John’s record of the death and resurrection of Lazarus is one of the high points of John’s writings. Remember he records “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” – John 20:31

The story begins with Jesus receiving a message from Mary and Martha.

“A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. ² This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair.^[a] Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. ³ So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

To everyone’s surprise Jesus does not immediately go to see his friend Lazarus. The assumption being in everyone’s thinking, if he would go to Lazarus then he would be healed and live. But Jesus allows the time necessary for Lazarus to subcomb to his illness.

By the time Jesus does arrive in Bethany (and if you read the text, the disciples are sure they will be killed. Things are heating up for Jesus and the disciples assume them too. The Pharisees, the elders, the leaders of the Temple are not happy about how people are flocking to Jesus and believing in him.

“So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵ And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.” ¹⁶ Thomas, nicknamed the Twin,^[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

Jesus arrives and the dialogue with Martha and Mary is important. He wants to know if they believe – in Him! Martha believes – yes and she believes He is the Messiah. Mary believes but says ““Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Her belief is that Jesus’ timing is off – it’s too late for you Jesus to do anything about this is really her response. But we know that Jesus’ timing is part of the answer to our prayers. His timing is perfect.

Wendy and I have felt that about our coming to Edmonton – it was not only the right answer but the right timing. But that’s the next question – can you trust God for His timing? Can you wait for Him to act at the right time, not necessarily YOUR time?

There is one more thing to remember here. We live in the post-resurrection world. They had not yet witnessed the resurrection. The demonstration of Jesus’ power – or in the words of Jesus’ prayer to His Heavenly Father – this demonstrates the power of God over death! A hint for what is to come for the disciples. But their memories are short it would seem, but alas so are ours.

You see it’s more than DO you believe – it’s WILL you believe! In the future when the time has passed from this moment where the demonstration of God’s power is fresh in your mind – WILL you believe then?

And what about the cost of following Jesus? Any mention of that? Yes – that’s Thomas’ point as they head to Bethany. It may be costly to follow Jesus. The very next chapter of John finds Jesus back in Bethany after withdrawing because of the danger posed to Jesus by the Pharisees. And we find this remarkable recording.

“⁹ When all the people^[d] heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, ¹¹ for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them^[e] and believed in Jesus.”

And they decided to kill Lazarus too – chilling, isn’t it? The testimony of Lazarus was powerful – not that he had to say anything – I mean just showing up for Synagogue on the Sabbath would have been enough. Can’t you see Lazarus sitting down and the next to him a man says – “hey, I was at your funeral!”

Hard to die a miracle when the dead show up alive. But that’s the promise of God. He can deal with things beyond our imagination.

That’s Paul’s testimony and prayer, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20

Yes, it is more than just believing in the moment – it is faith that carries us forward. Need more evidence? Read Hebrews 11 which records the faithful lives of many – but begins with this statement: “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”