John 11:1-2 - Lesson #110

The public ministry of Jesus came to an end after the last confrontation with the Jews at the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus had made His identity clear and the Jews "sought again to seize Him" (John 10:39). But Jesus escaped and "went away again beyond the Jordan" (John 10:42). It would be only a few short months before He was crucified, but during this time Jesus performed the most powerful sign which pointed to His identity as the Son of God.

In this chapter, John wrote of Jesus calling Lazarus to come out of a tomb after he had been dead four days. This great miracle gave evidence of Jesus' claim to have power over death: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live" (John 11:25). The ultimate victory was declared with His own resurrection, but the resurrection of Lazarus gave undeniable evidence that Jesus was sent from God (11:42), was one with the Father (10:30), and was Himself the Word who was with God, who was God, who became flesh, and who dwelt among us (John 1:1,14).

The victory which Jesus declared over death is also a declared victory over sin. When sin entered the world death soon followed; "just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12). But physical death is only a representation of the spiritual death we face without the victory of Jesus. He alone is the way for the judgment of sin to be removed and true life to be given; "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life" (John 3:36).

The story of Lazarus is a great victory over death and a picture of the glorious resurrection yet to come, but it begins simply with two sisters and their sick brother.

John 11:1-2
"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick."

This family had a close relationship with Jesus and visited with Him on other occasions (Luke 10:38-42). Their devotions caused Mary to anoint Jesus with expensive oil as recorded in the twelfth chapter of John.

Each of our stories have a simple beginning. None will be as dramatic as Lazarus but each can be used to bring glory to God as we place our life in His hands. Let's trust Him with our daily life as well as our life eternal. The victory has been won - true life has been granted to those who believe. Let's live each day in the true-life victory which only the risen Jesus can provide.