Notes of an address on John 11:19-46
W. J. Hocking.
1913 301 In this chapter we have set before us another view of the comprehensive subject of life which runs throughout this Gospel. We shall notice also that the profoundest teaching with respect to resurrection and to life (the latter being intrinsically of even superior importance to the former) is developed in connection with a common event of human history.
This feature, too, is a characteristic one in the Gospel of John. The heavenly is here closely linked with the earthly. The common events of daily life, such as hunger, sickness, bereavement and the like, are associated with some of the profoundest truths of revelation, showing that the scriptures are intended to be a source of heavenly light for the practical uses of man's life. However they may be abused, they were not given to provide the readers with subjects for vague theorising or with matter for formulating religious creeds, but to enable persons to meet bravely, and to understand, the hard facts of daily existence. For life is full of facts which seem cruel and inexplicable apart from the light afforded by God's word. It behoves us, therefore, to study the scriptures with the object of discovering the clue for unravelling the many baffling circumstances in which we so often find ourselves.
When God in heaven looks down upon this world so full of tangles, as it seems to us, all things are clear to Him. He has a definite scheme. But it is only His word that will enable us in any measure to catch His purpose, to get some glimpse of His plans. Failing this, however, we may be assured that His eventual aim is good. All earthly events are converging to a final goal of beneficence. And the revelation which offers this assurance is the antidote to the great lie current in the world that all things are working together for evil. This lie emanated from Satan in Eden, and its effect remains among men today. Even pious persons, when things seem to go athwart, are apt to think so. Many Christians, when hardly treated, are inclined to think so. Hence the value of God's word in its assurances to the contrary, for by believing its statements on this head we may be spared much needless anxiety and sorrow.
The Bereavement
The story in this chapter is a pathetic one, and its details, while of common occurrence, contain those perplexing elements to which allusion has been made. And it is most interesting and instructive to observe how the subject of eternal life is interwoven with that of the bereavement.
In the previous chapter the Lord presented Himself as the Good Shepherd. He spoke of His sheep who were called to cut themselves adrift from the old associations of Judaism and to follow Him. Now to the Jew the ordinances and the institutions of Moses seemed of all earthly things the most stable. But the Shepherd called His sheep by name to follow Him outside the Jewish fold, and thus to leave all the ordinances in which they trusted. In exchange He gave them His word and His promise. And His solemn promise to every sheep was eternal life, and complete immunity from destruction: "I give unto them [His sheep] eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of my hand" (John 10:28).
This gift was superior to anything the legal enclosure could offer. The Jewish fold was not so secure as the Good Shepherd's hand. He who holds the universe has strength to hold His sheep in the face of every foe. And His promise assures the possession of eternal life to every sheep and protects them equally from corruption within and from foes without.
In this chapter we have the case of one of Christ's sheep visited by death. This was a startling calamity in the eyes of the pious Jewish sisters, because the legitimate hope of the godly Israelite was length of days. The reward of godliness according to divine promise was long life in the land.
Hence from the point of view of Mary and Martha, it seemed inexplicable that their brother should be cut off in the prime of life from the happy home of Bethany. Why had death come up "into their windows," and ruthlessly plunged the devout God-fearing sisters into bereavement and mourning? Though Lazarus was one of Christ's favoured sheep, the king of terrors, the foul enemy of mankind, had despoiled them of their beloved brother. It was a sorrowful trial to them; and it is one incessantly repeated before our eyes, perhaps in our homes. How often the godly seem selected to be stricken down! Consider indeed that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was cut off in the midst of His days.
How were the sisters to understand this calamity? How were they to reconcile the death of Lazarus with the Lord's promise with respect to eternal life? Lazarus, so much beloved by them, so needed in the family circle, their earthly source of comfort and joy, was suddenly taken away. And the Shepherd, though appealed to, did not interfere to save His sheep from an untimely death. They had expressed their allegiance to Him, yet He did not hasten to save the sick man. They could see nothing before them but a life of mourning and sadness for one loved and irretrievably lost.
The Lord came to these broken and bleeding hearts, and in His beautiful manner disclosed to them a new and profounder view of eternal life, while at the same time He restored to them their lost one. He showed them that in spite of appearances death cannot touch eternal life. He, in fact, revealed Himself as the Resurrection and the Life, not only by way of doctrine bur by a practical demonstration at the graveside.
Its Practical Value
It is helpful to observe how this great truth is here associated with circumstances of sorrow and bereavement in such a manner as to exercise a beneficial effect upon all the redeemed. As the grief-stricken hearts of the sisters were comforted, so all who are similarly situated may be soothed, encouraged and strengthened by the details recorded here.
In this chapter another precious feature of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ is made prominent. We see His perfect and matchless sympathy with the tried and suffering women. The Lord performed an act of infinite power, but He did so in the gentle and sympathetic manner which was characteristic of Him. And His demeanour in this respect stands out the more markedly in this Gospel where He is presented as the Eternal Son. We do not find Him entering abruptly into this scene of sorrow and restoring the dead man with a word, as when He quelled the stormy forces of nature on the lake of Galilee.
Here we see irresistible might breaking down the prison-bars of death, but with it is coupled the wondrous force of sympathy. The Lord in the gentleness of His infinite power comes to the weeping women, enters into their sorrow, weeping with them as He wipes away their tears. How marvellous the sight to behold the Son of God shedding tears!
The Home at Bethany
The subjects of this narrative formed a particularly-favoured trio. Their home had become, if
we may so say it, the Lord's home in Judea. In the other Gospels His ministry in Galilee is prominent, even as that in Judea is the main topic of John. And it is recorded that while He taught in Jerusalem He sought rest and refreshment in Bethany at the house of Lazarus and Mary and Martha. This was the circle into which death entered.
At the commencement of this chapter a parenthesis referring especially to Mary is introduced in the narrative. We read in the second verse, "It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair whose brother Lazarus was sick." So that the event fully described in the following chapter is here historically anticipated. Why is this? The reference seems to be something more than a note of identification of Mary of Bethany. And I would suggest that the sentence is placed here because it was the sad experience related immediately afterwards in this chapter which supplied the circumstances under which Mary learned how to act as she did at the feast in Simon the leper's house.
That Mary had learned something from the Lord even previously to this bereavement we may gather from references made elsewhere to His former visit to Bethany. Mary then sat at His feet and heard His word. She was then taught something concerning the true nature of Messiah's mission, and on this occasion she learned something further concerning the greatness and grandeur of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mary possessed a different temperament from her sister. She was a quiet, meditative person, and, while Martha rushed at once to meet the Lord at His coming, she remained in the house. We cannot always anticipate what these quiet, self-restrained persons will do, but they frequently act rightly because they have received the needful training in seeking to learn the mind of Christ.
Martha had a more active disposition than her sister, and was naturally in a great hurry, a busy person with no time for reflection. When the Lord first came to Bethany she prepared things for His reception and His becoming entertainment. This was good service, and was not reproved. But Mary was conscious that it was the event of a lifetime for the Messiah to visit the house where she was. Such moments therefore were so precious in her eyes that she desired to utilize them in hearing the many things He might choose to tell her. She sat down at His feet to listen,
Now in her sorrow Mary felt that it would be best for her to wait for her Master's word. She sat still till He called for her. Then she went, and saw, as Martha did, His power over death as the Resurrection and the Life.
Six days before the passover the fruit of Mary's training at the feet of Jesus and at the opened grave of her brother was made visible. Then it was that in the midst of the feast at Bethany she anointed the Lord beforehand to His burial. She was not one of those who subsequently sought the body of Jesus at the rich man's tomb. She knew He had risen. By the restoration of her brother she saw that He was the Resurrection and the Life. How could the grave hold Him who had said, "Lazarus, come forth." If she would anoint Him, she must do so before His burial, for she was persuaded she would never find Him in the sepulchre. She acted becomingly therefore at the feast, and all the world is now aware of the fitness of what she did.
Mistaken Thoughts
If time permitted we might profitably consider the mistakes of various persons recorded in this chapter. Not that these blunders are presented for the entertainment of other persons, but that it may be seen how graciously the Lord Jesus corrected the errors of those about Him, giving them at the same time credit for what they intended to do. The knowledge of this is a great comfort to a person who is acting in sincerity before the Lord, honestly seeking to do His will. It is only a self-satisfied person who supposes that any act of his is in itself worthy of the Lord's acceptance. The person doing a perfect action and offering it to the Lord for His acceptance is yet to be found. However, though after our best service we are all "unprofitable" servants, the Lord accepts according to the intention of the heart.
When the Lord spoke of going to Bethany, blundering Thomas said, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (verse 16). Regarded in the light of the previous revelations which he and others had received concerning the Son as the Giver and Sustainer of life, the apostle's remark was foolish and unbelieving. But he was sincere in his desire to accompany his Master at all risks, and the Lord did not upbraid him.
Similarly the Lord knew the impulsive character of Peter, but He also knew his ardent love and devotion. Outwardly there was an incrustation of self upon which Satan worked, but inwardly there was an intense affection for the Lord. Peter meant what he said in his passionate outburst, "Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison and to death" (Luke 22:33), but he did not know his own strength. And the Lord arranged that in due time he should lay down his life for his Master according to his own expressed desire.
The Word of Hope
1913 315 Before the Lord's arrival at Bethany four long days had passed, and during those days the anxious, sorrowing women had one source of consolation. The Lord sent them a word of assurance. He told their messenger, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified thereby." This word was therefore carried to the weeping anxious women — the sickness was not unto death, but for the glory of God.
The faith of the women was tried by this delay. The Lord waited in apparent indifference, and did not go to the comfort and help of these distressed ones; though He sent them His word of assurance. And after all was not His word a sufficient basis for trust? He gave them His guarantee that the glory of God would be the final result of their brother's sickness. However unable they were to understand how this could be, the promise was given to sustain their hearts until the moment of deliverance came."
This history represents a condition of things which still recurs. And our great solace in the hour of trial is the word of the Lord. Some do not exercise faith until they are well out of their difficulties and sorrows. Then they are apt to exclaim, "Ah, I knew all would be well." But up to the moment of deliverance they had been torn with doubts and fears. Yet there is the plain, general promise, "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose"; though we seldom, if ever, see at the time how they are working together for good, any more than the sisters at Bethany saw how their brother's sickness and death could be to the glory of God.
God's word then is given us for the strengthening of our faith. It is a sure means of comfort, for comfort signifies making the heart strong to endure. It enables the believer to lay hold upon his resources in God and to trust in them, the result being the possession of peace of heart in the midst of the most trying circumstances.
The disciples in the storm saw the winds and the waves stilled by the word of Jesus. Their agitated minds were then set at rest, but they might have been so before, for they were equally safe when the waves were raging. Our great difficulty is to view such matters in the abstract, and see the future result in the present. Confidence seems. easy when we consider either the troubles that are past or that are to come; but when we are face to face with them it is not so simple. However it is during the trial of our faith that the fine gold is brought to view upon the surface (1 Peter 1:7).
In due time the Lord arrived at Bethany, and the truth of resurrection was demonstrated in the case of Lazarus, and death was robbed of its prey, Martha ran to meet Him, saying, "Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died. But I know that even now whatsoever thou shalt ask of God, God will give it the "(verses 21, 22). She believed Jesus was the Messiah, and she associated His personal presence in the chosen land with long life for the righteous. The Lord said to her, "Thy brother shall rise again." But Martha's answer was, "I know that lie shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day" (verses 23, 24).
In each of Martha's replies she stated what was absolutely true, but she found no comfort. She lacked the knowledge of the right truth. True comfort is based upon the particular truth suited to the circumstances of the moment. For this purpose the word of truth must be rightly divided. It is no question of rule or routine, but the Lord Himself in our trials and difficulties brings out of the Scriptures what shall he for our immediate benefit.
Clearly from what Martha said she did not realize that the Son of God was able to give life, to abolish death, to overcome him that had the power of death. So when the Lord spoke of her brother rising again, she said, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
This was a view that only tended to intensify her sorrow. Resurrection seemed so far off; it seemed long to wait until the last day. But the Lord had something to reveal which would suit her present need. In effect, the Lord showed that the key to her difficulty was with Himself. She was looking at the resurrection as an act of power at the end of all things. But Life was there before her. Life had come into the world, for "in him was life." The Son was the source of it, the bestower of it; He possessed it as truly as He was a Man from Nazareth. He was the Resurrection and the Life; and it was not at all a question of God answering prayer as in the case of Elisha and the Shunammite's son.
But though what the Lord stated was a recondite doctrine, He gave it what perhaps may be called a personal form. He simply set Himself before her as the object for her heart. If it were a question of resurrection He was competent to undertake it and carry it through. Death introduced no difficulty to Him. One greater than all the universe beside said to Martha, "I am the Resurrection and the Life."
The Lord Jesus Christ therefore at the graveside issued His command, "Lazarus, come forth," and the dead man came forth at that word. Previously He had declared, "The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice [the Son of man's] and shall come forth." He was then speaking of a day that is yet to come. But here at Bethany He demonstrated that His power was then present, and the bystanders witnessed the dead brother of Mary and Martha respond to the voice of Him who was the Resurrection and the Life.
The General Application
The Lord in this revelation communicated a great truth, but one which is of general application. It was the habit of His ministry not to confine the scope of His words and deeds to the particular case in hand. Here the Lord came to restore by resurrection Lazarus to his sorrowing sisters, but the words He spoke have a far wider range than that domestic circle. The fact that He was the Resurrection and the Life was spoken not only for Martha and Mary, but for all who should believe in Him.
In His presence a dead person should live since He was the Resurrection, and in His presence a living person should never die, since He bestowed what is called "life more abundantly," that is, a life that death cannot touch. Hence He said, "He that believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die" (verses 25, 26, R.V.).
The doctrine of this passage is more fully expanded in the Epistles, where the effect of the coming of the Lord upon those who believe is set forth in greater detail. When He comes for His saints it will be in connection with the redemption of the body. If a believer is dead or "asleep" as scripture terms it, His resurrection-power will be exercised. The Lord will speak; and the effect of His call will be that the dead in Christ will rise and come forth from their graves.
Thus Lazarus is a type of the saints who will be "asleep" when Christ comes. Others beside Lazarus were dead and lying in their sepulchres at Bethany, but the Lord only addressed the one whom He knew and loved. He made a selection among those who were in the grave. And when the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, only those who know that voice will respond. Those whom the Shepherd knows and who know Him will hear His voice and will issue from their graves in the glory of the first resurrection.
Believers who will then be alive will likewise be affected by His coming. Only the order will be that which is indicated by the Lord's words — the Resurrection and the Life. First the dead will be raised; then the living will be changed, for those living and believing in Him will never die according to His promise. Those therefore who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will not have the precedence of those that have fallen asleep in Christ.
The apostle dwells upon this theme when writing to the Thessalonian assembly (1 Thess. 4:13-18). It was a great concern of theirs that some of their number had "gone before "into the grave; and they feared that they would, in consequence, miss the joys of Christ's coming. But the reverse was the case. The departed would gain and not lose. They would rise first and then the living would be changed. The victors over the grave would have the precedence of the victors over death. And this order is in perfect correspondence with that of the Fourth Gospel.
At first sight we might imagine that Life and Resurrection is a preferable sequence, since the Son speaks of giving eternal life to the believer now. And this of course is true. Only a different line of things is before us here. The Lord is dealing with man's body — the corporeal nature. Therefore the exercise of His power is first of all in the way of resurrection.
But there was a greater wonder than resurrection, and this the Lord unfolded when He said, "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?" Martha was a believer truly, but she did not understand the Lord's meaning in this revelation. However she did trust the Lord, and this trust she expressed in her reply, "Yea, Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world" (ver. 27). Though she failed to penetrate the depths of meaning in this truth, her great safeguard was her faith in the Lord which indeed qualified her to participate in the great blessing when He comes.
The Lord passed on to exemplify the truth of what He had uttered concerning Himself as the Resurrection. He raised Lazarus, but before He did so He showed sympathy to the full with those who were suffering in this sore trial. He felt the sorrow of this havoc which death had wrought at Bethany. Here were two sensitive sisters bowed down and broken-hearted by their brother's untimely decease. Death had robbed them of their loved one. And the Lord entered fully into the intense sadness of this bereavement. In His groans and tears He displayed such feelings of agitation that even the Jews said, "Behold how he loved him" (verse 36).
Some might possibly conceive that such manifestations of sorrow on the part of our Lord were needless, seeing He was about to raise Lazarus. But think what we should have missed if there were no record of His groaning and shedding tears. Now we may see how He knows "our frame." As the prophet said of Him, "He bare our sorrows, and carried our infirmities." He not only ministered to the sick and afflicted, but He did so with the truest and most effective sympathy.
If we seek to sympathize with the suffering it is needful that we should take their sorrows to our selves. Merely to speak a word of condolence to others is not genuine sympathy. We must appropriate the trials of others and carry them upon the spirit. For such a service we need to have the Spirit of the Master within us, learning first His comfort for ourselves as displayed here, and then ministering the same to others.
In the consideration of this passage we have seen some glimpses of its beauty and instruction, but we may be sure that in every further contemplation of it we shall behold something fresh and something comforting. W. J. H.