Why Did Jesus Let Lazarus Die?
What John 11 Reveals About God’s Love
God’s apparent delay is never evidence of His absence or lack of love; His love often works through suffering to reveal His glory and deepen faith.
Someone you love is sick.
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
—John 11:1-3 NKJV
The story begins by establishing that Jesus loved Lazarus, while simultaneously introducing Lazarus to the reader. (For more on Mary and Martha, see Luke 10:38-42; see footnotes)
Spoiler alert!
4 When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
—John 11:4 NKJV
No need to continue reading the story; we already know that the sickness is not fatal. Or perhaps more accurately, this will not end in death but in God being glorified through it. We will address this in more detail later on. A question worth pondering is what level of discomfort are you willing to face to bring glory to God? I know, I know, it makes me uncomfortable also. It would be great for God to be glorified in our lives of ease and unparalleled success. But if suffering is required for God to be glorified and for many to receive eternal salvation, how much discomfort are you willing to bear?
I promise Jesus loves them.
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
—John 11:5-7 NKJV
I find John’s desire to clarify that Jesus loves Lazarus, and Martha and Mary almost funny. I imagine John writing this story and thinking, this does not look good. It looks like Jesus doesn’t care. The way the story progresses makes it seem like Jesus does not, in fact, love Lazarus or his sisters. So John adds the comment in verse 5 to clarify that Jesus does, in fact, love Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. This comment seems almost funny, except for the fact that I find myself continually being reminded that God does, in fact, love me, that He has not forgotten me, that He is not angry or disappointed in me, that He has a plan. It is a good plan, even if it does not feel like it in the moment.
God’s love for His own is not a pampering love; it is a perfecting love. The fact that He loves us, and we love Him is no guarantee that we will be sheltered from the problems and pains of life. After all, the Father loves His Son: and yet the Father permitted His beloved Son to drink the cup of sorrow and experience the shame and pain of the Cross. We must never think that love and suffering are incompatible. Certainly they unite in Jesus Christ.
—Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 334.
God's apparent delay is never evidence of His absence or lack of love.
Are you sure?
8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
—John 11:8 NKJV
Bethany was close to Jerusalem, and last time Jesus was in Jerusalem, it did not go well, with the Jews threatening to stone or arrest Jesus (John 10:31-39).
(see footnote “The Jews in the Gospel of John”)
Light of the world
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
—John 11:9-10 NKJV
(See John 8:12; 9:4-5 and footnotes)
Lazarus sleeps
11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
—John 11:11-12 NKJV
Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus is sleeping and that He is going to wake him up, and the disciples share some wisdom with Jesus. The disciples were already concerned about the trip, and once they found out Lazarus was sleeping, they felt compelled to explain to Jesus that people who were sick and sleeping usually woke up feeling better. The disciples probably breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they had averted a potentially disastrous trip, not realizing that Jesus was talking about death.
(For more New Testament references to death as sleep, see Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. For more on the topic of death as sleep, see my footnotes)
Lazarus is dead
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
—John 11:14-15 NKJV
Well, that escalated quickly. The disciples must have gone from feeling hopeful that Lazarus would heal on his own to feeling hopeless, realizing that Lazarus was already dead. If Lazarus is dead, then why bother going there? It is sad and all, but nothing can be done now. Perhaps the disciples were sad but also briefly relieved, thinking they would not need to go to Bethany after all.
Jesus’ words seem harsh and indifferent to the suffering of others. How can He say he is glad for the sake of His disciples that he was not there? Did not the disciples already believe enough? How would Lazarus’ death possibly help grow anyone’s faith? Verses like John 11:6,15 make Jesus sound uncaring. Is Jesus so caught up with His mission and His Father’s plan that He is indifferent to our suffering? Have you ever felt this way? Even if you weren’t willing to say it out loud?
It’s hopeless
16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”
—John 11:16 NKJV
I am not sure if Thomas was the only human realist in the group or merely the only one willing to voice his thoughts regarding their current course of action.
How easy it is for our human limitations and problems to crowd out the sense of divine presence in our lives. To his credit, Thomas was willing to follow Jesus to death.
Mourning
17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
—John 11:17-19 NKJV
We are not given a clear timeline of how long it took Jesus to arrive, but we know that by the time He arrives, Lazarus has been dead and in the tomb for four days. There is no doubt that Lazarus is dead. Also, the reader is clearly told how close Bethany is to Jerusalem; this explains the fear of the disciples in going there as well as the presence of the Jews. In this instance, the Jews got there before Jesus and appeared to be doing a better job at comforting the grieving sisters than Jesus, who is arriving at least four days too late.
If you had been here
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
—John 11:20-22 NKJV
Martha goes to meet Jesus as soon as she hears that He is coming. Martha tells Jesus what we have all been thinking. If Jesus had been there, her brother would not have died. We could reword her comments to: If Jesus had cared, her brother would not have died, since we have examples of Jesus healing people who were not physically present with Him (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10; John 4:46-54; Matthew 15:21-28). I could understand Martha being bitter about Jesus’ failure to save her brother. If Martha began to doubt Jesus’ love or power, I would not be surprised, but she still believes that God will answer Jesus’ prayer. Even as she mourns, Martha’s faith remains strong.
I have witnessed many walk away from God after God allowed a loved one to die. Or because God did not answer a prayer fast enough, or the way He was expected to answer. Here we have a beautiful example of a person who knew Jesus, who loved Jesus, and who trusted Him even when He apparently failed her and her family.
God's apparent delay is never evidence of His absence or lack of love.
Hope of resurrection
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
—John 11:23-24 NKJV
Jesus comforts Martha with the promise of resurrection. Martha is not surprised by this. Martha has a solid theological understanding of the resurrection of the dead at the last day (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2-3).
Jesus is the resurrection
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
—John 11:25-27 NKJV
Sometimes people joke that Jesus is the answer to all the questions ever asked in church. But there is a significant amount of truth to that. Jesus is the personification of everything we believe and all that we need. Jesus is the answer to all our needs. Jesus clarifies to Martha that He is the resurrection as well as the life. We are not immortal; we do not have life in and of ourselves; we receive life from Jesus. Jesus is the resurrection and the life; death to Him is just like sleep to us. There is no reason to panic. With Jesus, we never have to be concerned about death.
Even though Jesus was late and her brother is dead, Martha believed the words of Jesus. She believed He was the Christ, the Son of God who came to the world.
Martha calls Mary
28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”
—John 11:28-31 NKJV
Apparently, proclaiming her faith out loud boosted her faith, and Martha went to call Mary. When Mary realizes that Jesus is there, she quickly gets up to go to Him. Jesus had not yet come into town, and as the Jews saw Mary leaving, they assumed she was going to weep at the tomb and follow her. Though Martha was being secretive, Mary’s encounter with Jesus would be accompanied by a group of witnesses.
The grieving sisters
32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
—John 11:32-34 NKJV
Jesus has to deal with the emotional impact of Mary’s broken heart, just like He did with Martha. I imagine it would be difficult to deal with the grief of the sisters of a friend I loved. Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and to have Mary and Martha at different times run to Him, fall at His feet, and share how, if only He had come sooner, if only He had been there, they would not have had to experience the worst pain of their lives.
I believe that Martha and Mary not only had to deal with the pain of losing their brother and probably the source of income for their home, their legal guardian (someone who would go to court for them), and their beloved brother, but they also had to deal with the nagging question of why Jesus didn’t get there sooner.
Why had Jesus allowed this to happen?
Didn’t Jesus love them?
Didn’t Jesus love Lazarus?
Didn’t Jesus have the power to heal the sick, even from a distance?
Knowing Jesus personally, believing in Him with all their heart, and witnessing their brother getting worse and dying must have been incredibly difficult. Mourning for four days after Lazarus’ burial must have been the worst experience of their lives. And now Jesus shows up. How should they react? How did Jesus feel witnessing all this suffering?
The heart of God
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”
—John 11:35-37 NKJV
Jesus wept. This is one of the shortest verses in the Bible; anyone can easily memorize it. I encourage you to dedicate John 11:35 to memory. Whenever you wonder where God is, if He cares, why He has not shown up the way you wanted and expected Him to, remember this verse. God is not distant and indifferent to our sufferings. God suffers with us.
The story recorded in John 11 makes it clear that Jesus was glad for the disciples’ sake that He was not there for Lazarus, that they may believe (John 11:15), but the biblical text is also very clear that this broke Jesus’ heart. Hear me out. I would argue that Jesus suffers even more than we do. Because Jesus is more loving and more compassionate than we could ever be, when we hurt, He hurts even more. When we suffer, He suffers more. Jesus was willing to die to save us.
Whenever you are tempted to doubt God’s love, take a look at the cross and see how far He was willing to go for you.
The Jews who had followed Mary witnessed Jesus weeping and understood this for what it was: evidence of Jesus’ love for Lazarus. Now the Jews ask among themselves a question we often ask ourselves. Could not the same God who did the miracles we read about in the Bible have helped us in our time of need? One possibility for Lazarus’ death was that Jesus did not really love him. Now that the Jews see that Jesus indeed loved Lazarus, the other option is that maybe Jesus lacked the power to heal Lazarus.
How do we react when God does not answer our prayers the way we expect Him to? Do we doubt His love or His power?
In the story of Lazarus, Jesus tells us that this will be for the glory of God and that He will be glorified through it. This can make God seem distant and uncaring if read by itself. This is why context is so important. Though Lazarus’ death will indeed bring glory to God, it is equally true that Jesus wept. I would argue that Jesus suffered more than anyone else there because Jesus has a greater capacity to love and experience compassion without any trace of selfishness. Jesus can be 100% aware of the plan, know that it will work, know that it will be good, and still suffer with the emotional toll of the plan.
Doing the right thing, doing God’s will, and doing things for the honor and glory of God do not make it easy. The right thing is not always the easy thing; oftentimes it is much harder to do the right thing. The loving thing to do is not necessarily to pander to your immediate emotions, but to understand the will of God and submit to it for the greater good. This is not easy, and most of us fail at it. We fail because we are weak and selfish. We fail because we don’t know God. We fail because we prefer comfort to mission. We prefer distraction to spiritual growth. We place our selfish desires above God’s will.
We prefer for our brother to live today rather than for our community to witness the power and true identity of Jesus four days later. We choose our comfort today over a life-transforming, soul-winning witness of the power and character of God tomorrow.
I strongly believe that God guides our lives in the way we would want to be guided if we could see things from His perspective. We may not like it now; He doesn’t either. We cry, and He weeps with us. But we have to believe that His plans are better than our plans and comfort ourselves with the knowledge that we serve a mighty and loving God who desires what is best for all.
God's apparent delay is never evidence of His absence or lack of love. Jesus let Lazarus die not because He didn't care, but because He loved them enough to accomplish something greater.
Practical application
Look at the cross and know that God loves you. Understand that the struggle you’re currently facing may bring a blessing to you or someone else in the future. Trust in God’s love, power, and plan. Turn to God in faith as you face life’s trials.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
—John 16:33 ESV
Footnotes/further reading:
Someone you love is sick
Lazarus is not mentioned in the Bible before John 11, and afterward he is only mentioned in John 12. Also, Mary’s anointing of Jesus won’t happen until John 12, but John assumes that his readers would already be familiar with the story of Mary anointing Jesus (Mark 14:3-9; Matthew 26:6-13; John 12:1-8).
It’s hopeless
It is likely that other disciples felt equally hopeless and discouraged about the outcome of their journey. Good thing we never feel this way, right? We would never feel discouraged about what Jesus is calling us to do. We would never grow weary in doing good. (Galatians 6:9) My point is that it can be easy for us to judge the disciples when we behave similarly. Myself included. How often does ministry seem doomed to fail? What is the frequency with which you have become discouraged in trying to help others and make a positive impact in the lives of those around you?
“The Jews” in the Gospel of John
Is John antisemitic?
The short answer is no.
Jesus could have commented on how odd it was for his disciples to claim that the Jews sought to stone Him, had they forgotten that they were also Jews?
In general, we must remember that virtually all of the primary personalities introduced in the Gospel, with the major exception of Pilate, are Jews. The stern polemic in chaps. 5–11, therefore, as I have argued at length in the commentary, is not basically a battle waged against all Jews by outsiders but a battle by Jews against an institutional Judaism that had rigidly defined its borders to exclude Jesus, as the Messiah, and his followers.
In John this institutional Judaism is basically pictured as composed of the high priest(s) and the legalistic Pharisees.
[…]
The use of the term “Jews” here, as in most of the Gospel, belies immediately an adversarial thrust to these persons. While there is an affirmation at 4:22 that salvation is from the Jews, the major use of the term “Jews” in this Gospel seems to be connected with officials of the temple and synagogue. They are portrayed by the writer as the opponents of Jesus. This adversarial use of the term “Jews” could easily reflect the experience of the evangelist and the Christian community in terms of hostility from institutional Judaism as represented by the synagogue. The temple of course had already been destroyed (a.d. 70) by the time of the writing of this Gospel.
—Gerald L. Borchert, John 1–11, vol. 25A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 71,126.Light of the world
This response seems odd to me, but it does tie in thematically with Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of John. Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12; 9:5), and He must do the works of Him who sent Him while it is day. (John 9:4) I see the references, but I still need to study this further. My current understanding of this is that Jesus’ time had not yet come, so it was safe for them to travel to Bethany.
Death as sleep?
The following comparisons demonstrate the suitability of sleep as a figure by which to represent death:
Sleep is a state of unconsciousness. “The dead know not any thing” (Eccl. 9:5, 6).
Sleep is rest from all outward activities of life. “There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave” (Eccl. 9:10).
Sleep renders conscious thought impossible. “His breath goeth forth … his thoughts perish” (Ps. 146:4).
Sleep continues until one is awakened. “So man lieth down … till the heavens be no more” (Job 14:12).
Sleep prevents association in the activities of those who are awake. “Neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done” (Eccl. 9:6).
Sleep renders inoperative the emotions of the soul. “Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished” (Eccl. 9:6).
Sleep comes normally and inevitably to all. “The living know that they shall die” (Eccl. 9:5).
Sleep causes all praise of God to cease. “The dead praise not the Lord” (Ps. 115:17; cf. Isa. 38:18).
—Francis D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5 (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1980), 1013.
In the Scriptures it is used to intimate that death will not be final: that there will be an awaking out of this sleep, or a resurrection. It is a beautiful and tender expression, removing all that is dreadful in death, and filling the mind with the idea of calm repose after a life of toil, with a reference to a future resurrection in increased vigour and renovated powers. In this sense it is applied in the Scriptures usually to the saints, 1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 5:10; Matthew 9:24.
—Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Luke & John, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 297.Martha recited the standard Old Testament view of the resurrection,
—Kenneth O. Gangel, John, vol. 4, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 216.
When we read the entire Bible (both New and Old Testaments), we see a consistent view of what happens when we die. For a deeper dive, see my post What Happens When We Die? and Saul and the Witch of Endor: What Really Happened in 1 Samuel 28?
A more accurate picture of God
Does God care?
Some may wonder. Maybe Jesus is just a body possessed by a generous portion of the spark of life from the unmoved mover. Maybe Jesus is just an avatar for the timeless God who experiences all of time simultaneously as the present and therefore is unable to relate to our emotions and our linear experience of time. Maybe He was a physical representation of almighty God who feels no emotion. Some may have those views of God, and great philosophical arguments for such views (see Hellenization of Christianity). But I am interested in the picture of God that the Bible paints. The biblical text paints a beautiful picture of Jesus weeping with those who are mourning the loss of a loved one. The God of the Bible is a personal God who cares deeply about us.
You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?
—Psalm 56:8 NKJV
