Ep. 267. John 11 | By Now He is Going to Stink

EPISODE 267

BY NOW HE IS GOING TO STINK: JOHN 11

The story of Lazarus is classic Vacation Bible Study material or Kid's church material. I wonder why we so often use these stories for children and seldom teach them to adults. Furthermore, I wonder why, when we teach them to kids, we typically reduce stories like this to a single quip or motivational tidbit.

There are a few key things to notice in this chapter. Near the top of the list has to be, "This illness does not lead to death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Lazarus's death, yes, he did die, and no, Jesus didn't get it wrong, led to people putting their faith in Jesus. See John 12:9-11. God used Lazarus's suffering, death, and resurrection to bring glory to himself and to Jesus. In John 21, Peter is told about "The kind of death by which he would glorify God." We will see tomorrow that Jesus's death was for the glory of God. Paul says in Philippians that his desire is to honor God in life or death. What if we thought so highly of Jesus, so highly of the Father in heaven who loves us, that we would be willing to die for the glory of God. Not just willing but pleased. What if the glory of God weighed more in our personal economy than all the other things we might love or cling to in this temporary world?

Second, Jesus "Is the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in [him], though he dies, yet shall he live." Death is NOT the end of the story for us. This world is not our home. We are Kingdom people, citizens of heaven, waiting for the return of our King, who will come and make all things new. If we had a view that rested on the eternal more than the temporal it would not put an end to our sorrow and grief, but it would temper it. We would grieve, knowing that it is a temporary grief. We'd suffer in our loss all the while knowing the loss was just a momentary one. Every aspect of our lives would be better if, as Peter instructed we, "Set all of your hope on the day Christ Jesus will be revealed." (1 Peter 1:13-16)

ADDITIONAL READING: John 18:13-14, John 12:9-11