Jan. 30

Read John 11: 1-16

¹¹He said these things, and then announced, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I'm going to wake him up."

 ^12-13The disciples said, "Master, if he's gone to sleep, he'll get a good rest and wake up feeling fine." Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap.

 ^14-15Then Jesus became explicit: "Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn't there. You're about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let's go to him." (The Message)

The story of Lazarus marks a turn in the Gospel of John that makes the disciples, the crowds, and even us look at Jesus with new interest and respect. The story starts out as you might expect with Jesus leaving Judea under the threat of violence and staying away after he first hears about Lazarus being ill. But then everything changes as Jesus turns back and decides to go back. The disciples know that something is up and are even expecting that on their return that Jesus and they might die at the hands of the religious officials.
What starts out as a story of illness and death turns into a story about healing and power. It is a story that we want to hear but is not a story that we expect. It makes a lot more sense if we stay away from that which is uncomfortable and hard than it does if we go to those places where sickness and death reside. But Jesus doesn't shy away from the hard places because without sickness you can not find new health, without death you can't have new life, and without a willingness to go with Jesus and even risk death ourselves how will we ever know resurrection?

Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:

• When the sisters sent word to Jesus that his friend was sick what do you think they expected?
• What do you think the disciples thought when Jesus first did not return upon hearing that Lazarus was sick? What did they think when he suddenly said they should go back to Judea?
• What do you think was going through the disciples minds as they went back to Judea knowing that Lazarus was dead?
• What has Jesus been doing lately around you to give you new grounds to strengthen your faith?