Thoughts on the Gospel of John (91) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2023

When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was.
John 11:4-6.

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (91)
In their concern for their brother Lazarus the two sisters, Martha and Mary, had appealed to Jesus. Full of respect and trust, they had simply reported, “Lord, he whom you love is sick.”

The Lord rejoices over such trust. But His answer and reaction are mysterious at first sight. “This sickness is not unto death.” Didn’t Lazarus die shortly afterwards? Indeed, but death in this instance was not terminal. The glory of God was to be revealed in the Person of Jesus. His honour, His power and His love were to be visible to impress others.

The Lord often puts us to the test in difficult situations. Our prayer is perhaps not answered as we would have wished. Sometimes He makes us wait, and sometimes everything seems to go wrong. But the Son of God’s thoughts are higher than ours: He knows that His way is best for us.

Let us not forget that He loves His own. That was so in Bethany. Jesus truly loved each of the three. And Martha, who had been reprimanded by the Lord on a previous visit, is the one listed first, when we might have expected it to be Mary (Luke 10:41).

Here we learn that Jesus’ love is not influenced by a believer’s changeability. The Lord loves us despite all our idiosyncracies, for He is Himself love (1 John 4:7.8).

(to be continued on the 4th June)

Today's reading: Jeremiah 49:1-22 · Romans 13:11-14