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Bible Study – John Chapter 11 Verses 1-10

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand – Revelation 1:3.

The Bible is the written Word of God for the believer; it gives the believer information about the past, present, and future.  It’s a roadmap to follow on the journey to meet our Lord and our Father.  Taking the time to read and study the Bible is just as important as breathing; it gives life to the believer, it resuscitates the believer when they’re faith is weary, it instructs the believer how to live a life that will be pleasing to God.  If we don’t read or study the Word of God, how can we know what He expects out of us as His children and knowing the character and behavior of our Father and God?John 11:1 – Now a certain man was sick named Lazarus, of Bethany the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha who lived in the town of Bethany.  Bethany was a village about two miles east of Jerusalem on the lower eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, and  Lazarus became sick.

John 11:2 – It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The anointing had not yet taken place when John wrote this verse of Scripture; the anointing was well known, so he used the event to distinguish this Mary from other women with the same name.

John 11:3 – Therefore his sister sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.  As their brother grew very sick, Mary and Martha turned to Jesus for help. They knew where Jesus was and they sent a special messenger to him.  They believed in His ability to help because they had seen His miracles. They did not say, Lord behold, he who loveth thee, but he whom thou lovest. Our love to Him is not worth speaking of, but His love towards us can never be spoken enough.

John 11:4 – When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.  “Not unto death” means not having death as its final result.  “Maybe glorified”, By raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus would demonstrate His deity in an undeniable way. When we become sick, its good to have those around us who believe in the power of prayer. Prayer does not always keep the person from death, everyone has an appointed time to die, and only God decides who He will heal and who will not receive healing.  When a person is appointed to die, God will not go against what He has proclaimed prior to their birth, His Words will not be return voided, what He has spoken will come to pass. But in this case, it was a temporary death to bring glory to the Son of God.

John 11:5 – Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.  Jesus loved this family and He often stayed with them. Now one would think because He loved them when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He would have immediately stopped doing what He was doing and came to them.  “He loved them”, therefore He delayed His coming to them that He might try them, that their trial might, at last, be found to be praise and honor.  He loved them, that is,  He designed to do something great and extraordinary for them.  Therefore He delayed coming to them that Lazarus might be dead and buried before He came.  Every time a prayer is delayed know that the Lord is doing something in your case to bring praise, glory, and honor to His name. The Lord is with us when we’re on the mountaintop, and He’s there with us in the valley.

John 11:6 – When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. His delay had a specific purpose, God’s timing. God’s purpose was to glorify His Son and to cause the disciples to grow.  Had Jesus immediately rushed to Lazarus’s beside and healed him, Lazarus would not have died and Jesus would not have been able to manifest His glory by raising Lazarus. Delays cause blessings even though sometimes we don’t think so; God is always right and He knows what’s best for His people even when we think we know what would be best.

John 11:7 – Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again.  After Jesus had finished His mission then He tells His disciples let’s  go again to Judea.  Even though Jesus knew it would be dangerous for both He and His disciples in Judea but because someone He loved was there and He needed to be there for them.  This also was a test for His disciples whether or not they would accompany Him. In today’s time, everywhere we go danger is near but the Lord is always with us no matter how dangerous the place might be.

John 11:8 – His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?  They reminded Him of the danger He and they were in while in Judea. They discover at the same time a distrust of His power as if He could not secure both Himself and them now in Judea as well as He had done formerly. They had seen Jesus performed miracles, they believed He was the Son of God, why would they not think that God would preserve His Son and them from the Judean?  They were not in faith, faith is not what you can see, but what you believe.

John 11:9 – Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. “Day” means the knowledge of God’s will: night means the absence of this knowledge when we move ahead of the Lord, we move ahead in the darkness, we are likely to stumble.  Jesus is telling them Divine Providence has given us daylight to work by.  Man’s life is a day; this day is divided into divers ages, states, and opportunities, as in hours. Each of us is given a certain length of time, and we should spend that time not only trying to make ourselves comfortable here on earth but get busy about doing whatever God has placed in your heart to do.

John 11:10 – But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is not light in him.  A good man or woman relies on the Word of God as his rule, he is furnished with a faithful guide in all his doubts, and a powerful guard in all his dangers.  If a person walk in the way of their heart, and according to the course of this world, they fall into temptations and snares.  God’s Word can be used daily, if we know it, and will apply it.

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