Joh 11:3 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord is rejected in both His words (John 8) and His works (John 9). He then separated from the unbelieving mass of the people’s sheep a remnant for Himself as His own sheep (John 10). He even spoke on top of that about other sheep who will form one flock with His own sheep of which He will be the Shepherd. This also means putting aside His people, His own, to whom He has come, but by whom He has not been accepted. Before the Lord as a consequence retreats with His disciples into the upper room (John 13), God will give a new, complete and final testimony to the Lord Jesus in John 11-12. This testimony concerns His Divine Sonhood which is manifested in the power of the resurrection (John 11) and is about Him as the Son of David and as the Son of Man (John 12). These three testimonies are given publicly and close to Jerusalem. John 11, like John 9, begins by presenting a situation where we see the consequences of sin. Sickness is a consequence of sin, but the consequences here are more serious. Here it is not just sickness, but sickness that results in death. Unlike the blind man, the sick man is a friend of the Savior. It is also known where he lives. He lives in Bethany which is further referred to as “the village of Mary and her sister Martha”. This does not mean that they are in authority there, but that it is a village on which they place a special shine through their love for the Lord. He likes to come there. John already mentions in a parentheses the special act of Mary to Christ that only takes place in the next chapter. Who has never heard of it? Her deed will be proclaimed all over the world. It concerns the brother of this special woman. The sisters know Whom to go to with their sorrows. They know the Lord and His power to heal. They turn to Him with the message that their brother is sick. How beautifully they express their message. In the first place they do not address Him as ‘Jesus’, but as ‘Lord’. In the second place they speak to Him from the knowledge they have of His love for their brother. They do not mention a name and do not say ‘Lazarus is sick’, nor ‘he, whom we love so much, is sick’, but ‘he whom You love is sick’. Nor do they decide for the Lord that He must come quickly or that He, where He is, must speak a word of power so that their brother may become healthy. Possibly that is locked up in the word “behold” they use. To Him Lazarus is visible and He is present with him. He is the Omnipresent. They do not claim healing, but simply place their need before the Lord in the awareness of His love for their brother. They leave it up to Him how He will respond to this. This shows their great trust in Him.

‏ John 11:3

Introduction

The Lord is rejected in both His words (John 8) and His works (John 9). He then separated from the unbelieving mass of the people’s sheep a remnant for Himself as His own sheep (John 10). He even spoke on top of that about other sheep who will form one flock with His own sheep of which He will be the Shepherd. This also means putting aside His people, His own, to whom He has come, but by whom He has not been accepted.

Before the Lord as a consequence retreats with His disciples into the upper room (John 13), God will give a new, complete and final testimony to the Lord Jesus in John 11-12. This testimony concerns His Divine Sonhood which is manifested in the power of the resurrection (John 11) and is about Him as the Son of David and as the Son of Man (John 12). These three testimonies are given publicly and close to Jerusalem.

Lazarus Is Sick

John 11, like John 9, begins by presenting a situation where we see the consequences of sin. Sickness is a consequence of sin, but the consequences here are more serious. Here it is not just sickness, but sickness that results in death. Unlike the blind man, the sick man is a friend of the Savior. It is also known where he lives. He lives in Bethany which is further referred to as “the village of Mary and her sister Martha”. This does not mean that they are in authority there, but that it is a village on which they place a special shine through their love for the Lord. He likes to come there.

John already mentions in a parentheses the special act of Mary to Christ that only takes place in the next chapter. Who has never heard of it? Her deed will be proclaimed all over the world. It concerns the brother of this special woman.

The sisters know Whom to go to with their sorrows. They know the Lord and His power to heal. They turn to Him with the message that their brother is sick. How beautifully they express their message. In the first place they do not address Him as ‘Jesus’, but as ‘Lord’. In the second place they speak to Him from the knowledge they have of His love for their brother. They do not mention a name and do not say ‘Lazarus is sick’, nor ‘he, whom we love so much, is sick’, but ‘he whom You love is sick’.

Nor do they decide for the Lord that He must come quickly or that He, where He is, must speak a word of power so that their brother may become healthy. Possibly that is locked up in the word “behold” they use. To Him Lazarus is visible and He is present with him. He is the Omnipresent. They do not claim healing, but simply place their need before the Lord in the awareness of His love for their brother. They leave it up to Him how He will respond to this. This shows their great trust in Him.