John 11:32 When Miryam came to where Yeshua was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Yeshua saw her crying, and also the Judeans who came with her crying, he was deeply moved and also troubled. 34 He said, “Where have you buried him?” They said, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Yeshua cried; 36 so the Judeans there said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He opened the blind man’s eyes. Couldn’t he have kept this one from dying?”
38 Yeshua, again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying in front of the entrance. 39 Yeshua said, “Take the stone away!” Marta, the sister of the dead man, said to Yeshua, “By now his body must smell, for it has been four days since he died!” 40 Yeshua said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you keep trusting, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the stone. Yeshua looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I myself know that you always hear me, but I say this because of the crowd standing around, so that they may believe that you have sent me.” 43 Having said this, he shouted, “El‘azar! Come out!” 44 The man who had been dead came out, his hands and feet wrapped in strips of linen and his face covered with a cloth. Yeshua said to them, “Unwrap him, and let him go!”[Complete Jewish Bible]
"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." I have prayed this prayer many times: Lord, if you had only understood my need... Lord, if you had only listened to my concern... Lord, if you had only acted, then... Such prayers honestly express the deep concerns of our hearts. But they generally also underestimate God. Mary knows what Jesus can do. She has seen it many times. But she still doesn't fully understand who Jesus is.Jesus doesn't just have the ability to restore people to life, or know how to counteract death. Jesus is not a faith healer or an itinerant miracle worker with an ability to raise the dead; Jesus is the resurrection.
The resurrection is a present reality in Jesus because the fullness of God is present in him. This passage, along with the other signs in John's Gospel, reveal who Jesus is: Jesus is the abundance of God; Jesus is fullness of life; Jesus is divine community; Jesus is the bread of life; Jesus is the light of the world; Jesus is the resurrection and life.
Lord, you are present right here in this moment. Teach me, therefore, how to live in the confidence of the resurrection and in the fullness of life that you bring in this moment. Amen.
Joe and Jill Doherty
New Promise Lutheran Church, St. George, Utah
Master of Divinity , 1998
John 11:32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.
34 He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see."
35 Jesus began to weep.
36 So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days."
40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."[New Revised Standard Version]
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