Elmhurst CRC

Daily Dose of Lent - John 11: 1-16

March 20, 2023 Kelly Day Season 1 Episode 19
Elmhurst CRC
Daily Dose of Lent - John 11: 1-16
Show Notes Transcript

Kelly Day, Director of Coffee Break Bible Study

Kelly Day  0:07 

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's daily dose of the word of God. It's Monday, March 20, and this is Kelly Day, Coffee Break Bible Study Director. This week we're journeying with Jesus towards the cross stumbling along with Lazarus in John chapter 11. I'll be reading John 11, 1 through 16.

Kelly Day 0:28 

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” "But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Kelly Day  2:24 

Today, we're stumbling along with Lazarus. But who was he? This is the first time he's mentioned in the Bible. We learned from these verses that Jesus knows him and his sisters. Not only does he know who they are, but he loves them. We also find out that Lazarus was very ill and somewhere in the timeframe of Mary and Martha sending this message to Jesus (and him deciding it's time to go visit), Lazarus dies. It's interesting that Jesus states in verse 4, that Lazarus wouldn't die and that it was for God's glory, so that God's Son (Jesus himself) may be glorified through it. Jesus had a plan and a purpose for this illness and was going to use it for good. But when the disciples heard Jesus's intentions of returning to Judea, where there were people trying to murder Jesus, they were not convinced. They tried to reason with him that Lazarus just needed to rest to get better; they were afraid, Jesus was not.

Kelly Day 3:33 

See, he knew his mission. He came so that people would believe that he (Jesus) was the Son of God, sent by God for them, so that they might believe and have true life in him. The disciples didn't get it yet, but they were willing to follow Jesus, even when they didn't understand and the situation didn't feel comfortable to enter into. I hope that I too (although I don't always see the big picture and sometimes fear what's ahead), choose to follow Jesus as he leads each and every day.

Kelly Day 4:07  

Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for these beginning passages in John 11. Thank you for knowing and loving us as you did Lazarus. I pray that we can set aside our own fears and plans and choose to follow yours instead. I asked for your Holy Spirit to help prompt us along the wayAmen.