Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 431
10:36–11:21
John
419
message were called ‘gods,’ why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am
the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the
world. Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. But if I do his
work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if
you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father
is in me, and I am in the Father.”
Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them. He
went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile. And many followed him. “John didn’t perform
miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said
about this man has come true.” And many who were there believed in Jesus.
A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary
and Martha. This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on
the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was
sick. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your
dear friend is very sick.”
But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end
in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God
will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and
Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days. Finally, he said to
his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.”
But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the
people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?”
Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the
day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of
this world. But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no
light.” Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will
go and wake him up.”
The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” They
thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus
had died.
So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I
wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”
Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go,
too—and die with Jesus.”
When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already
been in his grave for four days. Bethany was only a few miles down the road
from Jerusalem, and many of the people had come to console Martha and
Mary in their loss. When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went
to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if
