Joh 11:5 | KingComments | STEP | When the Lord has heard the message, He speaks in complete calmness and certainty about the purpose of this sickness. He places the sickness before God and not before death. This sickness, He says, will serve for the glory of God and for the glorification of the Son of God. This is not done by healing Lazarus, but by raising him from the dead. The resurrection unfolds the glory of God in its highest way, more than anything else and with the goal that the Son of God is glorified by it. Through Him, and in this way, the law of the wages of sin is overruled. He shows that death has no power over sheep that belong to Him ( ; ). Before the Lord acts, John speaks of the Lord’s love for the sisters and their brother. The fact that He does not yet act immediately is therefore not a lack of His love for them. This becomes even more clear when we see that John uses the word for Godly love for the love of the Lord Jesus toward this family, while the sisters spoke to Him about His friendly love for Lazarus. Furthermore, it is beautiful to see how God’s Spirit leads John to mention the objects of the Lord’s love separately. It is striking that Martha is mentioned here by name as loved by Him and even before her sister Mary. It also emphasizes His special love for Martha, when we might think that He did not love her as much as He loved Mary ( ). The Savior is never limited in His love by prejudices that we have so often. When He hears of the illness of Lazarus, He does not immediately go there. Someone else who had love for a sick person and had the power to heal would have acted immediately. But the Son seeks the glory of God. However, that is never at the expense of love for man. He knows what He is going to do. We must learn to trust that, especially when things seem to become irreparable. By staying where He is for two days, the sickness is given time to lead to death and the body to undergo decay. A delay seems to make things worse, but in God’s hand a delay is an opportunity for a greater unfolding of His glory (cf. ). The ‘why’ of this delay can be found in . The Lord could also have spoken a word, as in the case of the son of the royal official ( ) and the slave of the centurion (cf. ), but He does not. It is striking to see how He, in the humility of an obedient Servant, allows evil to run its course until the will of His Father calls Him to deal with the power of satan.

‏ John 11:5

The Lord Explains the Reason for the Sickness

When the Lord has heard the message, He speaks in complete calmness and certainty about the purpose of this sickness. He places the sickness before God and not before death. This sickness, He says, will serve for the glory of God and for the glorification of the Son of God. This is not done by healing Lazarus, but by raising him from the dead. The resurrection unfolds the glory of God in its highest way, more than anything else and with the goal that the Son of God is glorified by it. Through Him, and in this way, the law of the wages of sin is overruled. He shows that death has no power over sheep that belong to Him (Jn 10:28-29; Rom 8:37-38).

Before the Lord acts, John speaks of the Lord’s love for the sisters and their brother. The fact that He does not yet act immediately is therefore not a lack of His love for them. This becomes even more clear when we see that John uses the word for Godly love for the love of the Lord Jesus toward this family, while the sisters spoke to Him about His friendly love for Lazarus.

Furthermore, it is beautiful to see how God’s Spirit leads John to mention the objects of the Lord’s love separately. It is striking that Martha is mentioned here by name as loved by Him and even before her sister Mary. It also emphasizes His special love for Martha, when we might think that He did not love her as much as He loved Mary (Lk 10:38-42). The Savior is never limited in His love by prejudices that we have so often.

When He hears of the illness of Lazarus, He does not immediately go there. Someone else who had love for a sick person and had the power to heal would have acted immediately. But the Son seeks the glory of God. However, that is never at the expense of love for man. He knows what He is going to do. We must learn to trust that, especially when things seem to become irreparable.

By staying where He is for two days, the sickness is given time to lead to death and the body to undergo decay. A delay seems to make things worse, but in God’s hand a delay is an opportunity for a greater unfolding of His glory (cf. Lk 8:40-56). The ‘why’ of this delay can be found in Jn 11:4.

The Lord could also have spoken a word, as in the case of the son of the royal official (Jn 4:50) and the slave of the centurion (cf. Lk 7:7-10), but He does not. It is striking to see how He, in the humility of an obedient Servant, allows evil to run its course until the will of His Father calls Him to deal with the power of satan.