John 11
Devotional by Kal Kilgo
Read John 11
John 11
The Death of Lazarus
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
I Am the Resurrection and the Life
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Jesus Weeps
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
Devotional
What do you do when your expectations fall short of reality? The gap between what we expect and what actually happens is often called the “frustration gap.” The larger the gap, the greater our frustration. In today’s reading, we encounter multiple accounts of the frustration gap.
The disciples are frustrated that Jesus is taking them back to Judea where the Jews were seeking to stone Him (John 11:8). Why would He knowingly lead them back into danger?
Martha and Mary are frustrated as they cry, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21, 32). Why would He let Lazarus die when He has the power to heal?
The Pharisees are frustrated and threatened by Jesus, who challenges their power and control over the Jewish people (vv. 45-53, 55-57). If they knew the Law so well, why would Jesus correct them?
Yet Jesus shows a different frustration as He is “greatly moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” (v. 33). Is Jesus angry with them? Absolutely not! Instead, He reveals the divine compassion of the Father for suffering sinners.
Jesus came to redeem us of our worldly frustrations. He came to set the expectation straight that “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus teaches us that our hope isn’t found in anything this world offers. Hope is only in Christ.
Where are you facing frustration in your life today?
I am so grateful that Jesus understands and is patient with me. in my walk with Him, He knows the times that I don’t understand and the times that i doubt. He lives me anyway!
Lately, my frustration gap has been with work. It has been extremely overwhelming and consuming, and I have very little work-life balance. It is a struggle to keep my work from being my top priority. What keeps me going each day is worshipping on the commute and being prayerful in how I interact with my coworkers. I do not know how long God will have me here at this job, so I take it one day at a time trying to love those around me and reflect Christ.
I can relate. I’m praying for you today. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Sometimes my frustration is through overthinking about rejection. I find myself wondering about rejections from jobs or from scholarships or I grow impatient because I feel like no one’s seen my information. This can be very similar to how we feel about Jesus because sometimes when we pray, we don’t believe that he’s working. With that in mind, Jesus is constantly working and everything happens for a reason so we just need to continue to trust in him and to also release those stresses and worries to him so that we’ll have peace and be content with whatever problems we face! Lord thank you for continuously working and having the grace and patience with us even when we don’t have it but we must always repent and trust that you’ll open or close the door when it’s time. Thank you Jesus! Amen!
Praise to my Almighty Saviour! I am so honored to be blessed by Him! He is worthy to be praised and exalted. My frustration gap lies in health issues. But I know and have faith in my Lord and Saviour that he is working behind the scenes on my behalf. Nothing is impossible for Him. I remain steadfast in my faith for His healing for He is good! Blessings to All!
Lord Jesus thank you for the verse Jesus wept. For in my life I have experienced profound grief. And somehow knowing that You cry with me brought me comfort. To think You my Creator mixed Your tears with mine. I am not worthy of You Lord but You are mine and I am Yours. Hallelujah Amen.
“Jesus came to redeem our worldly frustration!” What a powerful and hopeful statement that any feelings of discouragement and disappointment don’t have to be settled within ourselves but with the one who can heal them all. Praise God!
I give all my frustrations and problems to my Lord Jesus. I feel a comfort when I give everything to Him. Praise the Lord and Amen!!🙏✝🕊📖
AMEN!!!!!!
My frustration gap is hearing but not acting. Overestimating my problem and underestimating my GOD.
Strong and courageous through God’s Love I am pressing forward.
I have nowhere else to go but towards my Jesus
Lord, YOU are the Resurrection and the Life. Let me not miss You for who You are and Your presence for what it is because I get so caught up in asking for this or that. Help my heart to desire You to the utmost. For Your glory. Amen.
My frustration is in trusting the process. There is that temptation to worry and feel fear of the unknown future. I am reminded by this devotional that nothing goes unnoticed by God and God is in complete control if all aspects of my life. I will not fall. God’s got me.
Father, may we not let up, give up, nor give in, pressing forward bearing lasting fruit.
Lord Jesus, thank you that I can turn to You when I’m confronted with the trials of this world. You are my hope and peace.
The frustration that I face today pales in comparison to what I faced when I wasn’t pursuing God and His will for my life. Frustrations are still there, but I am beginning to see them and having yo purpose my mind to see them and face them from a place of victory instead of a place of fear. His grace is the only way that I could do that. Don’t get me wrong the challenges are real, and daily I have to remind myself and reposition myself and straighten up my thinking getting it back into focus through prayer and reading his word. I believe if I paused that or turned from that for a moment, I would begin to fall away. That compromise is a set up for spiritual death and my life, my family, and people that God has placed me here for in the future deserve every opportunity Imto see Christ in me. I can’t afford falling back into my own selfish ways any longer. Thank you Lord for your grace and mercy and favor on my life to be steadfast and continue walking with you constantly persistently and consistently. I have to remind myself that the frustrations that I’m facing, through pursuing righteousness are just a stepping stone for victory to be had. I can trust that it’s going to work out for the good because he loves me and he is the perfect father. It’s not easy to walk out and I feel like a toddler learning to walk at times but I’m certain it’s only because of His grace that I am able to stand at all.
Thank you Lord God for leading and guiding me through the journey. Keep giving me this peace of mind. Amen and Amen 🙏
” Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55: 22
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
I’ve never really seen this passage as God pulling back the curtain for us to see how He works and how different our circumstances are from His perspective. What feels like death to us is a transition. What often feels worthy of deep fear and disappointment sets the stage for God’s glory. What Jesus allowed us to see in the life, death and resurrection of Lazareth is a picture of what’s to come in Heaven for believers. Jesus knows what is to come and yet He cries on behalf of our disappointments not His because He recognizes the depth of hardship even for faithful believers who must walk through the difficulties caused by the fall. Through the hardships, He brings beauty from ashes and He cries with us in the transitions.
Thank you Lord for your love, mercy, grace and peace in the middle of everything. I stand because you are with me. I trust you are in control!
Amen!!!
Thank you lord for Jesus who takes away the sins of the world and helps us walk in victory through the frustrations of this life.
Help us Lord to see and believe the truth about you, Jesus. Help us to walk by faith and not by sight today.🙏🏾
Where I am facing frustration is that I don’t see in Gods point of view than seeing on my point of view. It needs to make sense on when I make movie references I need to have it align on God’s point of view.