“Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. When He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.”
(Gospel of John, ch. 11, v. 5-6*, emphasis added)
You hear that something bad has happened to a relative or a close friend. What is your first reaction? If the situation allows, at first you immediately call them. Once you have a bit more clarity, you decide whether to visit them at your earliest convenience. You might take a leave of absence and go to the person in need as soon as the next day, or even leave work immediately to be with them.
This is how people act when they love someone, right? They want to be there, to support, to step in, to not leave their friend alone. Maybe that's why, following this logic, we humans sometimes find it hard to understand Christ's love.
God's acts of love do not fit within the limits of what we define in a logical or even emotional way. If a mother would panic over her child when seeing them hurt and react immediately, then God evidently does not act that way. This often makes us question where He is, why He doesn't intervene, why He seems to fatally delay, how He allows certain things in the lives of His children, doesn’t He care?
In the story of Lazarus, we know how events unfold – in the end, Jesus Christ resurrects His deceased friend in front of all the gathered Jews. His deliberate two-day delay initially seems harsh and fatal. Christ arrives in Bethany four days after Lazarus's burial, and the first words of the two mourning sisters to Him are: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (Gospel of John, ch. 11, v. 21, 32*)
In other words, Martha and Mary are saying, “You should have come earlier. We sent people to call you a long time ago.” As he describes his narrative, Apostle John inserts several interesting clarifications. First, he begins with stating that Jesus loves Martha, her sister Mary, and Lazarus. Then he notes that Christ delayed two days before departing. The third important clarification is that the distance between Jerusalem, where Jesus and the disciples were staying, and Bethany, Lazarus's village, is fifteen stadia or less than 2.5 kilometers. (Gospel of John, ch. 11, v. 18)
Let us ask ourselves three key questions:
- How can we explain why God intentionally delays?
- How can we explain why He doesn't act the way we would?
- How can we explain why God allows things in our lives to end?
The answer to all three questions lies in Jesus’s words to Martha: “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (Gospel of John, ch. 11, v. 40*) Along with glorifying His name by displaying His power and glory, God teaches us trust. The revelation of God's glory occurs both through circumstances and through our words and actions when we trust that He is Who He is. The circumstances might remain the same, your “Lazarus” might still be in the grave, you may even think “he stinks,” as Martha herself tells Christ, but you must trust that the Lord can and will do all that's necessary to glorify His name and show His love for you. No matter what the circumstances, whether the Lord takes four days, four months, or even four years to cover your “two kilometers,” trust that He has a valid reason for not hurrying. It's not because He can't come on time, nor because He doesn't love you.
The final and most heartbreaking thing in this story of hopelessness and resurrection is that Jesus weeps and experiences the pain of Lazarus's death and His friends' grief.
“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ‘Where have you laid him?’ He asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’” (Gospel of John, ch. 11, v. 33-37*)
If it seems harsh to you that God makes us wait sometimes even unto death, imagine what it costs Him to long and yet have the power to remove your pain with just a word, but to restrain Himself again for your own good. Imagine what He feels when, in addition to this pain, you, His child, believe that He has abandoned you, doesn't love you, or even doesn’t exist. This is how great the love of your heavenly Father is.
Verse of the Week: “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. He will appear as surely as the dawn; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Book of Hosea, ch. 6, v. 3**)
*Biblical quotations are according to the text of the Bible, new translation from the original languages © Bulgarian Bible Society 2013.
**Biblical quotations are according to the text of the Bible, revised edition © Bulgarian Bible Society 2015.
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