#Bible who told the story of lazarus skin

Lazarus had stopped breathing, he was dead.Įveryone who lived in the village of Bethany came to the funeral. “It's too late,” came her sister's voice. Well, he knows what he's doing, I'm sure he'll be here soon.” “He said he would come, miss, but that it wasn't time yet.” “Yes miss,” he said, “I found him and I told him about your brother.” “At last,” Martha cried, “Did you find Jesus?” But with each passing hour Lazarus got worse and they had almost given up hope when the young man finally returned. With their message sent, all the sisters could do was wait and pray. The last they'd heard, Jesus was across the river Jordan, teaching the people there about God. Martha asked a young man from the village to find Jesus and ask him to come. “He's our only hope,” Martha insisted, “he will come, Lazarus is his friend.”Īnd so it was agreed. “But he can't come here,” Mary argued, “the last time he was here people tried to kill him.”

“There's only one thing we can do,” Martha replied, “we're going to send for Jesus.”

“What are we going to do?” sobbed Mary, “What are we going to do?” Martha put her arms around her sister's shoulders and pulled her close. Mary's face crumpled up and she began to cry. “I'm sorry,” he began, “there's nothing I can do, there's no earthly cure for this illness.” He stared at the floor with his head down, he couldn't look Mary and Martha in the eye. When he'd finished, the doctor came and stood in the doorway. The two sisters kept watch over their brother in silence until the doctor arrived, then they left him to examine Lazarus and waited in the kitchen. “Oh Lazarus,” she said sadly, “don't die, please don't die.” “Yes, he sent a message to say he'd get here as soon as he can.” Martha took hold of her brother's hand.

#Bible who told the story of lazarus skin

Martha looked, her brother's face was pale, his skin stretched thinly across his bones, he looked like a ghost of a man. “It's come on so quickly,” Martha exclaimed, “he was fine at the weekend!” “He's burning up,” Mary told her, “the fever's getting worse.” She heard the door behind her opening it was her sister, Martha, coming into the room. When we have prayed to him, he often delays his assistance, either that he may increase still more our ardor in prayer, or that he may exercise our patience, and, at the same time, accustom us to obedience.Mary dipped the cloth into the bowl of water, then she rolled it up carefully and laid it across her brother's forehead. We conclude today with what John Calvin says about the fact that Jesus does not rush off to Bethany and that He loves Lazarus, Mary, and Martha: “We are taught by this delay on his part, that we ought not to judge of the love of God from the condition which we see before our eyes. Soon He will be gone and unable to minister in the flesh, but that time is not yet (John 11:5–10). Essentially, He means that He must continue to minister until the time of His departure arrives. Our Lord responds with enigmatic words about day and night. This prompts the disciples to object, noting that Jesus is putting His life in danger by going back to the region where others are seeking His death. Sproul writes in his commentary John, “In the glorification of Christ comes the glorification of the Father.”Īlthough Jesus delays, He eventually decides to return to Judea. This highlights a theme in the gospel of John and in the New Testament that the glory of the Father and the Son are inseparable (8:54 Phil. Additionally, Jesus says the purpose of the illness is the glory of God and of the Son of God (v. Since Christ will raise Lazarus from the dead, He obviously does not mean that Lazarus will not experience physical death but that the illness will not have the final word, that the death that will result will be temporary. Hearing that Lazarus is sick, Jesus assures His disciples that the illness is not unto death (vv. 6), but it will not be because of a lack of affection for Lazarus and his sisters. There will be a bit of a delay before Jesus goes to solve the problem (v. Furthermore, John 11:1–10 emphasizes the fact that Jesus has great love for Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Since John does not tell the story of the anointing until chapter 12, he clearly expects his audience to be familiar with Mary’s deed already.

Lazarus, we learn, is the brother of Martha and Mary, with Mary being the same woman who later anoints Jesus before His death (11:1–2). The messengers tell our Lord that Lazarus of Bethany is gravely ill. We find Him still away from the Holy City in today’s passage, when some messengers bring Him some sad news. After the Good Shepherd Discourse, Jesus left Judea because the Jewish authorities attempted to arrest Him (John 10).