John 11:17-37

Greetings Jim,

Kim and I wanted to wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving. We hope that have a restful day, and if you do brave the crazy shopping day after Thanksgiving, be safe.
I would encourage you to reflect on what Jesus has done and what He is doing in your life. Find time this week to spend some one on one time with Jesus and let Him know that you are thankful.
This week I wanted to share with you a story that I am sure you have read many times. I read it and have been thinking about it all week. Maybe in reading it again, Jesus' spirit will show you something new.
This is the story of Lazarus, and how Jesus raised him from the dead. This story contains the shortest verse in the Bible; verse 35 "Jesus Wept." It is also Jesus' last miracle before the Cross.

John 11:17-3717 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already
been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was less than
two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come
to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their
brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here,
my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that
even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in
the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the
life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?" 27 "Yes, Lord," she told him,
"I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
who was to come into the world." 28 And after she
had said this, she went back and called her sister
Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is
asking for you." When Mary heard this, she got up
quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet
entered the village, but was still at the place where
Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been
with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how
quickly she got up and went out, they followed her,
supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was
and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if
you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who
had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply
moved in spirit and troubled. 34 "Where have you
laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then 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?"

Jesus Wept
If you were to read this passage at face value you might think that Jesus wept because his friend Lazarus had died. This is what the Jews thought in verse 36. They saw Jesus crying and and commented on how Jesus must of loved Lazarus. But, Jesus' sadness goes much deeper than that.
Jesus knew and even told others in verse 11:4 that Lazarus' sickness would not end up in death. So if Jesus knew that is was not GOD's will for Lazarus to die, why was he sad?
Jesus was moved to the point of tears when He saw Mary and her friends weeping. I know that we cannot see Jesus physically, so sometimes it is hard to know that Jesus LOVES you. I know that when Jesus sees you, when you are sad and crying, He is right there sharing your tears. He LOVES you so much, so try to remember when you are sad, Jesus is right there with you, always know this; Jesus LOVES you so much!
The other passage I found interesting was John 12:9-11. It is after the story of Lazarus, so some may of missed it. Poor Lazarus was just raised from the dead, when the religious leaders wanted and even plotted to have him killed again. Poor guy!
So why would John make note of this in his writings? I believe that GOD wanted to tell us that there are times when you may have done nothing to deserve an attack from others. Just as Lazarus was raised from the dead, you may have just started your day when someone attacks and may even plot to hurt you.
People that do not know Jesus, fear him. And we as humans try to destroy what we do not understand or fear. So, remember that when you are attacked, it most likely is not personal. You love Jesus and you stand for what He stands for, people do not understand that and may fear it, so they will try and hurt you. Love these people, and pray for them that they too may come to know Jesus and His love for them.
- Have a Blessed Week and eat lots of Turkey.... Gobble Gobble Gobble..... Jim

Bible Trivia
How long had Lazarus been dead?
Hint: John 11:39
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