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JOHN CHAPTER 11 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Jn 11-1,2 (115a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Working God’s grace through Christ >> Worship God through Christ – Mary, Martha and Lazarus were strong believers, as we saw in Mary at the house of Simon the Pharisee, who invited Jesus for supper one evening, where she washed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, and anointed Him with perfume. Simon called her a sinner (Lk 7-39), meaning she must have been a prostitute, though she came from a wealthy family (Lk 8,1-3). Usually, women become prostitutes as a means of supporting themselves, but money was not an issue with Mary. What was at issue was that her parents apparently made their children raise themselves, and so Mary was probably a wild hellion, like a feral child who never really knew her parents, so when Jesus came along, she immediately glommed onto Him as her surrogate Father. Her parents were never in the picture, indicating they must have been too busy in their pursuit of wealth to care about their own children. She and her siblings worshipped Jesus with a deep, spiritual and emotional love and devotion, and Jesus loved them with the love of the Father. If Jesus were not God, He should have stopped Mary, as the angel commanded the apostle John to stop worshipping him in Rev 19-10. If Jesus were not God, it would have been a sin to let her worship Him, but Jesus didn't stop her worshipping Him. Therefore, every case in the Bible of someone worshipping Jesus proved He was God in human flesh (Mat 10-37,38, Mk 1-7, 1Tim 1-17, Heb 1-5,6, Rev 7-9,10, Mat 2-11, Mat 21-8,9,15,16, Lk 7-37,38,44-50, Lk 19,37-40, Jn 12-3, 2The 1-10, 2Pet 3-18, Phi 2,5-11, Rev 1,10-20, Rev 5,4-14, Mat 14-33, Lk 5-8, Lk 17,16-18, Jn 9,34-38, Jn 11,21-23,32,33, 2Tim 4-18, Mat 28-9,17, Heb 13-20,21). (249b) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not pursue wealth – There are many references in the Bible that speak negatively about wealth, though it doesn’t automatically rule out a person believing in Jesus. Let’s say a person comes to his faith at an early age, and later in his adult life he inherits a fortune. Over the course of his life by faith in Jesus he developed strong character so that his money did not define him. We don’t know anything about Mary's parents; they probably had money but were never home, and the children were left fending for themselves. The siblings, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, came from a wealthy family, and they were good friends with Jesus and often invited Him to stay at their house, and so they provided Him room and board and they fellowshipped together. All three siblings were strong believers in Jesus and recognized Him as their Messiah, which proves that wealth does not intrinsically bar a person from heaven. A person can believe in Jesus and be wealthy at the same time, but pursuing wealth is not compatible with faith in Jesus. They were born into wealth and never pursued it, nor did their wealth define them. It is when people define themselves by their wealth or go in hot pursuit of it (idolatry) that becomes an obstacle to believing in Jesus. Jn 11,3-16 (94k) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective on death -- These verses go with verses 21-27. Jesus told his disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep and that He was going to awaken him, and the disciples advised Him to let him sleep, saying that he will awaken on his own, but Jesus was referring to his death. Hence, this is God’s perspective on death; it’s not much different from sleep. The Bible says that everyone who has died in faith, though their spirits are living in heaven, their bodies will awaken to either a resurrection of eternal life or a resurrection of eternal judgment. Jn 11,3-10 (103k) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God purifies His church >> Jesus purifies His people -- These verses go with verses 21-27 Jn 11,3-6 (192g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Waiting for God to do it His way >> Being patient to receive something better -- These verses go with verse 17 (208k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Emotional relationship -- These verses go with verse 11 (214b) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> God’s time does not make sense to the natural mind -- These verses go with verses 14&15. When the messengers told Jesus of Lazarus’ sickness, His answer was similar to the comment He made about the blind man, whom He healed a couple chapters earlier, “It was so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (Jn 9-3). Mary and Martha wanted their brother back. Jesus was coming, but He delayed on purpose in order that the works of God may be displayed in him. Everything Jesus did displayed the ways of God; in this case Jesus delayed to pattern after His second coming when He promised to delay. Instead of racing to Lazarus' aid before he died, He stayed two days longer before journeying to Bethany. So Lazarus was not only dead, his body was already putrefying, meaning that he died two days before He even started on His way to Bethany. Jesus was not in a hurry, and by that He offended Mary and Martha, who thought He could have gotten there sooner if He loved Lazarus as He claimed. People will have the same attitude about Jesus in the last days when martyrdom of the saints becomes popular in the world. His people will wonder what's taking Him so long, and His answer will be the same: martyrs are "not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it." This is similar to what God said about the Pharaoh of Egypt who oppressed His people as slaves for centuries, "But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth" (Exodus 9:16; ESV). In other words, the purpose of His delay in the last days is to give Himself reason to judge the world all the more severely to fully expend His anger that has been building for the last 2000 years on rebellious mankind since he crucified His Son. See also: Rapture is delayed; Jn 12,12-16; 133a (232f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Count the cost >> Procrastination (248c) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> The will of God is sometimes a mystery -- These verses go with verses 14&15 (248l) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Values >> The Highest Values >> The life to come is more important than this one -- These verses go with verses 38-45 Jn 11-3,4 (2m) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Let Him do His work – These verses go with verse 11. This was a difficult time for Mary and Martha, since the life of their brother was at stake, and though they loved Jesus, they really didn’t understand what He was doing, until He raised their brother from the dead. This marked the beginning of their faith in a more accurate depiction of Christ, but getting past this point was difficult for the sisters. They had to watch their brother run out of time and breath, while Jesus, whom they knew could heal him, procrastinated coming to them. It is not always easy to believe God to the level of His ability; it takes a long, deep draw at the well of faith and collaboration with the Holy Spirit before we can imbibe the full person of Christ. (146j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Purpose of Miracles, Signs And Wonders >> Proof that Jesus is the son of God >> That the Church may believe -- These verses go with verses 14&15 (147g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Raising the dead -- These verses go with verses 11-15 Jn 11-3 (33k) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> God serves His people who serve Him >> Each one is special to God -- This verse goes with verse 5 (37f) Judgm ent >> Judgment of God >> Jesus’ humanity >> Jesus had human limitations -- This verse goes with verse 5 Jn 11-4 (110b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit speaks through you >> Word of knowledge >> knowing the mind of Christ KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11,5-15 (106f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> When He speaks and what He says Jn 11-5,6 (8g) Responsibility >> Prepare to interact with God >> Preparing to receive from God – We interact with God based on His terms. According to the way Scripture is worded, these verses sound like Jesus waited two more days to go to His friends because He loved them. He wanted to teach them a lesson about the power of God, that nothing is impossible for Him. (57j) Paradox >> Opposites >> Act of love that has no semblance to love – If it were anybody else, this is how it would have read: ‘Jesus loved Lazarus and His sisters, so when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He immediately went to them,’ but that is not ways it says. Jesus deliberately stayed two days longer, because He loved them; that doesn't sound right. His love dictated that He let Lazarus die. This is contrary to every fiber of our being. This is sometimes how God works with us too. We see almost everything He does as opposite of what He should do. This happens, not because we are stupid or foolish or unspiritual, but because we live in a body that has certain needs and limitations, and we exclusively think along those terms. Our body and our society trains our minds how to think in terms of the flesh. Meanwhile, God is in heaven and He lives in eternity and He has a body that cannot die, and He has no needs at all. Jesus at the time, though he lived in a body with limitations, certainly understood their needs, because He had the same ones, yet He thought like God. (116l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Rest in His yoke by dying to self >> Relax as God kills you (214a) God’s Timing (Key verse) (217b) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God Is Independent Of His Creation >> No one can tell God what to do -- These verses go with verse 21. Jesus saw Lazarus’ sickness as an opportunity to demonstrate the power of God and to teach them about Himself, that their confidence in Him might grow all the more. It was a simple matter of comparing values: which is greater, healing a sick man or raising him from the dead? It was no more difficult for Jesus to heal Lazarus than to raise Him from the dead. To Jesus it was a lot like playing the lottery when He knew He had a winning ticket; should He play when the jackpot was smaller or when it was larger? He knew he would win, so He waited for maximum payout. These same concepts are at work in our own lives, and God is dealing with us in many of the same ways. The second coming of Christ hasn’t happened yet because God is waiting for maximum payout. Jn 11-5 (33k) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> God serves His people who serve Him >> Each one is special to God -- This verse goes with verses 28-36 (37f) Judgment >> Judgment of God >> Jesus’ humanity >> Jesus had human limitations -- This verse goes with verse 17 Jn 11-6 (24e) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Waiting creates anxiety -- This verse goes with verse 21 Jn 11,7-10 (23o) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Fear of death – These verses go with verse 20. Jesus told His disciples that He wasn't going to slink in the darkness to do God’s will, but return in broad daylight for everyone to see and for themselves to see where they were going, so they would not stumble over the obstacles hidden in the darkness. They were going with Jesus in broad daylight so they could see their way, but that wasn’t the disciples’ concern; they were worried that His enemies could see Him too, but His enemies were walking in darkness. They were the ones who were stumbling in the night. Jesus was returning in the light of God’s truth to perform His works in the presence of His enemies, who walked in darkness and had no defense against the light. While some prefer to attack at night in the cover of darkness, the darkness is a hindrance to them too; Jesus had the best of both worlds. He came to them in broad daylight and confronted His enemies in their darkness, so Jesus had the upper hand. The Bible teaches that fear is the opposite of love, and love is the equivalent of faith. Jesus was devoid of fear, hence He walked perfectly in love toward God and man. (122k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Boldness in adverse circumstances >> Go in places of adversity – Nobody ever touched Jesus throughout His 3½ year ministry, because His time had not yet come, though He accumulated many enemies. It was for this reason they could not touch Him, because He walked in the light that was in Him. There have been many martyrs who have given their lives for God’s truth throughout the centuries, and these walked in the light even as Jesus walked in the light, and no one could touch them. "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name. Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives" (Lk 21,16-19). They crucified Christ too at the proper time. Jesus had no fear of His enemies because of a sense of destiny, even predestined to give His life a ransom for many. He continued doing His Father’s will in total disregard of His adversaries, who could not touch Him. He simply was unwilling to allow His enemies to dictate the course of His life. The world in all its darkness was nothing more than a game of cat and mouse to Him. (241h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus because of who He is KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11-9,10 (43h) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Perfect (mature) (92b) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> Ray of light leading to the face of Christ (112g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Obeying the truth in broad daylight >> Jesus’ deeds in the light – Jesus had just come from Bethany and the Jews were seeking to stone Him. He wasn’t worried about His persecutors, but his disciples were, and they quizzed Him about His wisdom. Perhaps the disciples made the suggestion to go back at night to avoid capture, but Jesus was going in broad daylight by the light that was in Him, which communicated to His enemies that He was not afraid of them, which made them all the more afraid of Him! This word “light” needs to be interpreted. Jesus talked about being one with His Father, who was with Him in Spirit, and the primary characteristic of the Holy Spirit is the Truth. Therefore, light refers to both the Holy Spirit and the word of God working in tandem, which defines the “anointing”. Jesus' title “Christ” means “anointed One”. He talked about light being in us, meaning God wants us to walk and live by an anointing that we would maintain by obeying the the word of God through the Spirit. (117k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Light illumines your spirit Jn 11-10 (182a) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Believing the darkness within you is light (184e) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Darkness >> God controls darkness >> Darkness is the absence of light Jn 11,11-16 (175j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Ignorant of what God means >> Ignorant of the meaning of God’s word (177h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding Jesus -- These verses go with verses 23-26. Jesus did not speak literally about Lazarus’ death because He wanted His disciples to understand how He really felt about death, that it is not final or permanent. Jesus was a teacher among other things, being always at the top of His priorities, and for this reason He spoke figuratively about death. That sounds ironic; if we wanted to teach something, we would use the most precise language possible. However, with spiritual things there are also conjugate literal and physical things. Had Jesus simply spoke about Lazarus dying, that is all they would have understood, but when He spoke about him being asleep and finally told them that he was dead, they caught a glimpse of Jesus’ view on death, that it is no different from being asleep. Everybody who has ever died will awake one day. There is a resurrection scheduled for both the righteous and the wicked in their turn. Jn 11,11-15 (147g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Raising the dead -- These verses go with verses 23-26 Jn 11-11 (59f) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Lazarus is in a state of hibernation / Lazarus is dead – Some argue that Jesus used the word “sleep” to mean that when a person dies, he goes somewhere and exists in a dormant state similar to sleep, until the First Resurrection, and then he awakens from his slumber in a new spiritual body. This is not an accurate depiction of Scripture. Why did Jesus use this terminology on His disciples? It could be that He wanted to introduce to them a new concept about death. Instead of giving them a lecture, He simply used the term “sleep” to make them curious about what He meant, giving Him an opportunity to explain that Lazarus was literally dead, but that God sees death as merely sleeping. The person is not sleeping; his body is sleeping in the earth. A person who physically dies has not actually died, in that his spirit is still alive. The moment we leave this temporal realm, we immediately enter the presence of the Lord and remain with Him forever. God will later awaken our bodies at the resurrection of the righteous that occurs at the end of the age. (208k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Emotional relationship -- This verse goes with verse 20 Jn 11,12-15 (107d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Word creates faith >> Believing the word creates faith -- These verses go with verse 40. No doubt the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was saying; they were constantly in the dark. They understood literal and physical things well enough; they were fishermen, but they rarely deciphered what Jesus said with any accuracy, and He often didn’t bother explaining Himself, unless they asked. Jesus said, ‘I’m glad I wasn’t there to heal Lazarus so you may believe.’ In great contrast, there are lots of people today who don’t believe in God because He was not there to heal their loved one. The disciples had seen Jesus perform many healings, and they believed in Him partly because of this, but Jesus was aiming higher; He wanted His disciples to witness Him raising someone from the dead whom they knew really was dead. In fact, the entire village and beyond knew Lazarus had died. The disciples knew Jesus was not a phony, so it wasn’t to prove His identity. Jesus was looking to instill confidence upon confidence in them, absolute concreteness in their faith. It is funny that he got that by being abstract in His speech. When things got tough, they wouldn’t abandon their faith. When the devil came to schmooze them, he was met with undeniable experiences like this. They would die for Jesus before they gave up their faith. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11-14,15 (146j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Purpose of Miracles, Signs And Wonders >> Proof that Jesus is the son of God >> That the Church may believe -- These verses go with verses 41&42 (214b) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> God’s time does not make sense to the natural mind -- These verses go with verses 21-26 (236d) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> All things are for your sake >> Our motive is for your up-building – Jesus didn’t fully explain what He intended to do, but told them only what they needed to know at the time. As a result, it caused them a lot of grief, but He intended to turn their grief into joy. The world would give them a lot of grief, and they would find themselves in tight situations in the future without any knowledge of what God would have them do, so they were to get used to not having all the answers. Jesus stayed-put and gave Lazarus time to die. The disciples had seen Him heal many people, and they had even seen Him raise some from the dead, but Lazarus was their friend, and he had many friends, who were all there and all testified that he died, and so there were many witnesses to prove that Lazarus was dead, and they had buried him four days earlier. It is one thing to see Jesus raise somebody from the dead, who was a stranger and didn’t know that he was actually dead, but it is another thing to have absolute proof of his death. It was more important to know that Jesus could raise the dead, than to know that He could heal the sick. Healing somebody is a miracle, but raising him from the dead is far greater. The one thing that mattered most to Jesus was His disciple’s faith, far more than their emotional well-being. They would get over being distressed; Jesus needed their faith in tact, because they would meet circumstances and needed to know for sure that Jesus is indeed the Christ. He proved it so many times and in so many ways to them. They also needed faith to lay their hands of the sick and see them recover and perform miracles that got the First Century revival off the ground in the first place. When it comes to healing and raising the dead, there were two things that are necessary: faith to believe that God is both willing and able to perform miracles. We don’t see signs and wonders too often in our day; He is calling us to walk by faith and not by sight. (248c) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> The will of God >> The will of God is sometimes a mystery -- These verses go with verses 21-27 Jn 11-15 (114b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Believing the Father by obeying the Son >> Obeying Jesus’ will Jn 11-16 (1h) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> False burden >> Serving God in ignorance >> Not knowing His will – Being martyred for the cause of Christ is noble and honorable, but not if God hasn't called to that. To feel that we must die for the cause of Christ if that is not His will is no better a burden than any of the false burdens to which can erroneously strap ourselves. The only freedom in Christ is doing His will, for even the noblest of false burdens bear little to no fruit, and lead to spiritual burnout, making us unwilling to pick up the true will God. (19f) Sin >> Having the mental disease of the world >> Incorrect thinking (20c) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unbelief >> Having a mind that is unable to receive >> Being slow to understand God – We call him Doubting Thomas in that what he said often came from doubt. At the time, their hope wasn’t in dying so they could go to heaven; He surely wasn’t interested in getting killed. Thomas and all the disciples were hoping the Kingdom of God would come in their own lifetime that we call the Millennium, which is still to come. Therefore, what Thomas said probably came from sarcasm. They had just been to Judea, where Jesus was vehemently persecuted in Jerusalem. They high-tailed it from there before His enemies lost their patience and stoned Him to death. Thomas was saying that if they returned, Jesus would probably be killed and the disciples would be killed with Him. He thought it was ridiculous to go back there, so He made this snide remark. Thomas was a bit of a smart-alec; Jesus really had His hands full with His disciples; they were slow learners when it came to spiritual things. They had already spent more than two years with Him, for just about everything mentioned in the gospel of John referred to the last year of His ministry, yet they seemed to have learned nothing. (63g) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Sarcasm >> Be pretentious >> Pretending to be stupid Jn 11-17 (37f) Judgment >> Judgment of God >> Jesus’ humanity >> Jesus had human limitations -- This verse goes with verses 33-36. Here is an example of Jesus’ limited knowledge. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, “He stayed two days longer” (v6), and when He came to the house, He discovered that Lazarus had already been dead four days, meaning that He could have left the moment He heard about Lazarus and He still would have arrived two days after he died, but Jesus didn’t know that. This indicates that Jesus left His omniscience at home when He took on human flesh. It says that Jesus loved them, which indicates that the more He loves us, the more He wants to reveal Himself to us and demonstrate His power for our benefit, and this often is accompanied with suffering. He wants to do this not just so we can believe in Him, but also for His own joy to receive our worship. This is not evil or selfish of God; it is the very reason God made man in the first place. (192g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Waiting for God to do it His way >> Being patient to receive something better -- This verse goes with verse 21 Jn 11-18,19 -- No Entries KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11-20 (23o) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Fear of death -- This verse goes with verse 32 (24k) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Anger >> Unforgiveness – While Martha ran to meet Jesus, Mary remained in the house stewing, and the fact that she loved the Lord fueled her resentment. She was unable to see that anything good could potentially come from death. Martha believed Jesus could do something for her brother while he was alive, but if he died, she didn’t believe He could reach beyond the grave and bring him back to life. Her faith terminated at the barrier of death, but Jesus had every intension of raising Lazarus from the dead along with his sister’s faith. We get mad at God because we don’t understand Him, yet people who live and walk by faith always receive a reward, for the more things don’t make sense, the greater the reward when we remain patient with Him. Martha represents a Christian who still believes in Jesus for eternal life, but has given up believing in Him for the circumstances of her life. Similarly, when Mary heard that the Lord had come remained in the house, sitting in her anxiety. This kind of thing can continue for many years; people can grow bitter against the Lord because they don’t understand His ways. (70g) Auth ority >> Sin of familiarity >> Famil iar with the truth-enemy of discernment >> Familiar with Jesus in the flesh (167f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Carnal mind is fueled by our emotions (194c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Running to meet Jesus prior to His visitation -- This verse goes with verses 28&29 (208k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Emotional relationship -- This verse goes with verses 28-38. We can better understand the interplay between Mary and Martha in their grief, based on the story in Luke chapter ten when Jesus came to their house and Martha was preparing dinner while Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to the word of God. Martha became emotionally perturbed saying to Jesus, ‘Make Mary help me!’ Martha saw her as shirking her duties, but she had found her place at the feet of Jesus listening to the word of God. Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Lk 10-41,42). Now we have Mary and Martha again in John chapter eleven, who both heard that Jesus was coming, but only Martha went to Him on the road, while Mary stayed in the house nursing her bitterness. This time it was Mary who became emotional. Mary later came to Him and fell at His feet crying the same words that her sister said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!” Martha was not so full of emotion as Mary, though she no doubt cared just as much for her brother. Martha loved the Lord, but she was not as invested in the spiritual aspect of Christ as her sister Mary. The fact that Martha talked with Jesus, while Mary fell at His feet is very telling about the different relationships these two women had with the Lord. Martha was just as aware of His deity as Mary, and both believed the teachings of Christ, but Mary realized on a much deeper level that Jesus was the embodiment of eternal Truth, whereas Martha heard Him speaking facts about God. Having a revelation of God’s word is a spiritual experience, whereas knowing a set of facts is merely an exercise of the cerebellum. Jn 11,21-27 (2m) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Let Him do His work -- These verses go with verses 38-45 (79i) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Practice listening to God’s word >> The word you heard perfects God’s work in you -- Martha did not limit Jesus in His ability to raise Lazarus from the dead, saying, “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” This statement contained the fact that it was not Jesus who worked miracles, but His Father, which was something He taught, implying that she was listening, which demonstrated her spiritual love and devotion to Him (not suggestive of romantic love like some twisted people purport today). Jesus said to her, “Your brother shall rise again.” Her response, “I know he will rise in the resurrection in the last day.” She was well learned in His teachings and believed in the things He taught, being one of His disciples. She may not have known as many facts about God as we do; we own a personal Bible and can study it as often as we wish, but what she knew she believed with all her heart, making the difference between knowing the facts of the Bible and knowing the person of Jesus through faith. (94k) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective >> His perspective on death -- These verses go with verses 38-45. When our loved ones die, often we see no optimism. That is because we see death as utterly final, but Jesus offered hope beyond the grave. Nobody’s death is final, in that Jesus spoke about a resurrection for both the righteous and the wicked, so everybody will be raised. The old saying, ‘There are only two guarantees in life: pay taxes and die,’ needs appending: pay your taxes, die and be raised from the dead. (103k) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God purifies His church >> Jesus purifies His people -- These verses go with verses 38-45 (193h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Repent >> Repent from not renewing your mind (248c) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> The will of God >> The will of God is sometimes a mystery -- These verses go with verses 38-45 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11,21-26 (214b) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God’s timing transcends our comprehension >> God’s time does not make sense to the natural mind -- These verses go with verses 3-6. Jesus was never in a hurry to do anything, which is reflective of God. We scurry out the door to avoid being late for work and then wait for God, who takes a lifetime to do anything. If we get a word from God and a promise that He will use us to do something, and He instructs us to prepare for a ministry, and when the time comes He will call us, this often takes a lifetime. Lazarus was in the tomb four days; Jesus could have come sooner, but it didn’t matter. When Jesus discovered that Lazarus was dying, it didn’t make Him step any faster, because the longer He waited, the greater God would be glorified. Some say that everything matters to God, but not everything matters. The only thing that mattered to Jesus was doing the will of God. Jn 11,21-23 (252d) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >> Worship Jesus for what He does through the Father -- These verses go with verses 32,33 Jn 11-21,22 (53i) Paradox >> Opposites >> Contradicting their own standards >> Accusing Jesus in whom they believe – Martha accused the lord of her brother’s death, saying that if He had been there, he would not have died. That is like so many people who accuse God of allowing bad things to happen. They ask, ‘If God is so big and if He can do anything, then why did He allow this?’ The fact is God is very big and His perspective is far superior to ours, and He has reasons for what He does that have eternal implications, whereas we think in temporal terms, according to our circumstances. Jn 11-21 (20g) Sin >> Doubt is the consequence of the fear of death -- This verse goes with verse 37 (24e) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Waiting creates anxiety -- This verse goes with verses 28,29 (188j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Sorrow >> Grieving over your own loss >> Grieving over your loved ones -- This verse goes with verse 32. Lazarus suffered more because of Jesus’ lack of punctuality. Martha counted his suffering, but Jesus didn’t. It never entered the conversation, and Jesus came to reveal God’s interests and concerns, and by this we see that God is not concerned about suffering compared to us. We don’t like to suffer, but God doesn’t mind suffering. The reason for this is that He plans on taking us to His heaven where suffering does not exist, so if we must suffer for a little while in this temporal life, God doesn’t see it as wrong or evil. Jesus suffered on the cross; God has suffered many things. He has suffered more than all of us put together. (192g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Waiting for God to do it His way >> Being patient to receive something better -- This verse goes with verses 38-45. (217b) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God Is Independent Of His Creation >> No one can tell God what to do -- This verse goes with verses 5&6 (246hh) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Demonstration of God’s kingdom >> God demonstrates His glory >> Materializing the inner man – It wasn’t enough for Jesus to merely say the words; He wanted to demonstrate to Martha that He was the resurrection and the life, and He expects the same from us; it isn’t enough to merely say we believe in Jesus, He wants us to prove it. The way He demonstrated His attribute was to raise Lazarus from the dead, but before He could show this, He had to let him die, which brought about conflict in Martha’s ability to believe in Jesus, and through that conflict was the opportunity to demonstrate her faith. Jesus could have raised another person from the dead to demonstrate His attribute as the resurrection and the life, but the lesson she learned was stamped "personal". Jn 11,23-26 (147g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Raising the dead -- These verses go with verses 38-46. The ways of God and His principles never change, though He deals with each person differently, like any father to his children. When bad things happen, and we are waiting for God to help us, when He doesn’t come, we think about Lazarus and try to apply the principles of God to our own lives, but we just don’t know what God is doing or how He thinks about us. Really bad things happen to some people, and we wonder if our circumstances will deteriorate to the level that we see and hear about others. God lets some people die without doing anything about it. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but He plans on doing the same for us at the resurrection of the righteous. Some people get sick and are healed, but one day they will die; others get sick and die, but they will be raised from the dead on the last day. Our problem is that we want everything now. We want to be healed now; we don’t want to die, but those who participate in the First Resurrection will get their lives returned to them in paradise. God tells us not to put such a high value on this life, instead use it to do our part in reaching the lost with the gospel and helping to establish the Church in faith and unity, but as far as living this life for its own sake, God says that this is not why we are here. We are here to produce fruit for the Kingdom of God, and when our time is spent, we will have blessed many. (177h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Misunderstanding Jesus -- These verses go with verses 11-16 Jn 11-23 (228b) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> God comforts you in times of adversity >> He comforts you in your grief -- This verse goes with verses 25-27. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead that day, but He didn’t raise him to never die again. Lazarus had to die twice, and the second time his body remained in the earth, until the First Resurrection when God will raise all His saints. As Jesus comforted Martha in her grief and promised that Lazarus would rise again, so we can say the same to those around us who are also grieving the loss of their loved ones, if they have believed in Jesus. This is God’s promise to His saints: we too will be raised from the dead. Therefore, whatever God expects of us in this life is not too much to ask, because of the great promises and rewards that await us in the life to come. Jn 11,24-26 (38h) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> The Resurrection >> Jesus is the resurrection – It is surprising how many people don't believe this, “Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” They don’t believe that the minute our soul leaves our body we go directly to heaven. Man is not just a body and he is not just a soul; he is both body and soul. At our death, our spirit will not enter a period of hibernation, like sleep. When Jesus said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep” (v11), He was talking about his body, not his soul. Even when we go to bed our soul is not asleep but remains awake while our body is asleep; the brain turns off certain regions to rest and repair. The body sleeps but the soul doesn't, and one day our body will die and sleep in the ground, but our soul will be transported to heaven. Jesus will awaken our bodies at the First Resurrection, and we will be changed (1Cor 15-53,54). See also: Absent from the body is to be present with the Lord; Jn 11-25,26; 57f KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11,25-27 (107b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Word creates faith >> Jesus’ words create faith -- These verses go with verses 39-41. Martha had the living resurrection standing in front of her, the person who would call all humanity from the grave on the last day to eternal life or to eternal judgment (Jn 5,25-29). Martha seemed to have no limit to her faith, which is where Jesus wants us all. It was Mary and Martha’s faith that allowed Jesus to raise Lazarus that day, through permission they gave Jesus to do His work. We wonder why God does not perform miracles when we need Him most, and we blame God or the preacher praying over the sick and dying when we don't see results, but it could be the relatives of the sick person who limit God, who refuse to believe. God wants our faith to pay it forward. He hesitates to reward our doubts and refuses to reward unbelief. Part of the fear of witnessing miracles is the paradigm shift required afterward. Secularism is where our flesh feels most comfortable and is probably the greatest enemy of faith. Many don’t want to believe they live in a spiritual world. They just want the miracle, and then be allowed to go on their merry way with their five senses dictating what is truth. These are the ones who keep miracles at bay (Mat 9,23-25). (114a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Believing the Father by obeying the Son >> Obeying Jesus’ word -- These verses go with verses 39&40. Jesus spoke about believing in Him as the way of salvation; His version of “believing” is obedience. For example, James said, ‘Do you believe?’ “The demons also believe, and shudder.” He taught that if we don’t live what we believe, then we don’t really believe. In other words, however we live is what we believe. So when Jesus said, “He who believes in me…” He was saying, ‘He who patterns his life after Me… He who obeys My commandments will sit at Jesus' right-hand on His Father's throne.' God is ready to give us literally everything. All we need to do is believe in Him to the point of actually putting our beliefs into practice. (228b) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> God comforts you in times of adversity >> He comforts you in your grief -- These verses go with verse 23 Jn 11-25,26 (38b) Resurrection (Key verse) (39l) Judgment >> The essence of life defeated the essence of death – Jesus had the antidote of the cross, not in His back pocket where He could lose it, but in His very essence. They put to death the body of Jesus, but the essence of His very nature rose from the dead. In this sense His resurrection was not a miracle, rather His death, being the living God in human flesh who cannot die. The miracle of Christ was that he took on human flesh and suffered on a cross for us in order to break the power of sin in those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Our miracle from God is that He loved us before we loved Him. He has now pioneered a way for us to come to Him through His blood. Those who believe in Jesus will receive in their essence a slice of God’s indestructible life (the Holy Spirit), so we in Him will overcome the permanence of death. (57f) Paradox >> Opposites >> To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord – Jesus used two cases to explain the resurrection: Lazarus died and Martha was still alive; He said about them both that they would never die. When Old Testament people died, they went to a place called “Abraham’s bosom”. This is where Lazarus went. Then it says in Eph 4-8, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” Jesus emptied Abraham’s bosom after He was crucified, resurrected and ascended to the Father, and He brought to heaven with Him those who had died in faith since the beginning of mankind. Therefore, those who died after His ascension will be escorted directly to heaven, and our spirit will continue to live, though our body has returned to the earth, waiting for the resurrection of the righteous. See also: Absent from the body is to be present with the Lord; Jn 11,24-26; 38h (205aa) Salvation >> Verses useful in evangelism – Our body will one day be laid in a tomb or cremated or eaten by sharks, or something else, and God will resurrect each person, giving us all new bodies that will be subject to our spirit, and we will live forever in heaven. We will be perfect and complete in three parts: having a body that is made from the substance of the heavenly Jerusalem, having a soul that was made perfect (Heb 12-23) and having the Holy Spirit dwelling in us as He does even now in His believers. Our current body is corrupted, destined for the grave; it craves sin and influences our minds to think on evil, while the Holy Spirit gently leads us from these things. We have a conflict of interests: the Spirit leans toward righteousness and a body leans toward sin, and we are torn in the middle as Christians, but a day is coming when all three aspects of our humanity will correspond with each other in the will of God. Nothing in us, about us or around us will want to rebel against God. There will be no commandment in heaven to violate. Instead, we will know good from evil without the fear of sin, and we will live forever in a perfect body and a perfect mind in a perfect place in the Spirit, exactly the way God envisioned it from the beginning. (207k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The generosity of God’s salvation >> Salvation is eternal life (237l) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> Transformed from death to life (243h) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The indestructible kingdom >> The body of Christ is indestructible >> The new man is indestructible – At Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples’ vision of establishing a physical kingdom on the earth (the Millennium) died with Him. Even when Jesus rose from the dead, His disciples didn’t try to resurrect it; instead, they received a new vision that far surpassed their old one. Now they were hoping for the resurrection from the dead. Nevertheless, their old vision was very exciting; they would become co-rulers beside Jesus of a kingdom headquartered in Jerusalem, which all the nations would recognize as capital of the world. The disciples were happy with their expectations of Jesus throughout His 3½ year ministry (Lk 19-11), but His crucifixion didn’t fit into the puzzle they were trying to assemble of God’s plan for mankind. Moreover, their lives would only last another fifty to seventy years, and then they would go the way of all men, so what good is a millennial kingdom if they can't be there to enjoy it? However, when they assumed Jesus' vision of the resurrection from the dead, it was much more meaningful to imagine ruling a kingdom beside Jesus forever. The disciples traded visions, so when the millennial kingdom finally comes, it will just be another event that occurs throughout the course of eternity. (244d) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the trinity >> Jesus is the source of eternal life (254g) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> Jesus is the substance of God’s life >> Jesus conquered death because He is life – When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” He was saying that life defines Him, which is probably the most amazing statement He ever made. Jesus is the life of God, and it says that He is also the word of God, being one and the same in the person of Jesus Christ. He said, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (Jn 6-63); the Holy Spirit and the word of God are one and the same. The First Resurrection is coming when Jesus will speak a word and everyone who has believed in God will come to life, receive new bodies and follow Jesus. There is an obvious difference between the body and the soul, yet people sometimes confuse the two when speaking about the resurrection. Some people think the soul of man remains with the body, asleep. This is taking Christ too literally when he spoke to his disciples about Lazarus, saying that they were going to awaken him from sleep (v11). It was not Lazarus who was sleeping but his body; Lazarus was in a place called Abraham’s bosom. Jn 11-25 (86d) Thy kingdom come >> Belief demands a response – We might say that anybody in heaven would naturally believe in God, but not so fast. Unbelief is a term, and we know about terms that they don’t always mean what they say; in fact, “belief” is a tricky word. In our modern English we understand belief to mean a kind of mental ascent, where we assert something to be true on a factual basis, but this is not at all what Jesus meant by the word "believe". Jesus wasn’t talking about people who agree with certain facts about Him; rather, He was talking about those whose life have changed as a result of those facts. This definition places “belief” closer to obedience. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11,28-38 (208k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Emotional relationship -- These verses go with verses 3-6. Jn 11,28-36 (33k) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> God serves His people who serve Him >> Each one is special to God -- These verses go with verse 3 (123c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love >> Spiritual affection >> Compassion is the emotion of the Spirit – We have an account of Jesus being very emotional. He wasn’t like this with everybody, only with His friends. With perfect strangers Jesus was not emotional at all. He may have wanted the best for them, He may have wanted them to believe in Him for eternal life, but He didn’t have the emotional ties with them that He had with His friends. Jesus could not develop emotional ties with someone outside the love of God; if His friends did not obey Him, He could not have developed close bonds with them. His friends were coming to the realization of is identity as the Son of God, and His purpose in coming into the world, His relationship with the Father, these caused emotions in Jesus. God’s purpose was for them to love, worship and obey Him, and it established a relationship between them that reached into the emotional realm. Jn 11,28-35 (194b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Run to Jesus when He calls for you Jn 11-28,29 (24e) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Waiting creates anxiety -- These verses go with verse 6 (63d) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Righteous deception >> Church deceive each other – Martha told Mary a lie when she said the Lord was calling for her. To our knowledge Jesus did not call for Mary. It says that she secretly told her, for she didn't want more people than necessary to know about her lies, because the more who know them, the more likely they will be exposed. The lie was not evil, because it didn’t have an evil motive, so we shouldn’t even call it a lie. She wanted Mary to go and see the Lord; she was upset with Him because He took His time in coming, and her complaint was that if He had come sooner, Lazarus would not have died, for she didn't want her brother's life to end any sooner than it must. Had Jesus come a little sooner, maybe Lazarus could have lived a little longer, is what she was thinking. Mary was to the point of bitterness about the Lord. Even though she loved Him, she was angry with Him, because He didn’t act like He cared. She wanted Him to come and save her brother from death, but Jesus had other plans. He wanted to raise Lazarus from the dead instead of just heal his disease. (194c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Running to meet Jesus prior to His visitation -- These verses go with verse 20 Jn 11-30 (64a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God cannot tolerate sin >> He cannot allow unbelief in His presence Jn 11-32,33 (252d) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >> Worship Jesus for what He does through the Father -- These verses go with verses 21-23. The Father was generous and gave His Son whatever He wanted, because He always did what was pleasing to Him (Jn 8-29). We too have a sphere of obedience that we use to request God in prayer, but most people ask for things that are much greater than their sphere of obedience, and for this reason they don’t get their prayers answered. They need to enlarge their sphere, so when they ask God for things, He is willing to answer their prayers. If we seek God for the things that pertain to His will, we won’t have to ask Him for our needs, for He will personally supply them, because we are serving Him, but people get things turned upside-down and inside-out, and through their selfishness they don’t consider God’s purpose and will for their lives. They deceive themselves, believing what they want, creating doctrines that give them permission to be self-centered, and the will of God is pushed to the side. See also: Praying in the Spirit; Eph 6-18,19; 81m Jn 11-32 (23o) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Fear of death -- This verse goes with verses 7-10. This shows the extent of Mary’s faith: had Jesus been there before Lazarus died, He could have done something, but now that Lazarus was dead, she thought there was nothing He could do. Death made Mary fear, and it acted as a cul-de-sac to Mary’s faith. This was actually the reason Jesus waited. He knew this was how she thought about Him, as though He had limitations. Jesus limited Himself in the flesh, but His Father was not limited, who was the strength of His ministry. Jesus waited until Lazarus died so He could prove to the sisters and to us that God gave Him power to raise the dead, and He explained this by saying He was the Resurrection, meaning that He didn’t just have power to raise Lazarus. She was talking to the person who wielded the power of God to raise every person who has ever lived and died since Adam. (188j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Sorrow >> Grieving over your own loss >> Grieving over your loved ones -- This verse goes with verse 21 Jn 11,33-36 (37f) Judgment >> Judgment of God >> Jesus’ humanity >> Jesus had human limitations -- These verses go with verse 3 Jn 11-33 (159b) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Love sickening sweet >> The kind of love that replaces wisdom – The Jews who came to console Mary and Martha were professional mourners. They would actually go to funerals and weep for the family in attempt to help with the grieving process, though they may not have even known the person who died or the family. It was part of their culture; they could turn on the tears at will, making loud noises, all for appearance sake. It says that Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled. The fact that He was deeply moved was in reference to His compassion; the fact that He was troubled referred to the professional mourners. Jesus was good friends with Mary, Martha and Lazarus, so there was a phileo type of love expressed between them. There were two sisters and a brother with no mention of their parents at all, and it is likely that they lived at their parents’ house, and it could be that their parents were almost never home. Since they were wealthy, they may have been always busy working. Jn 11-37 (17k) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Ignorance >> Misinterpreting Jesus – Throughout time people have criticized God’s timing and the way He operates. In this case the people complained because Jesus waited until Lazarus died before He did anything. God lives in eternity and invites us to step over to His side so we can interpret the world around us through His eyes, through the wisdom of eternity. In this, what we don’t understand we can accept and what we accept we can believe until love and righteousness prevail. (20g) Sin >> Doubt is the consequence of the fear of death -- This verse goes with verse 21 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11,38-46 (147g) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Raising the dead -- These verses go with verses 3&4 Jn 11,38-45 (2m) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Let Him do His work – These verses go with verses 3&4. Martha performed a simple exercise of her will. She didn’t create an image in her mind of her brother stirring to his feet. Her belief in Jesus didn't involve developing a frame of mind that was capable of faith; rather, her faith more resembled an agreement to get out of His way. We tend to think about faith as a mental state, and we torture ourselves trying to achieve it, creating images in our mind about what we want to happen, but real faith is a simple matter of doing whatever God commands of us, and usually it is something little. (79h) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Practice listening to God’s word so you can hear it – If we obey the Holy Spirit who is speaking in our heart, it demonstrates that we can hear his voice, which itself is one of the most definitive aspects of faith, encouraging us to listen all the more, proving that the voice we hear is indeed from God. The way we relate to God is different from Martha. Instead of having Jesus in person, the Holy Spirit speaks to our heart, and we must learn to distinguish His voice from all others, and the way we learn is by doing what He says. People try to tell us what to do; we hear their voices in our heads confusing us about the will of God. We often don’t know what we should expect to hear, and for this reason we also need to understand the ways of God. (94k) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective on death -- These verses go with verses 3-16 (103k) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God purifies His church >> Jesus purifies His people -- These verses go with verses 3-10 (114e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Obeying the revelation from heaven >> Obeying the revelation by putting away the flesh – When Jesus told them to remove the stone, He was really talking to Martha, who was a member of the family. A gesture of her permission was all He needed, something indicating that she believed, something she had to do, perhaps a simple nod of her head; how many calories did that take? This was her only involvement in her brother’s resurrection, yet if she didn’t give the okay to remove the stone, Jesus could not have performed the miracle. She played a very small part, yet a very important one. Martha gave permission for Jesus to raise her brother from the grave, and it was her brother who heard the word of God and came forth, so our obedience can have a very large influence on other people. The simple gestures we show give God permission to do His work in our lives that often have direct application in the lives of those around us. We are not passive spectators of God’s work but active participants in everything He does. He requires our obedience on some level, which He interprets as faith. (117d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Let Jesus do the work >> Let Him work on your circumstances (192g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Waiting for God to do it His way >> Being patient to receive something better -- These verses go with verses 3-6. Jesus intentionally stayed away for two more days after learning of Lazarus' sickness. Mary, who loved Jesus with all her heart told Him the same thing Martha said, accusing Him of Lazarus’ death, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” However, she said this with all reverence falling on her face at His feet, worshipping Him. She was conflicted between the glory she saw in Him and His absence when she needed Him most. She loved Him, but was angry with Him at the same time, which tied her emotions in knots. It was a time for Mary to trust that Jesus had her best interest in mind when it seemed He had forgotten her and her brother. He wanted to give her something greater than merely healing her brother; he wanted to raise him from the dead and increase her faith all the more. According to His Father, Jesus was in the right place at the right time, though it didn’t seem right to Mary. (248c) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> The will of God >> The will of God is sometimes a mystery -- These verses go with verses 3-6 (248l) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Values >> The Highest Values >> The life to come is more important than this one -- These verses go with verses 3-6 Jn 11,38-44 (32b) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Grace >> Word of His grace (115j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through obedience of faith >> Through determination -- Instead of delivering a long ceremony like most people would have done had they been given such authority from God, Jesus just said a simple prayer, pointing people’s attention toward heaven and giving all the glory to His Father as the one who raises the dead. Jesus was flesh and blood like us. He had no power to raise the dead or to open the eyes of the blind or to perform any miracle. He raised Lazarus from the dead because He always pleased the Father, and God has given us opportunity to do the same, suggesting why He does not always answer our prayers, because we do not always please the Father. The purpose of raising Lazarus was primarily to increase the faith and trust of those around Him and to help those believe in Him, even us throughout the ages who have read the Bible, that we too might believe the Father sent the Son as the Savior of the world. God wants us to believe in Him no matter how big or how difficult the circumstances, and He will answer our prayers to increase our faith, but we must first believe. Jn 11,38-40 (14e) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Being in charge of the details -- These verses go with verse 44. Jesus required two things to help Him perform this miracle. First was merely physical, He needed Martha's permission to roll away the stone, and the second was spiritual, to believe that Jesus could do this. Both were essential contributions to His success. Once Jesus raised Lazarus, He once again employed His helpers to set Lazarus free from his bandages. As we can see from this passage, Jesus performs the miracles, while we take care of the details. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11,39-41 (107b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing From God >> Wor d creates faith >> Jesus’ words create faith -- These verses go with verses 25-27 Jn 11-39,40 (114a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Workin g the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Believing the Father by obeying the Son >> Obeying Jesus’ word -- These verses go with verses 25-27 (158c) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Strife >> Contentions, especially about words (semantics) Jn 11-39 (189aa) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> The smell of death >> Stench of the dead – Death is mysterious. To look at a corps, we see flesh on its way to becoming inert material, the person now being gone. We think about the person while his lifeless body lay in a casket and try to reconcile our memories of him with his remains and wonder how he lived in it and why we equated it with him. When body and soul were together, it made perfect sense, but the moment he died, the animated attributes of his flesh disappeared. Jn 11-40 (5n) Responsibility >> Jesus’ yoke of obedience >> Our obligation to believe God – "Belief" and faith are not the same and the differences are important. The word "believe" implies some level of obedience (action). When Jesus told Martha to believe, He was insisting on some action taken on her part to demonstrate her confidence in Him. In fact, you can replace the word believe with the word ‘obey’ in most instances of the Bible. In this case it would read, "Did I not say to you, if you [obey], you will see the glory of God?" Here's the difference between these two: "belief" is a human rendering of God's faith, while faith is the divine substance of our beliefs. See also: Difference between "belief" and "faith"; Act 2,37-40; 193d (107d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Word creates faith >> Believing the word creates faith -- This verse goes with verses 12-15 Jn 11,41-44 (114h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Jesus does God’s work >> All his works are done through the father >> Jesus exercises His will through the will of His Father -- It wasn’t Jesus who performed miracles but His Father through Christ. Jesus was merely obedient, and the Father through His obedience performed miracles in the same way that God is willing to perform miracles through our obedience. Therefore, we could say that Jesus wasn’t so much powerful as He was holy and righteous. Jn 11-41,42 (83a) Thy kingdom come >> Receiving from God through prayer >> Prayer of faith (121d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Hope >> Expectation >> Hope is the expectation to receive >> God initiates His interest (143e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The public >> Jesus ministered publicly (146j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Purpose of Miracles, Signs And Wonders >> Proof that Jesus is the son of God >> That the Church may believe -- These verses go with verses 3&4 (253f) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Father and Son glorify each other >> Holy Spirit honors the Son through the Father >> Father honors the Son who honors the Father – Lazarus came forth by the word of Christ, not by the words themselves but by the promise of the Father to do whatever Jesus asked. This was not the Father’s idea to raise Lazarus from the dead but Jesus’, and the Father supported Him. However, it was the Father’s idea to send Jesus to the earth in the first place to die for the sins of the world, and now that Jesus was here, He had a will that was congruent with His Father’s, and Jesus wanted to show His friends the extent of power and authority the Father had given Him. The Father was glorified in all that Jesus requested of Him, and for this reason He was willing to give whatever Jesus asked, because of his perfect obedience. This shows two distinct yet united entities within the trinity. Jesus never asked amiss, but always asked for things His Father wanted to give Him, and this should be a heads-up for us too. If we want our prayers answered, we should be just like Jesus and become intimately familiar with the will of God, so when we make request of Him, we are not asking amiss. If we will focus on His interests, He will focus on ours. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11-43,44 (255d) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> God’s word is Spirit >> Jesus is the word of the Spirit >> Jesus is the authority of God’s word Jn 11-44 (14e) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Being in charge of the details – This verse goes with verses 38-40. When Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth,” Lazarus heard His voice from the grave and suddenly awoke, and he was bound from head to foot with wrappings. Lazarus is analogous to a sinner being saved by the grace of God. When the person of our prayers for salvation heard the voice of God and responded, he went from death to life, but he was still in "bandage" to many sins prior to his newfound faith. The Church needs to work together to release him from his bondages. We don’t get someone saved and then just let him go on his own. He will wander till he gets lost again; his eyes will be covered and he won’t see where he is going and run into things. People will think he is a mummy, a freak; in fact, that is often how people feel about newborn Christians. We need to teach him how to walk with God and teach him the importance of listening to His voice. It is up to the Church; Jesus didn’t help Lazarus with his bandages; it wasn’t his job. He has given us the ministry of discipleship to teach new converts the ways of God. Jn 11,45-48 (186b) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Cursing the Holy Spirit >> Consider the work of the Holy Spirit to be sin -- These verses go with verses 53&54. The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead was one of the reasons the Jews conspired against Christ to have Him crucified, saying that if He continued in this way they would most certainly lose their prominence within society as Israel’s religious leaders. They feared that everyone would start believing in Jesus (as though that would be a bad thing), and raised the possibility that the Romans would come and take away their place and their nation. Every point they made was completely absurd, encapsulating the reprobate mind. Having this kind of response to miracles, illumined the condition of their hearts, so callus and hardened beyond remedy and so profoundly unable to believe in God that it staggers the imagination. These are spooky people, completely disregarding the fact that a man was confirmed raised from the dead, and then to be concerned only with maintaining their business of religion proves these people were completely unreachable. Not even God could help them. Why would the Romans come and take away their place and their nation because of Jesus? It didn’t make sense! It was just an excuse for them to continue in their unbelief. Actually, the Romans did just as they predicted, not because of Christ, but because of rejecting Him. It is a known fact that God used the Romans to judge Israel in AD 70. Their stubborn unwillingness to heed their own Messiah translated to the Romans destroying their temple and dispersing the people. The Romans demanded of the Jews that they abolish their customs and take on the customs of the Romans, and Jesus asked the same from them, but the Jews complied with neither. He came to take away the old customs of Jewish tradition from the Old Testament and establish a new covenant, which would not have conflicted with the Romans, since His proposition was based on love, and neither the the Romans nor the Jews had laws against such things. Jn 11-45,46 (201c) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> You are against Christ when your unbelief materializes >> If your heart is not with Him your deeds are against Him KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11,46-48 (18h) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Can’t distinguish between good and evil >> Jesus is evil -- These verses go with verses 53-57 (19i) Sin >> Hardened heart will twist your mind – The only thing that mattered to the chief priests and Pharisees about Jesus was losing their place and their nation, though this wouldn’t have happened had they believed in Him. Their Old Testament promised that God would deliver them from their enemies if they remained obedient, so they were wrong in their estimation of the future. This was a well documented miracle, since everyone in the community knew Lazarus and knew he had died. The Pharisees only needed to talk to a few of them to confirm the facts. They should have fallen at Jesus’ feet and worshipped Him, saying, ‘My Lord and my God,’ but they didn't. Instead, they surmised the situation and became diabolical in their scheming and hatched a plan to eliminate Him, seeing Him as a threat to their position in society as the spiritual leaders of Israel. (21h) Sin >> Premeditated sin >> Having no intensions of doing the will of God (39ja) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Jesus defeated this world system >> Jesus defeated people who serve Satan – Jesus coined the gospel with this statement, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Being that His own people rejected Him, we discover that His intent was to spiritually manifest His kingdom before He physically manifested it in the Millennium. This was to illustrate that under the reign of Christ there would be an unseen spiritual realm that is just as vital as the physical realm. Likewise, our bodies have a spiritual layer beneath the natural layer. In Christ's thousand-year reign Jerusalem will become the capital city of the world, but none of this was designed to happen at Jesus’ first visit, since He came to give His life to purchase a people that He would choose throughout the age of grace, and He used the religious establishment to unwittingly perform the sacrifice. The Old Testament prophets spoke of the Millennium, and the new covenant age of grace was also mentioned, but Israel glossed over it. After this age has run its course, there will be a Millennium when Jesus comes again and establishes His kingdom in power. God predestined it this way, so it must happen according to Scripture, but it appears that things are unfolding differently from the way it reads in the Bible, like the earth appears different from a satellite than from the ground. See also: Those born in the Millennium will not have our authority; Mat 26-29; 50j (180a) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people for sordid gain (185d) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of lawlessness >> Denying Christ in spite of His proven identity – The Pharisees didn’t want anything to change regarding their situation, because they had a good thing going. Being hypocrites, they had prestige among the people and they were financially wealthy, and these things mattered more to them than the will of God, though they were Israel’s spiritual leaders. They only cared about how they appeared to society and how much money they could fleece from the people. For these things they were willing to sacrifice the truth, though a notable miracle had occurred, and it meant nothing to them. This goes back to what Jesus said in the parable about the rich man and Lazarus; the rich man asked Abraham, ‘Have Lazarus go to my father’s house and tell my brothers to repent, for they will listen to a man who rose from the grave,’ but Abraham replied, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.” This shows two things: first, the word of God is more convincing than miracles, and second, a person can be unaffected by convincing proofs if one chooses to ignore them. There are people living in the world today who are this numb to the things of God; even if they witnessed someone rising from the dead they still would not repent of their unbelief. (249j) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> World’s perception of wealth >> The world's wealth erodes good values >> The world’s wealth is deceitful Jn 11,47-53 (241k) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus >> Kill Jesus because of what He did Jn 11-47,48 (76b) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Seeking authority for security >> Motives based on desire for power – The chief priest and Pharisees convened a council in effort to stop Jesus as a result of Him raising Lazarus from the dead. They could have used their authority as spiritual leaders of Israel to promote Jesus so all may believe in Him, yet He accomplished the things He came to do through their rejection of Him. Raising Lazarus was the last straw, like they said, “If we let Him continue, all men would believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation.” The only thing that mattered to the Romans was keeping peace, and Jesus wasn’t causing any riots. The Romans recognized Jesus as a spiritual leader who was gaining popularity among the people, teaching them to obey authority and love their fellow man; this did not conflict with the interests of the Romans. Instead, the chief priests and Pharisees were the ones who threatened a riot and civil unrest. Jesus did not cause the Romans to take away their place and their nation; they did it themselves, not by having Jesus crucified, but by rejecting the gospel after the fact. Had the nation of Israel received the gospel, it would have made the Jews more conciliatory toward the Romans, but as history reveals, the Jews picked a fight with the Romans and lost in 70 AD. (162e) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >> A slave to unbelief >> Bondage to an inability to believe – The religious leaders of Israel did not have the slightest inclination to believe in Jesus, though they admitted He performed many signs. The fact that they called them signs was an admission that this was not the result of trickery. They admitted that Jesus literally raised Lazarus from the dead, having done investigative work to ascertain the facts, yet they would not believe in Him. This correlates with the story of the rich man and Lazarus (a different Lazarus; Lk 16,19-31). In hell the rich man said, “‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” This must be the most bone-chilling statement in the Bible, that and Mat 23-33, Jesus having said to the religious leaders of Israel, “How will you escape the sentence of hell?” Jesus was by this telling them that they were not listening to Moses and the prophets. The chief priests and Pharisees believed in their Old Testament writings, but they did not live according to them. That is, how we live is what we believe. To live like the world and say we believe in the Bible is to confess the Bible as the true word of God but not actually believe in it. This is exactly what was happening to the religious establishment in Israel; they believed in their Old Testament, but they didn’t live by it, but merely affirmed that the words of Moses and the prophets were true. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11-48 (198g) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Having evil motives for seeking leadership positions >> In the ministry for personal gain Jn 11,49-53 (55j) Paradox >> Opposites >> Fulfilling your own prophecy – What we have with sinners obeying the will of God is a mixed bag of motives, and we see in the background God manipulating people and using the forces of evil to achieve His goals, which we might think God couldn’t do because He is good, but He is also highly resourceful. In fact, He has been using evil ever since the origin of evil through Lucifer. If evil were not involved in the death of Jesus, it would not have had the effect of canceling the power of sin. Caiaphas prophesied, though it is questionable he even knew what he was saying, since he was one who demanded Jesus’ death. It would be one thing for Caiaphas to prophesy this and evil men performed it, but it is quite another thing for Caiaphas to prophesy this and be the one to make it happen. He prophesied about something that his sinful nature wanted, Jesus’ death, and then made plans to have Him killed, helping to fulfill the prophecy. What sinners don't understand about evil is that it exists through the absence of God. Sinners trying to use evil to overcome God is like one end of a bar of steel trying to attack the other end; they are on opposite ends and will never meet. However, notice in this simile that God and sin consist of the same bar, suggesting that evil protrudes from God whenever anybody rebels against Him, meaning that evil cannot exist apart from God. Jn 11,49-52 (108e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Balance >> God's sovereignty balances good from evil – Doing the will of God with an evil motive carries with it a very complex interplay of incentives. Usually everything in the spiritual realm is straightforward, but not in this case. The people involved, Caiaphas and the entire priesthood, were totally in the dark about everything. They couldn’t possibly untangle the gnarled motives between them and God, having a limited perspective in their rebellion. Through their religion, being a business venture more than a service to God, they would never come to the understanding of what actually happened the day they had Jesus crucified. In fact, we could say that religious reprobates such as Caiaphas, who blasphemed the Holy Spirit, do not understand any of their motives, being in total darkness about themselves. As spiritual leaders, they claimed to be a beacon for the people, but they were just the opposite. This is the case in so many churches these days with leaders having no business in positions of spiritual authority over others. Their only accomplishment is to lead people and their churches into further darkness and apostasy. (110e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit speaks through you >> God chooses men to speak through (152j) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Prophets >> The Church holds the position of a prophet >> Church operates under a prophetic anointing >> Speaking a prophetic word from God – Anybody who wanted Jesus dead was not a true worshipper of God, though it was the will of God that He should die. Therefore, when God used the office of high priest to prophesy the death of His Son, Caiaphas merely acted as a puppet in God’s hand for that brief moment, for the words of his prophecy belonged to God. Caiaphas, though highly religious with strong convictions in the traditions of temple worship with a lengthy knowledge of Old Testament law and the prophets, being a strong advocate of Moses, believed in the manuscripts handed-down throughout the generations that spoke of Israel’s illustrious past and their relation to God, but he didn’t obey them. That is, he inadvertently did the will of God by hanging His Son on a cross. (179h) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> False prophets >> Prophesy truth with an evil motive – Caiaphas prophesied by the Spirit of God that Jesus would die for the nation and then assisted in His assassination. This amalgamation of obedience and disobedience carries with it an assortment of motives that are almost impossible to untangle, like the words of Satan to Adam and Eve. The prophecy came from the mouth of one who was personally unaware of God’s plan for Jesus to give His life a ransom for the sins of the world. Caiaphas didn’t have one positive motive for what he did, so both good and evil were sprinkled throughout the advent of Jesus’ death. (209i) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Jesus paid our ransom with His own blood (216k) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> God Is Independent Of His Creation >> You cannot control God’s desire for you >> man is not in control of God’s gift -- This was a strange and rare occurrence with Caiaphas prophesying about the offering of Jesus’ body on the cross for all the people, while later he cast his lot against the Lord during his mock trial. Through hatred he was in favor of the righteous and holy gift of His flesh that would meet God's requirement to forgive the people. The high priest, Caiaphas, was not a righteous man, nor did the words he spoke come from his heart. Rather, as high priest that year God grabbed his tongue and formed the words in his mouth, as though against his will. This may happen more often to people in authority with a message that proceeds from a credible source. Jn 11-52 (211a) Salvation >> Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Gentiles included >> Fellow heirs with Israel (Spiritual Jew) >> We are one in Christ Jn 11,53-57 (18h) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Can’t distinguish between good and evil >> Jesus is evil -- These verses go with verses 46-48. The day before they arrested Jesus, He stood in the temple and taught, and He discussed with the Pharisees whatever points of issue they desired. After Jesus told them the truth about themselves, they resembled the living dead, for when people lie to themselves, something within them dies. Jesus told them they were spiritually dead, like concealed tombs, and He revealed their deadness to all the people. Jesus made them look at the real condition of their hearts at least for a moment, and it was like looking into the sun; it had a blinding effect. They thought they could see, and Jesus proved to them beyond the shadow of a doubt that they were totally blind. They could not see through the thick darkness that they made of their own hearts. (21k) Sin >> Premeditated murder – When the Pharisees found Jesus, they wanted to arrest Him, but they didn’t want to start a riot. It would have been unpopular to arrest Him in broad daylight, since Jesus was popular with the people. He wasn’t a self-aggrandizing bureaucrat like the Pharisees, nor did He use the people to get rich or to make a name for Himself. He didn’t ask anything from them, especially not money; instead, He spoke the truth to them from God and He healed their diseases, and so it would have been impossible for the Pharisees to arrest Him in a crowd. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar / Parallel Gospel Jn 11-53,54 (89f) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Deeds of wisdom – When Jesus returns at the Millennium, He will punish His enemies with a spiritual weapon that will resemble a nuclear bomb, “Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth” (Zechariah 14-12). When he comes in the glory of His Father with all the holy angels, His very appearance will destroy them, “whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming” (2The 2-8). However, while He was in the flesh and making purification for sins through His own death, He didn’t kill anybody. In fact, this is what He said to His disciples, James and John, who wanted to call down fire on a village because the people would not receive Him, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them” (Lk 9-55,56). We don’t get to destroy our enemies because they looked crossways at us. (186b) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Cursing the Holy Spirit >> Consider the work of the Holy Spirit to be sin -- These verses go with verse 57 (205b) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> According to promise >> Promise of His rest – After raising Lazarus, Jesus and His disciples switched gears and went to Ephraim. Before Lazarus, they were going from village to village healing every known disease and preaching the gospel, but after Lazarus things changed. They went to a quiet place and relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company for a while. They probably preached the gospel in Ephraim too, but Jesus came for the Jews only, the lost children of the house of Israel. His ministry was not to the gentiles, so however many Jews were in Ephraim at the time determined the length of His ministry. No doubt it was good to go there and reenergize. These were probably good times the disciples had with Jesus, camping with Him and telling stories around the fire. (253l) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is subject to the will of the Father – Jesus was God in human flesh, avoiding the Jews, who wanted to kill Him after He raised Lazarus from the dead. After this He and his disciples went to Ephraim to a secluded place. He must have felt like Elijah after he called down fire from heaven to consume the evening sacrifice, he ran from Jezebel into the wilderness. We would think that because He was the Son of God He could do whatever He wanted, since He could walk on water. If He wanted to walk among the Jews, nobody could stop Him, but at the time Jesus did not have all power and authority over heaven and earth. He was relying on His Father, and for His grace He had to do the will of God. He was trying to teach the principles of the Kingdom of God to His disciples that He wanted His church to follow. He didn’t walk among the Jews who wanted to kill Him, anymore than we can have whatever we want just because we're Christians. Jn 11-53 (210c) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> God used sinners to sacrifice His son -- Jesus was persecuted more than ever for raising Lazarus from the dead. We would think people would have blessed and glorified Him for doing this. Had He only charged the people exorbitant prices to heal them, and forced Mary and Martha into a lifelong contract with Him to pay for His services and even Lazarus once his life was returned to him, maybe then the religious leaders of the time would have respected Him, but Jesus didn’t want their respect. He only wanted the will of God at the center of His life. His enemies ironically were more involved than anyone in bringing to pass the will of His Father by seeking His flesh as the Passover lamb. Jn 11-57 (186b) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >> Cursing the Holy Spirit >> Consider the work of the Holy Spirit to be sin -- This verse goes with verses 45-48 See next page