After he had said this, he went on to tell them, ”Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, ”Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
So then he told them plainly, ”Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Belief is an odd thing. Certain beliefs are accepted without question. In many cases, we believe what our parents believed, for no other reason than wanting to be part of the family. Sometimes, less often, we arrive at a belief as the result of a personal journey; a research project or extended study of some sort.
While belief may be hard to come by in some cases and easy in others, once established it is very difficult to uproot a belief. We hang on to them tenaciously.
Part of Jesus’ job here on earth was to educate people about God and to get them to believe in God’s love for His people. Because people had come to rely on and believe in the Law, it was difficult for them to relate to God as a person, Jesus.
To prove, once again, that He was who He said He was, Jesus allowed Lazarus to die.
Let’s Discuss: How is your belief in Jesus affected by this story?
My belief in Jesus is affected by this story in a couple of ways. At some level it is challenging to me because I know horrible/difficult things will come up in life that I won’t understand. I am encouraged by this story as it reminds me that Jesus has the larger picture in mind – not just for my life, but for others as well, and not just in this life, but in the eternal one to come.
Thanks, Nathan. I appreciate your words. It is encouraging to know that God’s perspective is all encompassing. Mine is much more narrow. I’ll trust His.
Like Nathan, I am encouraged by this story as there is a point to at least some suffering and hardship. And Jesus has the power to raise us up from any predicament or outcome – even death.