We left off with Jesus explaining to the Pharisees the infinite gap between heaven and hell, and the eternal tribulations awaiting those in the latter destination (see Are You Afraid or Jubilant Over the Second Coming – 2?)
Now, as He and His apostles continue with their ministerial travels, Jesus receives a message from Mary, * relaying that her brother Lazarus was extremely ill.
*[The Bible tells us that this ‘Mary’ was the one that poured expensive perfume upon Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair (Jn. 11:2); it also tells us that Jesus loved Mary, her sister Martha, and Lazarus (Jn. 11:5)].
Jesus responds to this message by speaking to the apostles:
“Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” Jn. 11:4 NLT
Christ is saying that Lazarus would not die in the final sense of the word (at this time). Instead, this is a situation that would be one which would serve as yet another opportunity to witness the power of God, through Jesus Christ.
(By miraculous healing God grants us an insight into the disease-free age to come…By leaving us ill he reminds us we are part of a fallen world. J.C. Ryle)
And to press His point home, Jesus delays His journey to Lazarus by two additional days. As they prepare to leave for Bethany, (Lazarus’ home), Jesus explains:
“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” Jn. 11:4 NLT
The disciples are thinking to themselves that Lazarus is literally sleeping. Jesus perceives this, and reveals the correct situation and the ‘why’ of His timing:
“Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.” Jn. 11:14, 15. NLT
(The death of true Christians is ‘sleep’ and not annihilation. It is a solemn and miraculous change no doubt, but not a change to be regarded with alarm…they will rise again by and by, refreshed and renewed, after the image of the Lord. The grave itself is a conquered enemy. It must render back its tenants safe and sound, the very moment that Christ calls for them at the last day. J.C. Ryle)
When they arrive at Bethany, (two miles from Jerusalem), Jesus is told that Lazarus has been entombed for four days. Martha ran to Him, saying that Lazarus would not have died if He would have been there, because she knows that Jehovah grants all His Son’s requests.
Christ told Martha that Lazarus would rise again; but she interpreted His reply to mean Lazarus’ resurrection at the end of time. He corrects her:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me will never ever die. Do you believe this Martha?” Jn. 11:25, 26. NLT
Martha answered in the affirmative and ran home and sent her sister Mary to Jesus. She approaches Him with a few mourners, all of them weeping. Jesus responds with deep compassion:
When Jesus saw her sobbing, and the Jews who had come with her also sobbing, He was deeply moved in spirit [to the point of anger at the sorrow caused by death] and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Jn. 11:33 – 35. AMP
(Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens – Jesus the Son of God – let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses… Heb. 4:14, 15. CSB)
Approaching the tomb, Jesus asked for the stone covering the entrance to be removed. Martha protested, saying that the stench would be intolerable. Jesus replies:
“Did I not say to you that if you believe [in Me], you will see the glory of God [the expression of His excellence]?” Jn. 11:40 AMP
As they roll away the stone, Jesus gazes heavenward and speaks to His Father:
“Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Jn. 11:41, 42. NLT
(The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful words. Heb. 1:3 CSB)
(…he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. Heb. 7:25 NLT)
Suddenly, Christ draws upon His divine authority over life and death, and shouts:
“Lazarus, come forth!” Jn. 11:43 NKJV
(“Should I ransom them from the grave? Should I redeem them from death? O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them. Hs. 13:14 NLT)
(…Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything… Rm. 9:5 NLT)
And out Lazarus came – wrapped up like a mummy! Everyone was astonished. Some of the people came to believe in Christ; others choosing to remain small-minded, ran off to tell the Pharisees.
Well, you know that raising the dead did not sit well with the Pharisees; so, they called a meeting of the governing council, (the Sanhedrin), to devise a plan to be rid of Jesus, before more people came to believe that He was the Messiah. They were also afraid that Jesus’ ascension in spiritual standing would downgrade their own.
They plotted to kill Him, but Jesus traveled on…
Time passed. It was the beginning of 30 A.D. – the time that Christ set out to make His final journey to Jerusalem, to bring the perfection of His Father’s saints to fruition.
Jesus and the apostles travel through Samaria and Galilee; and as they did, they encountered (you guessed it), those persistent and pernicious Pharisees! They wanted to corner Christ by asking Him to tell them the exact time when the Kingdom of God would come.
He retorts by telling them that they are looking at the Kingdom of God right now – embedded in Christ and in the hearts of all who follow Him. He then turns to His apostles and says:
“The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them.
“For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.” Lk 17:22-24. NLT
“For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.” Mt. 23 – 25. NLT
“You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” Mt. 24:44 NLT
Jesus is warning us to beware of imposters, His return will be global in its impact, and it cannot be humanly predicted timewise.
He then reveals the nature of humankind that will precede His second advent:
“But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation. When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
“And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business – eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building – until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
“Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” Lk. 17:25 – 30. NLT
(Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.
These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 Jn. 2:15 – 17. NLT)
Jesus is stressing the urgency of imparting salvation through Him to others, instead of leaving them to their ignorant and cavalier attitude, towards their eternal disposition. Why? Because that attitude leads to one’s eternal undoing – when He returns, your chance to be His, is over, and you will be forever stuck with the ramifications of your decision:
“On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!” Lk. 17:31, 32. NLT
You must be ready when He is – having both feet in the kingdom. You are either with Him, joined in eternal life and love, or you are one of those who are ‘left behind’ in the great ‘sifting’ of all the people who have ever lived:
“That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.” Lk. 17:34, 35. NLT
“That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous, throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mt. 13:49, 50. NLT
So, being ‘left behind’ is definitely not a great destination:
“Where the corpse is, there also the vultures will be gathered.” Lk. 17:37 CSB
Don’t you be a ‘left behind.’ Grab ahold of that Jesus love – immerse and reflect…
Goodnight and God bless.