests of faith all the same. Do we pursue our Bible study or our life style. Do we pursue our hobbies or do family concerns come first. This is a long, this or that, list in which you could spend the rest of the week making comparisons. But ultimately we all have to face (whether we want to or not) the real facts of reality. Those are Gods facts, not our own self defined facts which are tailored to our convenience.

Emotions do not think, therefore emotions should not rule ones life. Emotions are met for response to things or situations. They are not intended for initiating decisions or actions in life.

Now, here is mean old Jesus. He could have saved Lazarus right then and there. He chose to wait two more days and purposely allowed Lazarus to die. But then did He fail Lazarus, really? Or, did the friends and family of Lazarus just have their priorities locked on to their own emotional and personal desires.

None of us want our loved ones to be taken from us of course, but there is a higher purpose than having everyone live forever here on earth. And so, Jesus Christ gives us a hard lesson in reality, in priorities, and in truth.