by Laura Story
10. Tell about a time you faced a deep pain or struggle. Respond to one of the questions below:
• How was God’s glory displayed through your struggle?
• How was God’s strength revealed through your weakness?
• How did you learn about God’s sustaining power when your power ran out?
• How did you experience God’s overwhelming peace in the midst of your difficult circumstances?
• How did your experience of anguish and heartache move you to think more about eternity, the life to come, and how you can live this day for that day?
Is it possible that God has a greater plan for our lives than fixing all our present problems?
11. Think about your own suffering, struggles, sickness, loss, or pain. What might happen if you moved from “why” questions to “how” questions? How might your outlook and disposition toward suffering change if you asked each of these questions?
• How might God’s glory be best displayed through my struggle?
• How might God’s strength be revealed through my weakness?
• How might I learn of God’s sustaining power when my own shear fortitude comes to an end?
• How might I experience God’s overwhelming peace in the midst of my jarring circumstances?
• How might the anguish and heartache of this life push me to think more about eternity and to more passionately live this day for that day?
God lifts our head and points us to hope.
Closing Prayer
Use the prompts below to guide your group in a time of prayer together:
• Thank God for loving you and for being patient when you ask your “why” questions.
• Praise God that he offers grace for your sins through the cross rather than holding your sins against you.
• Ask God to be glorified and lifted up in every experience of your life, including the times of pain, loss, and struggle.
• Invite the Holy Spirit to teach you to ask lots of “how” questions when you hit the rough times in life.
• Lift up your group members who are going through painful times and pray for them to experience God’s all-sufficient grace along the way.
Between-Sessions
PERSONAL STUDY
Reflect on the content covered in this fourth session by exploring the following material from the Bible and from When God Doesn’t Fix It.
Day One: Darkness and Light
In the video this week, we saw that the disciples asked Jesus a “why” question when they saw a man who had been blind from birth: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:1). In asking this question, the disciples were drawing on an assumption in their culture that physical ailment was a punishment for sin. Jesus responded to their “why” question by showing how God would be glorified through the man’s condition: “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (verse 3).
Just a few chapters later in John, we find another story in which Jesus again shows a greater purpose for suffering and how it can be used to glorify God. This time, the afflicted person was one of Jesus’ own personal friends. At the time, Jesus was traveling with his disciples when he received word from Martha and Mary, two sisters in Bethany, that their brother, Lazarus, was very sick. The sisters knew Jesus was a healer, and the implication in their message was that they wanted Jesus to come to them. So how does Jesus respond?
When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days (John 11:4–6).
Huh? Even a cursory reading of this passage doesn’t make sense. We know that Jesus healed the sick, and John tells us in his Gospel that he loved these people. So why wouldn’t he immediately head to their home in Bethany to see how he could help? Bethany was a small village outside of Jerusalem. Was he avoiding Jerusalem for some reason? Was he scared to return?
In John 11:8–10, we learn that political tensions had been increasing in Jerusalem. The disciples tactfully reminded Jesus the last time he was there, the Jewish leaders had tried to stone him. There was genuine concern on their part that if Jesus returned to Bethany, they might all be put to death. So it seems reasonable to think that fear might stop Jesus from going near Jerusalem. But Jesus is the Son of God, so why would that scare him? And why, two days later when nothing had changed politically, did Jesus tell them they were going back to Bethany?
The disciples were certainly nervous about this announcement, and they questioned Jesus as to the wisdom of going back. Jesus’ response didn’t seem to answer their concerns. Rather, he made several confusing statements about how it was easier to walk in the light of day than in the dark of night. The group would most likely have been traveling during the day, so the comment seemed irrelevant.
Unless Jesus wasn’t talking about day and night. Or light and dark in a tangible sense. Could those references mean something else?
1. Read John 11:1–10. What did Jesus say about Lazarus’s sickness? What did he say would be revealed to the people through this illness?
2. Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ fears about his safety reveals that he knew his “twelve hours of daylight”—his time for ministry—was not yet fulfilled, so his life would not be extinguished until that time had come. What did Jesus add about those who also walked in his light—and those who did not?
3. Read Matthew 5:14–16. What commission did Jesus give to the disciples in these verses? How does this relate to what he told them in John 11:9–10?
Day Two: Missing the Point
As if Jesus’ statement about darkness and light wasn’t confusing enough for the disciples, he went on to tell them that Lazarus wasn’t dead but was merely sleeping. Imagine how that statement must have set with the disciples. I can hear them whispering to each other, “We’re going to wake up a friend of Jesus’ who lives in enemy territory just because he forgot to set his alarm clock?” On the other hand, the news that Lazarus was sleeping gave them the support they needed to stay away. “Let him sleep! He’ll get better if he gets his rest,” they responded.
Earlier in his Gospel, John records a conversation that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at a well. During that conversation, the Samaritan woman thought Jesus was talking about drinking the water in the well. But in fact, he was talking about spiritual water—living water—that would fill her so she would be thirsty no more (see John 4).
There is similar confusion in this passage. Jesus knew Lazarus was dead, but he also knew there was life after death. He tried to explain this foreign concept to the disciples, using terms like “sleeping,” so they could comprehend what he was saying. But like so many who heard Jesus, the disciples completely missed the meaning of what he was saying. The only thing they understood was that a threat awaited them in Jerusalem—and they were afraid.
As Jesus walked ahead of them with purpose, they begrudgingly followed a few feet behind, whining about why they had to go to Bethany. Finally, Jesus had to spell it out for them. “So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him’ ” (John 11:14–15).
Can you imagine the confusion? They all knew Lazarus. He was a good friend. In Mary and Martha’s message to Jesus, they had referred to him as “the one you love” (verse 3). So why would Jesus be glad for their sake that he wasn’t there when Lazarus died? At this point, the disciples were likely too dumbfounded to ask any more questions. Instead, they silently trudged behind Jesus, bound for Bethany. And Martha was there to meet them when they arrived.
1. Read John 11:11–16. How do the disciples show their reluctance t
o return to Bethany? How did Thomas encourage the others to continue on with Jesus?
2. Why do you think Jesus said he was glad for the disciples’ sake that he was not with Lazarus when he had died?
3. What does Jesus’ delay in returning to Bethany tell us about his greater purpose in our lives? What does it tell us about apparent delays to answers to our own prayers?
Day Three: The Why Question
As Jesus and the disciples arrived at the outskirts of Bethany, Martha greeted them with the news that Lazarus had been dead and buried in a tomb for four days. From this chronology, we can assume that Lazarus likely died right after the sisters sent the message to Jesus. The messenger took a day to get it to him, Jesus stayed where he was for two more days, and then it took Jesus a day to get back to Bethany. As Martha pointed out, Jesus had arrived much too late to do Lazarus any good.
Understandably, Martha wanted to know why Jesus delayed. She told Jesus that if only he had been there, Lazarus would not have died. But she revealed that she still had faith in him: “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (John 11:22). Jesus replied that her brother would rise again, to which Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (verse 24).
Once again, we see that Jesus was talking about something the listener didn’t understand. Like most Jews who lived during Jesus’ time, Martha believed there would be a resurrection at the last day. She thought she understood what Jesus was talking about, but she was about to find out that she really didn’t understand him at all.
Jesus tried to explain it by saying the resurrection isn’t something that happens; it is a person. He said that he was the resurrection. And he was the life. He was trying to make it clear to Martha that it wasn’t her belief in the idea of the resurrection that would save her from death, but belief in him that saves from death. This was such a critical message that Jesus wanted to make sure she understood it and asked her if she believed it.
As most of us would, Martha said she did. But how could someone grasp such a hard concept, especially someone who had never been exposed to it? And how could she foresee what that would mean for Lazarus? She had to actually experience the lesson to move her head knowledge to her heart.
When Martha went and got her sister, Mary, we see almost the same scene replayed, except that Mary had brought a crowd with her. The sisters again expressed their disappointment that Jesus had not come in time to save their brother. They believed that if Jesus had shown up earlier, their brother wouldn’t have died.
Have you ever felt that way? If only Jesus had come when you called, you wouldn’t have cancer. You’d still have your job. You never would have gotten in that accident. The recovery would have helped you stay sober. The addiction would be gone. The baby wouldn’t have died. If only Jesus had answered your prayers, and done what you asked, when you asked.
Reading this far in the passage, we can’t understand why Jesus waited two days before returning to Bethany. Just as we sometimes operate with an internal clock that betrays standard time, Jesus operates with an eternal clock. While we don’t understand or always approve of how it works, his clock always keeps perfect time. He doesn’t punch in and out according to our whims or our prayers. Our urgency doesn’t increase or slow his pace. His timing is flawless—in the best sense of the word—and he sticks to it, regardless of how much we pressure him to do otherwise.
Jesus shows us again that he focused on something more than physical healing. He was about to answer the sisters’ “why” question by showing how this tragedy would glorify God.
1. Read John 11:17–32. Martha could not understand why Jesus had delayed in coming to see Lazarus. In spite of this, how did she demonstrate her faith in Christ?
2. What “head knowledge” did Martha have concerning the resurrection? How did Jesus attempt to change her thinking?
3. In what ways have you felt like Mary and Martha when it seems your prayers to God have gone unanswered? What hope can you gain from their story?
Day Four: The Enemy of Death
What John tells us happens next is critical to understanding what Jesus was trying to communicate to Martha. Yet we need to read it carefully, as once again, it is easy to superficially look at the words and miss the real meaning behind what was going on. “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (John 11:33).
The Jewish mourners were struck by Jesus’ emotion. He seemed truly upset. Imagine how much comfort it must have brought to the mourners to see Jesus so moved that he wept. But why would Jesus be crying for Lazarus? Jesus knew what was about to happen. In fact, he had announced to his disciples days earlier that Lazarus was only “sleeping.”
Here again, John is trying to tell us there is more going on in this scene than what we initially observe. When we look at the original language, we can see the English translation leaves us with a false sense of what was happening. For example, when we hear that Mary and the others were weeping, we might imagine a quiet, tearful scene. But the original verb (klaio) describes a loud wailing. Imagine a boisterous display of public grief, possibly with paid mourners to help lead the others. John suggests there were a great number of mourners grieving, perhaps due to Lazarus’s prominent status in the community.
Jesus was certainly moved by their outpouring of grief, but the term “deeply moved” may not best express the Greek word John uses (embrimaomai). Instead, some biblical scholars translate it that Jesus was “warning sternly” or “angered” in his spirit and perturbed by the actions of the people. So, why was Jesus upset, and with whom?
Some have suggested Jesus was angry at death itself, and that is certainly plausible. Here was death in all of its pageantry, with crowds dressed in funeral clothes wailing and weeping. Jesus was standing before them as the antidote to death, but they failed to see that. He was the resurrection. He was the life. Yet the crowds questioned his powers. “Some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’ ” (John 11:37). Jesus, the only one with the power over death, was not recognized for who he was and what he could do.
When Jesus ordered the stone to be removed from the tomb, Martha replied, “But Lord . . . by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days” (verse 39). The English translation sort of neutralizes Martha’s comment. Essentially she was saying, “He stinks!”
The Jews believed the spirit hovered near a body for up to three days, until the skin lost its color, and then it was locked out. Jewish mourners actually checked on the body on the third day to make sure the person was truly dead. No one would dare take a look after the third day because the stench from the decomposing body would be overwhelming. In addition, there were strict purification laws about the handling of dead bodies. This is why they always buried the person on the same day the person died—just as they had done with Lazarus.
Martha’s comment was meant to remind Jesus this was the fourth day—the check of the body had already happened, and Lazarus was truly dead! Without the modern burial techniques, decomposition would have started almost immediately, and she was warning Jesus that he really didn’t want to go inside. In other words, all hope that Lazarus would somehow be alive was gone. Her brother was not only dead . . . he was stinkin’ dead.
Jesus, however, reminded her of their previous conversation. He has just told her he was the resurrection and the life, and she had told him that she believed that it was true. Now he reminded her again by saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (verse 40).
1. Read John 11:33–40. What emotions does Jesus express in this passage? Why would he have been angered and perturbed by the scene?
2. What questions did the onlookers ask
each other? What does their response indicate about their opinion of the extent of Jesus’ power?
3. What was the significance that Lazarus had been dead for four days? How did Martha express this concern to Jesus?
Day Five: Resurrection and Life
Imagine the scene! The crowds that had followed Jesus into Bethany now wait to see what he will do. Those who had been sitting with Mary look on in anticipation. Mourners who had been weeping near the burial place look up, confused by Jesus’ appearance. Members of the community at the tomb watch warily, sensing something is about to happen.
They stand in a semicircle around the tomb, with Jesus at the center. Perhaps they have witnessed or heard of his other miracles. Some likely know he is in trouble with the local Jewish leaders. Whether they are for him or against him, no doubt they wait breathlessly.
Jesus steps forward and takes charge. With one look, several men come forward to do as he asked. They take away the stone. Then Jesus looks up and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:41–42).
Then Jesus commands Lazarus to come out. Like a scene from The Walking Dead, this man, still wrapped tightly in his burial clothes, shuffles out. The crowd must have jumped back in awe, but also in fear. They whisper and shout to each other. “Lazarus is alive!” “Could it be?” “Lazarus lives!” They cry in joy and tremble in fear. Some fall to the ground. Some stare in disbelief. Others turn away, too shocked to comprehend what they are seeing.
But no one moves forward to embrace Lazarus. No one wants to be the first to touch the once-dead-now-risen man. Jesus must order them to take the grave clothes off Lazarus so he is free to go. At that moment, who cares about purification laws? When one man commands another to rise from the dead, and he does, you do whatever he asks! They quickly remove his grave clothes. My bet is that Jesus was the first to hug Lazarus—he was always the first to touch the untouchables.
