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.’”
[35:17]John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”
[53:35]John 11:25-26 “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?’”
[01:05:10]Matthew 8:5-13 “When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, “Go,” and he goes, and to another, “Come,” and he comes, and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment.”
[55:52]Observation questions- In John 11:3-6, what message do Mary and Martha send to Jesus, and what two things are said right after Jesus hears it? [39:19]
- What details in John 11 show that Lazarus’s condition had gone far beyond ordinary human hope by the time Jesus arrived?
- In Martha’s words, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,” what signs of both faith and pain can be seen? [50:52]
- What does Jesus actually do when he comes near the grieving family and the tomb? List the actions that stand out in the passage. [53:35]
Interpretation questions- John connects Jesus’ love with Jesus’ delay. What does that suggest about how waiting and love can exist together in the life of faith? [49:32]
- Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus, yet he still wept. What does that reveal about the kind of Savior Jesus is, especially for people in grief? [56:42]
- Jesus could heal from a distance, as seen in Matthew 8, but in John 11 he chose to go to Bethany. Why might it matter that Jesus entered the hurting place instead of only solving the problem from far away?
- When Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” how is that bigger than simply saying he can perform a miracle? What does that mean for how a person sees death, loss, and hopeless situations? [01:06:41]
Application questions- Where in life does it feel like the prayer was sent, Jesus heard it, and yet the waiting is still going on? What has that waiting been doing in the heart? [01:09:49]
- Honest grief still says “Lord.” What would it look like to bring a real “if you had just…” prayer to Jesus instead of hiding disappointment, cleaning it up, or pretending everything is fine? [50:52]
- Jesus came to the place of hurt and was not distant from the tears in front of him. Is there a part of personal pain that has been kept away from him? What would it look like to bring that exact place into his presence this week? [56:42]
- What has already been labeled final, buried, or too far gone? A relationship, a prayer, a calling, a hope, a struggle, someone’s salvation? What would it mean to bring that back before Jesus again? [01:01:34]
- Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” In what area is that question feeling most personal right now? What makes it hard to answer with trust? [01:05:10]
- The tomb had a stone, a stench, and four days of finality, and Jesus still spoke life there. How might this group help one another keep praying in places where hope has gone quiet?
- Lazarus came out alive, but he still needed others to unbind him. Where might someone need help walking in freedom after Jesus has already started bringing life? How can the group be that kind of community? [01:17:08]
