It’s interesting seeing how Jesus addresses scenarios.
Back in chapter 9, the disciples asked Jesus who was to blame for the man’s blindness. Jesus didn’t see fault, Jesus saw opportunity. Note the basis of the incredible episode with Lazarus,
So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 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.” (John 11:3, 4)
Everything that follows highlights how Jesus saw opportunity. An opportunity for God to be glorified.
What is it for God to be glorified today? Just like with Lazarus, it is an opportunity for the character of God to be expressed in the world. With Lazarus, Jesus displays the character of God being about life – and that astounding claim that those that believe will never die.
It is about empathising with the plight of those who mourn over the effects of death in the society in which we live. It is about letting that empathy motivate a compassion to express God’s culture of life that overcomes death. It is about letting compassion motivate action that expresses God’s culture of light that overcomes darkness.
As the life of Jesus also shows in the aftermath of this episode with the way the Pharisees and the other religious rulers react, we can expect resistance and opposition to it. But the glory of God always overcomes the opposition.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 