God’s Triune nature is reflected in patterns of three throughout
Scripture, as we have seen in three
women named Mary who were close to Jesus in His earthly ministry. We know
of one of,these women, Mary of Bethany,
because of three Scripture accounts
of memorable occasions in her interactions with Jesus.
In the first, she repented
and received forgiveness (Luke 7:
37-50, signifying the first step before we can be saved – knowing that we
are sinners in desperate need of a Savior (Romans
3:23; 6:23). The second occasion represents our Christian walk, as Mary spends quality time
with Christ and listens to His every word (Luke
10:38-42).
The third occasion, namely Jesus raising her brother Lazarus
from the dead (John 11: 1-45)
symbolizes eternal life, which is the
ultimate destiny for every
born-again believer (John 3:3-8)
who is saved by placing their faith in the death,
burial and resurrection (1
Corinthians 15:1-4) of Jesus Christ as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). Jesus triumphed over sin, death and hell for all
His followers, giving us eternal and abundant life with Him (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Mary’s
third encounter with Jesus is a foreshadowing of that unspeakable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15).
Jesus raised Lazarus from death to live once more in a
mortal body, but when He comes for God’s children at the Rapture, we shall
receive glorified, incorruptible bodies like His, that will never age, die or experience evil in
any form: sin, pain, or sorrow (1 Corinthians 15:35-54; Revelation
7:17; 21:4).
John
11 opens
by telling us of the family unit of Lazarus,
who was sick, and his sisters Mary
and Martha (v. 1). John identifies Mary of Bethany as the woman who anointed Jesus with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair in lavish adoration (v. 2). This reminder of her salvation,
deep love for Christ, and self-sacrificing worship is significant
for three reasons, reflecting the viewpoints of the unsaved world, the saved
believer, and the Lord Himself.
From the world’s viewpoint, Mary’s obvious love for Jesus
made His apparent abandonment of Mary and her family in their time of need all
the more deplorable (v. 37), particularly
since it was well known that Jesus loved Martha,
Mary, and Lazarus (v. 5, 36), and
that the two women had sent a message to Him concerning their brother’s illness
(v. 3).
From Mary’s viewpoint, she had poured out all her love on
Him, and in this time of testing she continued to wait for His lead (v. 20),
and to obey when He called (v. 28-29), even though she questioned why He had not come sooner (v. 32).
From Jesus’ viewpoint, He wanted not only to restore life to His friend and give his family cause for celebration
rather than grief, but to glorify God. Instead
of healing Lazarus while he was sick, He would perform the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead (v. 4, 40), thereby proving Himself to be the Son of God (v. 4, 45), sent to this
world by God Himself (v. 41-42).
Knowing that He would glorify God by raising a corpse to
life, rather than just visiting the bedside of a sick friend, Jesus therefore
waited for two days after hearing the message of Lazarus’ sickness, leaving for
Judea on the third day (v. 6-7).
Three
times it is repeated that Jesus and His followers must go to
Judea (v. 7, 8, 11). Despite the
disciples warning that the Jews had tried to stone Jesus in Judea, He replies
metaphorically that when we are in God’s perfect will, we are in the safest possible
place (v. 9, 10). Three times the word “sleep” is repeated,
Jesus using it figuratively to refer to Lazarus’ death (v. 11), but the disciples thinking He meant literal sleep (v. 12.13).
Because Lazarus died, a great crowd had assembled to
comfort the grieving sisters, and many people would witness his resurrection,
not just Mary and Martha, but many of the Jews (v. 19).
When Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, Lazarus has already been
dead four days, which is significant because many Jews believe (through oral
tradition; not based on Scripture) that the spirit of the deceased lingers with
the dead body for three days. Thus
there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Lazarus was dead, not to mention buried
and decomposing (v. 39).
Martha, known to be a woman of action, left the house as soon as she heard Jesus was coming; she met Him on the road; and she reproached Him for not preventing her brother’s
death by arriving sooner (v. 20). And
yet, she shows her faith that God will
answer Jesus’ prayer (v. 22),
that Lazarus and other believers will
rise in the resurrection at the last day (v. 24), and that Jesus is
the promised Messiah (the Christ,
the Son of God, the One prophesied to come into the world; v. 27).
When Martha secretly tells Mary that Jesus has arrived, Mary
responds by arising quickly from their
house, going to Him, and falling down at His feet (v. 29, 32). This is the third instance of Mary at the feet of Jesus,
the first being when she cleansed His feet with her tears and hair, the second listening
quietly at His feet, and now grasping His feet as she seeks comfort for what
she sees as the tragic loss of her brother.
As this point everyone is weeping: Mary, the Jews who
accompanied her (v. 33), and even
Jesus (v. 35). Jesus was genuinely sorrowful, because He loved Lazarus (v. 36);
it pained Him to see his family grieving
(v. 33); and perhaps even because He
knew He would call Lazarus back to the pain
of this world from the bliss of Paradise. Jesus groaned in the spirit, was
troubled (v. 33), and again groaned in Himself (v. 38) as He approached the grave, which was a cave with a stone lying
on it (v. 38).
Jesus announces that
belief would be rewarded by seeing
God’s glory (v. 40); gives thanks to God (v. 41); and explains that He prayed aloud to reaffirm the onlookers’ faith that
He was sent by the Father (v. 42).
Then He issues three commands: for Lazarus
to come forth; for the people to
free him from his grave clothes; and for them to release him (v. 43-44).
Lazarus comes forth bound up in his hands, foot, and face (v. 44), perhaps symbolizing that when we are dead, we can no longer
work for God (Matthew 9:37-38), travel
to spread His Word (Isaiah 52:7;
Romans 10:15), or use our
voice to worship, praise and witness for Him (Isaiah 38:18;
John 9:4; Psalm 30:8-9). While we are yet alive in this
world, may we have Mary’s Godly sorrow
over our sins, obedience in our
Christian walk, and faith in His
gift of eternal life!
© 2015 Laurie Collett
