John 11:11-15 "These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. (12) Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. (13) Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. (14) Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. (15) And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him."
The disciples of Jesus had just encouraged Him to stay away from Judea because
the Jews sought to kill Him. In His kind manner, Jesus reminded them that His
Heavenly Father was in absolute control. Jesus walked in the Light of the
counsel of His Heavenly Father. He had an appointed time, an appointed
hour, in which to die and that time had not yet come. "Our friend Lazarus
sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep."
Jesus used the term, sleep, to describe the fact that Lazarus had died. His
disciples mistook that to mean Lazarus was doing well and his body recovering.
Jesus then spoke very plainly, "Lazarus is dead." Then He says
something that at first is somewhat mysterious. "I am glad for your sakes
that I was not there." Yes, Jesus intentionally waited those two days and
apparently it would take them two more days to arrive at the place where
Lazarus was buried. When Jesus arrived at Bethany, it was said that Lazarus had
been dead for four days. How could Jesus say He was glad that He was not
there when Lazarus was still sick? The answer, to me, lies in the statement
Jesus made to the disciples: "to the intent ye may believe."
I think about the various groups of people that are affected by this wonderful
miracle that Jesus would perform when He arrived. The first group was standing
there with Jesus - His disciples. We know there were some who still doubted
even the news of Jesus' resurrection, so it is apparent that some of the very
ones who had been following Jesus needed more affirmation concerning the Person
and Power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Martha needed affirmation and perhaps even
Mary needed some reaffirming. Many of the Jews who had gone to comfort Martha
and Mary believed upon the Lord after He raised Lazarus from the tomb. We will
see that even the chief priests and Pharisees had to acknowledge that Jesus had
performed miracles that no other could possibly have performed.
Let us keep in mind that Jesus had a higher agenda than to heal Lazarus. He
stated that agenda at the very beginning when the message concerning Lazarus
was sent to Him. "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of
God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." (John 11:4) There
are times in our lives that the Lord delays immediate action. It seems these
times are when we are brought to the very end of our abilities and seem to have
only a string to hold onto. We may even feel ourselves to be in that
"darkness" that Jesus spoke about; yet, in His time our Lord will
show Himself strong on our behalf.
"Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand."