Today's main idea: Jesus meets grief with love and has authority over death. He invites us to trust who he is while bringing him the sorrow we cannot solve.
Read Slowly
Main reading: John 11:1–44
Notice how often the story returns to love and belief. Watch what Jesus says to Martha before Lazarus comes out, and what he does when Mary weeps.
In Day 21, Jesus opened a blind man's eyes. The mourners remember that healing here and ask why he did not prevent Lazarus's death. Their question leads us deeper into knowing him: how far does his power reach, and what does his love look like in grief?
Jesus Loves Them Even When His Timing Is Hard to Understand
Lazarus is seriously ill. His sisters, Martha and Mary, send word to Jesus. They appeal to his love for their brother. They bring the need to someone who cares about him.
Jesus says that this illness will reveal God's glory and the glory of the Son of God. Glory here means that God's greatness will become visible through what Jesus does. Death will occur, but Jesus already speaks of an outcome beyond it.
Then John places two facts side by side: Jesus loves all three of them, and he stays where he is for two more days. The delay is difficult to understand precisely because the love is real. John makes us hold those facts together before explaining what will happen.1
The sisters cannot yet see the end of the story. We know that experience in a smaller way whenever we ask for help and keep waiting. Our unanswered questions can begin to shape everything we think about Jesus.
This scene gives us a reason to pause before deciding that a painful delay means we have been forgotten. Jesus' love is stated before anyone sees the miracle. We can bring our need to him and ask for help while admitting that we do not understand his timing.
Remember: When I cannot understand Jesus' timing, I can still bring my need to the one who loves me.
Jesus Goes Toward the Place His Disciples Fear
Jesus tells the disciples that they are returning to Judea. They remind him that people there recently tried to stone him. The journey toward Lazarus is also a journey toward danger.
Jesus answers with the picture of walking during daylight. A person can walk because there is light to see by. In this setting, the picture points to carrying out his work during the time given to him. The threat does not decide where he goes or when his work ends.
He describes Lazarus's death as sleep and says that he is going to wake him. The disciples think ordinary sleep will help Lazarus recover, so Jesus tells them plainly that Lazarus has died. His earlier language now shows his authority: he can awaken someone from death.
Jesus also says that what is about to happen will help the disciples believe. Their understanding of him still needs to grow. Thomas expects danger, perhaps death, yet urges the others to go with Jesus.
There is a striking contrast here. The disciples imagine going to die; Jesus is going to give life. They are following someone whose power they have not yet fully understood.
For us, fear can make the hardest possible outcome seem like the only one. Following Jesus means letting his words shape our judgment too. When a clear act of faithfulness costs us something, such as telling the truth or standing beside someone others reject, we can obey while honestly acknowledging our fear.
Remember: I can follow Jesus faithfully even when fear sees more clearly than hope does.
Jesus Gives Martha Himself as Her Hope
By the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been in the tomb four days. Many people have come to comfort the sisters. Martha goes out to meet Jesus and tells him that her brother would not have died if he had been there. She also says that God will give him whatever he asks.
Her words hold sorrow and trust together. She comes to Jesus with the painful question still present. Jesus receives her words and promises that her brother will rise again.
Martha understands this as the resurrection on the last day, when God raises the dead. Jesus then brings that future hope into a personal encounter: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Her hope rests in the person standing before her.
Jesus explains that a believer may die and yet live. The life he gives reaches beyond bodily death. Trusting him begins a life with him that death cannot finally destroy. Then he asks Martha whether she believes this.
She answers by confessing that he is the Christ, God's promised King, and the Son of God. Her confession comes while her brother is still in the tomb. She trusts Jesus before she sees what he is about to do.
Her answer also echoes the purpose John gives for writing his Gospel in John 20:30–31: that readers may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in his name. Martha models the response the whole Gospel invites.2
This makes faith personal. I can know Christian teaching about the future and still need to entrust my own loss and future to Jesus. His question invites me to consider whom I am depending on when I cannot change what has happened.
Remember: My hope beyond death rests in Jesus himself, and I can trust him before my questions are answered.
Jesus Weeps Even Though He Knows What He Will Do
Martha tells Mary that Jesus is calling for her. Mary gets up quickly, and the mourners follow her. When she reaches Jesus, she falls at his feet and voices the same sorrow Martha expressed: if he had been there, her brother would not have died.
Jesus sees Mary weeping and the people with her weeping. He is deeply moved and troubled. He asks where Lazarus has been laid. Then he weeps.
Earlier, Jesus said that he was going to awaken Lazarus. He knows that the tomb will open. Still, the grief before him matters. His knowledge of the coming joy leaves room for tears with those who are hurting.
The mourners recognize his love. Others remember the blind man's healing and wonder why Jesus did not keep Lazarus from dying. They know something true about his power, but they are still thinking in terms of what he could have prevented. He is about to show them what he can do after death has come.
This scene teaches us how to care for someone in sorrow. Hope in Jesus gives us something solid to hold, and his tears teach us patience with grief. We can sit beside someone, listen to the same painful words again, and allow tears without rushing toward an explanation.
When I am grieving, I can come to Jesus as Mary does. I do not have to finish grieving before I seek him. The one who gives life is moved by human sorrow.
Remember: Because Jesus weeps with those he loves, I can bring him my grief and make room for another person's tears.
Jesus Calls Martha to Trust Him at the Tomb
Jesus comes to the tomb, still deeply moved, and tells the people to take away the stone. Martha objects that there will be an odor because Lazarus has been dead four days. The reality of death is right in front of her.
This is the same Martha who has just confessed Jesus as the Son of God. Her sincere faith still has more to learn when Jesus' instruction meets something she finds overwhelming. Jesus reminds her of his promise that she will see God's glory if she believes.
The people remove the stone. Jesus looks up and thanks the Father for hearing him. He explains that he is speaking aloud so the people will believe that the Father sent him. His prayer helps them understand the meaning of the act they are about to witness.
The story has returned to the purpose Jesus named at the beginning: God's glory will be seen, and people will be called to believe. The miracle reveals who Jesus is and his relationship with the Father.
Martha's response is familiar to anyone who has meant a prayer and then struggled with the next step. Faith can be sincere and still need Jesus' patient correction. We grow by returning to what he has said and receiving his direction when our first reaction is resistance.
Remember: When my faith meets something overwhelming, I can return to Jesus' words and let him teach me again.
Jesus Gives Life, Then Calls Others to Help
Jesus calls Lazarus by name and commands him to come out. The man who had died comes out, still wrapped in burial cloths. Jesus tells the people to unbind him and let him go.
The answer to the mourners' question is now standing before them. Jesus has authority to give life after death. His claim to be the resurrection and the life has become visible in Lazarus.
Notice the different actions at the tomb. The people move the stone and remove the cloths. Jesus gives life. He includes those nearby in the ordinary, practical care Lazarus now needs.
That gives us a fitting response to his work. We depend on Jesus for what only he can give, and we take seriously the help we can offer. Someone facing loss may need a meal, a ride, company, or patient support long after others have returned to their routines.
Knowing Jesus should make us both prayerful and available. We can ask him for help beyond our power and show up for the responsibilities within our reach.
Remember: Trusting Jesus for life should make me ready to give the practical help another person needs.
What We Learn About Jesus
Jesus loves personally. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are named people he cares about, and their sorrow moves him.
He is the resurrection and the life. He promises life beyond death to those who believe in him, and his command brings Lazarus out of the tomb.
He reveals the Father who sent him. His words, prayer, and actions invite people to recognize God's work and trust him.
He patiently teaches people whose faith is still growing. He leads the fearful disciples onward, draws Martha into a deeper confession, and meets Mary in her tears.
How the Reading Fits Together
Love, glory, and belief connect the whole story. The sisters appeal to Jesus' love. Jesus explains that God's glory will be revealed. The disciples, Martha, and the people at the tomb are each invited to believe as they learn more about him.
The repeated concern is what Jesus could have done before Lazarus died. Jesus leads them toward a larger understanding: death itself is under his authority. His conversation with Martha tells us what the miracle means before the tomb is opened.
A brief look beyond our reading shows the cost of this journey. In John 11:45–53, many witnesses believe, while the chief priests and Pharisees make plans to kill Jesus. Giving Lazarus life brings the opposition to Jesus toward its deadly conclusion. The danger the disciples feared at the beginning becomes a plan against him.
This helps us see the love in his decision to return. Jesus goes toward the grieving family despite the danger. As John's Gospel continues toward the cross, the one who gives life will give his own life for others.
Take a Moment with Jesus
- What painful delay or disappointment do I need to bring honestly to Jesus, and what does this passage show me about his love?
- Martha confesses who Jesus is before the tomb opens. What would it mean for me to entrust my future to him while I still have unanswered questions?
- Who needs me to stay present in their grief, and what can I learn from Jesus' tears about how to be with them?
Prayer
Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God, the resurrection and the life. Help me trust you when I cannot understand your timing. Thank you for receiving my sorrow and for giving a hope that reaches beyond death. Teach me to listen to your words and to care patiently for someone who is hurting. Amen.
One Thing to Do
Contact one person who is grieving or living with a painful loss. Ask how they are doing, listen without rushing them, and offer one specific help, such as bringing a meal or spending time together. Follow through on what you offer.
Carry This with You
Jesus knows the sorrow of death and has the power to give life. I can bring him my tears, trust him with my future, and stay close to people who are hurting.
Sources Consulted
Source citations
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Brian Peterson, Commentary on the raising of Lazarus, Working Preacher, Luther Seminary. On John's deliberate connection between Jesus' love and his delay. ↩
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Jennifer Garcia Bashaw, Commentary on Martha's confession and Jesus' revelation, Working Preacher, Luther Seminary. On Martha's confession echoing the stated purpose of John's Gospel. ↩
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