New Believer's Bible Sample - Flipbook - Page 58
J ohn 11
page 1010
never perish. No one can snatch them away
from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me,
and he is more powerful than anyone else.* No
one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.
30 The Father and I are one.”
31 Once again the people picked up stones
to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which
one are you going to stone me?”
33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for
any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a
mere man, claim to be God.”
34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own
Scriptures* that God said to certain leaders of
the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’* 35And you
know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So
if those people who received God’s message
were called ‘gods,’ 36 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. 37 Don’t believe me unless I carry
out my Father’s work. 38 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.”
39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but
he got away and left them. 40 He went beyond
the Jordan River near the place where John
was first baptizing and stayed there awhile.
41 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.” 42 And many who were
there believed in Jesus.
The Raising of Lazarus
A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived
in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and
Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured
the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and
11
wiped them with her hair.* Her brother, Laz
arus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear
friend is very sick.”
4 But when J
esus 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.” 5 So
although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Laz
arus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two
days. 7 Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s
go back to Judea.”
8 But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they
said, “only a few days ago the people* in Ju
dea were trying to stone you. Are you going
there again?”
9 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. 10 But at night there is
danger of stumbling because they have no
light.” 11 Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus
has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake
him up.”
12 The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” 13 They thought
Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but
Jesus meant Lazarus had died.
14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
15And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there,
for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go
see him.”
16 Thom
as, nicknamed the Twin,* said to
his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die
with Jesus.”
17 When J
esus arrived at Bethany, he was
told that Lazarus had already been in his
grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few
miles* down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and
many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha
1 0:29 Other manuscripts read for what my Father has given me is more powerful than anything; still others read for regarding
that which my Father has given me, he is greater than all.
10:34a Greek your own law.
10:34b Ps 82:6. 11:2 This incident
is recorded in chapter 12. 11:8 Greek Jewish people; also in 11:19, 31, 33, 36, 45, 54. 11:16 Greek Thomas, who was called
Didymus.
11:18 Greek was about 15 stadia [about 2.8 kilometers].
CORNERSTONES
God will show up right on time
read JOHN 11:5-6
If Jesus really loved Lazarus, then why didn’t he immediately go to heal him when he heard
he was sick? He waited for two days before even beginning the journey!
When hardship, tragedy, or death come into our lives, we often ask the same questions:
Where is God? Why hasn’t he shown up yet? It is hard to see through eyes filled with tears!
But even though we cannot see how a situation will end or why it has happened to us, we
can know that it flows from the love of God and is controlled by him. We should always
interpret his delays in the light of his love—and not the other way around.
For the next note on “Perseverance” turn to page 1188.
