John 11: 32-45
Two weeks ago we read in Chapter 10 of Mark’s
gospel the final act of Jesus before he entered Jerusalem for the last
week of his life, the healing of Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus breaks the silence of
the “divine secret,” proclaiming Jesus “Son of David” and follows Jesus to
Jerusalem. Among other messages in this event is the gift of sight in its
broadest, theological sense.
The Gospel of John (11:32-45) describes the
resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus in the last days before entering Jerusalem.
John also describes the event as one that provides “sight.” It is the last of
the seven signs Jesus made to announce his identity and purpose. It is a simple
but also complex event.
To fully appreciate the event, we
should read the account from the beginning of the chapter, (11:1-45). Reading 11:1-6, note that verse 2 is widely recognized as an
addition by a subsequent editor. It refers to an event that has not yet been
told, John 12:1-8.
Notice that the thread of
misunderstanding we often encounter in the Gospel of Mark is also present in
John. Mary and Martha in verse 3 say Lazarus is ill (implying near death) but
Jesus corrects them saying that illness does not lead to death but is to be a
sign of his glory. This justifies Jesus remaining longer in the place where he
was before departing.
In 11:7-16, Jesus continues the Johannine theme of light
and darkness, of being blind and stumbling or seeing and believing. In verse
11, he uses the Jewish euphemism for having died, that Lazarus has “fallen
asleep.” The disciples, Jews themselves, do not grasp this common understanding
of “sleep.” So Jesus makes it clear to them, “Lazarus is dead.” The words
translated “he will be all right” actually use a Greek verb that means “he will
recover from illness,” or “he will be saved.” Does Thomas understand what he is
saying, “that we may die with him”?
In 11:17- 27,
we see the clear picture that Lazarus is plainly dead. “…had been in the tomb four days” emphasizes a common
Jewish belief that the soul hovers near the body for three days, so by the
fourth day Lazarus was truly dead. (Also in warm climates, immediate burial was
important since the flesh begins to decompose rapidly.)
This part of the passage paints
the pathos of Mary and Martha over the death of Lazarus. Boisterous and
emotional crying and shouting often accompany mourning in this culture. In
verse 23 when Jesus says, “your brother will arise again,” he employs a Greek
verb used only in one other place in John (20:9) to describe his own
resurrection.
To make it clear, Jesus repeats
the formula of faith in verses 25 and 26, “I am the resurrection and
the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and
everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Verse 27 is a classic
formulation of a confession of faith.
Clearly John is making sure we understand this passage has great
importance related to Jesus own fate.
In 11:28-31, these transition verses, especially v28 (“..told
her privately”) suggest that danger mentioned in verse 8 does lurk for Jesus to
come so close to Jerusalem.
In the first verses of today’s passage, 11:32-33, we get the sense of
how deeply Mary, Martha and Jesus are moved. We can imagine the scene of
great grief. If you have experienced the wake of a relative or good friend, you
can appreciate the heavy atmosphere of the situation.
Jesus’ reaction in verse 33 can be
better translated, “he shuddered, moved with the deepest emotions.” The Greek
verb also used in verse 38 translated here as “greatly disturbed in spirit”
clearly implies a strong internal emotion, usually indignation or anger. What
is the cause of the anger or indignation of Jesus? Followed by “deeply moved”
or “shuddered,” it conveys the sense of a powerful emotional upset. The weeping
of the women and the dead Lazarus have Jesus. But what is the source of the impact?
Reading 11:34-38,
We would think that verse 35 points towards verse 36, that Jesus weeps for
Lazarus. But we hear grumbling words of skeptics... “Could not he who opened
the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus already intends to give a
great sign of divinity (v 4, see v 42). In this light, Jesus is greatly disturbed, but is it over
Lazarus or this grumbling before an imminent great sign, or something else?
The closing verses (11:39-45)
unfold the magnitude of this event. Again we encounter misunderstanding or even
doubt (as Mark so bluntly reveals), but Jesus talks about faith, “Did I not
tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” He proceeds to
heal Lazarus who walks from the tomb. This last sign does in fact bring faith
to some (verse 45) but momentously, it also is the act that cause the Jewish religious establishment to decide to
kill both Lazarus and Jesus (read chapter 12 for details.)
Comment
We may all have heard the trivial
question, “What is the shortest verse in the Bible?” The given answer, that
itself trivializes the entire story of the resurrection of Lazarus, is John
11:35, translated in the KJV as “Jesus wept.” But does this implied idea that
Jesus wept in grief over the agony of Marry and Martha, and his beloved
friend’s death shortchange our appreciation of John’s message?
Consider that the synoptic Gospels
show that Jesus was condemned for the entirety of his acts and words of his
whole career. Luke (19:17) says people praised Jesus as he entered Jerusalem for all the mighty miracles they saw.
John does not rest on such a general reason but zeroes in on the one sign that “broke the camel’s back,”
the resurrection of Lazarus. The intentional resurrection of Lazarus leads to
his own crucifixion and resurrection. This sign shows Jesus is the gift of
life, that in dying he achieves the greatest glory.
We can emote honestly with the
grief of Mary and Martha, and the grief Jesus felt towards both Lazarus and the
women, and even just the grief he must feel knowing that because of this sign of divinity representing all he has
brought to the world shall lead to his crucifixion. However for Jesus, this
entire resurrection event deeply moves him. The Greek carries the sense of anger
or indignation. Perhaps he is saddened and angry that Satan, or the force of
evil, has wrapped its arms of death around another of God’s children?
Perhaps there are two spiritual
messages here, one about family and the fellowship of friends, and the other
about the transcendence of death that Jesus brings. Jesus’ proclamation and
Martha’s response in verse
25-27 go to the heart of the latter. Raising Lazarus is the penultimate
sign of the ministry and purpose of Jesus.
The message about family and fellowship of friends though, also
strikes to the heart of the message Jesus proclaims. It is more directly
expressed in Luke 4:16-19, when Jesus points to Isaiah and the purpose of his
coming is to bring grace to the least of his children,
“The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favor.”
The compassion and comfort, the grace, that
Jesus extended to Mary and Martha seems an emphatic affirmation and teaching
for advocates. Did Jesus assail or judge and condemn the scoffers who pointed
to his healing a blind man but not saving Lazarus? Did he rail against the
forces of evil here? No, Jesus spread grace to three persons who were captive
of death.
The external world certainly
surrounded the weeping and grief of Mary and Martha, but the existential moment
was the confrontation of life and death, and the compassion and grace of Jesus
towards them that celebrates the year of the Lord’s favor. Grace brought
Lazarus back to Mary and Martha.
Some of our Christian social
advocates here in Chattanooga have an insidious penchant for spreading judgment on those they see as errant. They demean themselves and us. Their rebellion against those they see as errant takes the very form of the cruel
judgment imposed on them by their conservative, Protestant country
congregations. They see darkness and weep tears of judgment. Jesus saw darkness
and wept tears of grace.
How much could they accomplish if
the learned a little about compassion and spreading grace as Jesus did at this
tomb of Lazarus that foreshadows the final failed attempt of the forces of
darkness to extinguish The Light and Life of the world. Preoccupation with evil
can extinguish our ability to spread grace and achieve the ends of darkness to
turn people away from light. This is a bitter irony.
Is Jesus weeping over the
hardheadedness of Israel (and by extension of our own hardheadedness), over the
grief he must feel knowing he is about to enact a miracle that triggers a
cascade of events that he himself will suffer in a short week, over his
compassion for Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and by extension for us all, or all of
this? What do you think?
Spread grace, not judgment.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment