The Death and Raising of Lazarus

Day 2: John 11: 17-27

Today I was struck by the fact that when Jesus arrived in Bethany, he discovered that Lazarus had already been dead for four days. I wonder about that conversation. Because we’re told earlier that Jesus stayed where he was for two days after the message that Lazarus was ill. Even allowing for travel time, it seems like Jesus would have been hard pressed to get there before his friend died, even if that was the goal. It makes me wonder about Jesus’ conviction that this death was meant to glorify God. Is Jesus surprised that Lazarus has been in the tomb for so long? Did he not know that things were quite as serious as they obviously were? How, in the midst of it all, did he trust that the Father would hear him when the time came?

It’s seems like an inconsequential detail, but John doesn’t tend to deal in inconsequential details. I am not exactly sure what to do with it. For today, it simply drives me deeper into the mystery of the incarnation, and the wonder of the Trinity.

God, Your ways and thoughts are far above ours. Help me today to rest in the wonder and mystery of Your work in this world and Your love for it. Amen