The apparent failure of God
‘Your very good friend is sick’, was the message received by Jesus. The expectation was that Jesus would come and heal him. In a nearby town he had healed a man born blind, so of course he could come and make his good friend, Lazarus well. Jesus did not come and Lazarus died.
Jesus had almost been stoned to death in Jerusalem, less than two miles from where Lazarus and his sisters lived. To return there was to risk his life. It would appear that this man, who claimed to be the manifestation of God, was not going to risk his life for the sake of his friend. It would appear that Jesus did not really care about his good friend Lazarus, or his devoted friends Mary and Martha. It would appear that ‘God-in-flesh’ had failed.
People so often think that. They think that God fails. Either they believe he failed them in the past, or they fear he will fail them in the future. They dare not trust him. He cannot, they reason, live up to all that people hope for in a god. He cannot be relied upon.
When it was too late to heal Lazarus, when it was too late even to attend the burial, Jesus informed his followers that Lazarus had died. He said, “I am glad I was not there, for your sakes, so that you can believe.” What were they supposed to believe? That Jesus comforts the bereaved perhaps, or that he was going to talk about the after-life? “When he announced his intention to return to the home of Lazarus the only response was the somewhat exasperated statement, “We’ll come and die with you.”
Jesus did not go directly to the house but stopped some distance from it and sent messengers to the two sisters. They came separately; both of them reproached Jesus,”If only you had been here our brother wouldn’t have died.” A group of their friends followed after the sisters, they were all weeping, and wondering aloud that surely Jesus could have made Lazarus well. Jesus, who was glad he was not there at the time of death, became deeply emotional and began to weep with them. The two sisters still thinking about how different it could have been, and the people who couldn’t understand why Jesus had not been able to heal Lazarus moved towards the place where they had buried him.
The Gospel of John: chapter 11 verses 1-37
Jesus had almost been stoned to death in Jerusalem, less than two miles from where Lazarus and his sisters lived. To return there was to risk his life. It would appear that this man, who claimed to be the manifestation of God, was not going to risk his life for the sake of his friend. It would appear that Jesus did not really care about his good friend Lazarus, or his devoted friends Mary and Martha. It would appear that ‘God-in-flesh’ had failed.
People so often think that. They think that God fails. Either they believe he failed them in the past, or they fear he will fail them in the future. They dare not trust him. He cannot, they reason, live up to all that people hope for in a god. He cannot be relied upon.
When it was too late to heal Lazarus, when it was too late even to attend the burial, Jesus informed his followers that Lazarus had died. He said, “I am glad I was not there, for your sakes, so that you can believe.” What were they supposed to believe? That Jesus comforts the bereaved perhaps, or that he was going to talk about the after-life? “When he announced his intention to return to the home of Lazarus the only response was the somewhat exasperated statement, “We’ll come and die with you.”
Jesus did not go directly to the house but stopped some distance from it and sent messengers to the two sisters. They came separately; both of them reproached Jesus,”If only you had been here our brother wouldn’t have died.” A group of their friends followed after the sisters, they were all weeping, and wondering aloud that surely Jesus could have made Lazarus well. Jesus, who was glad he was not there at the time of death, became deeply emotional and began to weep with them. The two sisters still thinking about how different it could have been, and the people who couldn’t understand why Jesus had not been able to heal Lazarus moved towards the place where they had buried him.
The Gospel of John: chapter 11 verses 1-37
posted by Jessie Coates at 12:00 PM
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