Bible ReadingJohn 11:1-44 “Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
“Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’
“When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?’
“Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’”
[30:25]Psalm 30:5 “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
[33:48]Romans 8:22 “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”
[41:55]Observation questions- In John 11, what are some signs that Mary and Martha believed Jesus could help Lazarus, and what words show their disappointment when he did not come sooner? [31:29]
- What does Jesus do in this passage before he calls Lazarus out of the tomb, and what does that show about the moment at the grave?
- In Psalm 30:5, what two seasons are placed side by side, and how are they described?
- What were some of the specific obstacles on the river trip that became a picture of suffering and the question “Why, God?” [25:27]
Interpretation questions- Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” before Lazarus comes out of the tomb. Why does it matter that Jesus gives Martha himself before he gives her an explanation? [32:33]
- Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, and yet he still delayed. What does John 11 suggest about the relationship between Jesus’ love and Jesus’ timing? [39:34]
- Jesus weeps even though he knows resurrection is coming. What does that say about the way God meets people in grief? [35:42]
- Romans 8:22 describes creation’s groaning as childbirth rather than meaningless pain. How does that image help make sense of suffering in the “middle” between Genesis and Revelation? [41:55]
Application questions- Where does life currently feel like a dam, a hard portage, or a bend that will not straighten out? What is the honest “Why, God?” question underneath that place for you? [27:35]
- Martha said, “If you had been here…” When have disappointed expectations shaped prayer like that for you? Is there a place where faith has quietly turned into hurt or frustration with God? [31:29]
- Tears are not faithlessness. When was the last time grief, exhaustion, or disappointment became your most honest prayer? What would it look like to bring that to Jesus instead of hiding it? [37:48]
- Jesus is not absent from suffering; he enters it. In a painful situation right now, what would it mean to look for Christ’s presence before looking for a quick fix? [43:22]
- God’s timing is often not instant. Where is there a strong desire for immediate relief, and what makes waiting especially hard in that situation? [39:34]
- Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” while the stone is still in place. What helps a person keep trusting Christ when nothing has changed yet on the outside? [41:24]
- Looking back through the hardest seasons, where can God’s help now be seen more clearly than it could in the moment? How might that memory strengthen trust for the present struggle? [42:24]
