Most of the stories in the Gospel of John are like parables. In the beginning of his Gospel, we read about the Lord’s first miracle at Cana of Galilee, where He turned the water into wine (John 2:1–11). In that chapter we see a beautiful analogy: the best wine is saved for the last. The prophet Haggai foresaw that the glory of the latter house would be greater than the glory of the former (Haggai 2:9). Instead of believing for nothing in this end time, we should believe for a double portion, that we will be enabled to accomplish the exploits which God prophesied would be done (Daniel 11:32).
We often become very confused because we are such victims of time. We are either too late or way ahead of schedule. I wonder how many people feel that they were born a hundred years too soon or fifty years too late, or perhaps both. So often it seems as if we arrive after all the presents have been passed out, or else we get there before the doors are open, and the special day is cancelled because of a lack of interest. Whether we realize it or not, we are victims of time. Very rarely do we believe that God is presently working for our release, that He is doing it right now. We do not understand it, yet the illusion of time somehow gets a hold of us.
Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When therefore He heard that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer in the place where He was. John 11:1–6.
Sometimes the quickest way into the fullness of God is by the path of divine delays. I wish we could see that and absorb it. It bears repeating: Sometimes the quickest way into the will of God is by the path of divine delays. Do you ever feel that the Lord has made promises, but He seems to be a little late on the job? Do you ever feel like Martha and Mary must have felt when they said, “Lord, if You had just been here, our brother would not have died”? How many times have you felt like praying, “Lord, either play ball or lay down the bat”? It is a human reaction. I do not think we are being rebellious when we say that. We do not mean to be, at least. We have sought the will of God, we have believed, and just when we think we should be moving, He stays two more days where He is.
Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You; and are You going there again?” John 11:7, 8. Isn’t it amazing how stupid God seems to us sometimes? Of course, the wisdom of the world says that the preaching of the gospel is foolishness. However, God has made the wisdom of the world to be foolishness (I Corinthians 3:19).
The disciples said, “Lord, if You go back there, they will be ready to stone You.” I have often felt that I should dictate to God how He should run His business. Although He has made me a partner in it and has given me a great deal of initiative to believe His promises (which I think is wonderful), every once in a while He comes up with something that I have not anticipated. When somebody asks why God did such and such a thing, I have to answer, “I am just in charge of sales; He is in charge of administration.” At that particular point I have to shift it back on God. He is the One in charge; I am just in sales. I do not make the policies. Only God does that.
Jesus answered the question (in verse 8) which the disciples had asked Him: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep.” The disciples therefore said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover” (or “he will be saved”). Now Jesus had spoken of his death; but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. Then Jesus therefore said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” John 11:11–15.
God does everything He can to provoke you to faith. I do not think that God willingly puts you in a situation that would destroy your faith or one that is more than you can handle (though I definitely feel that sometimes He comes very close to it). He will not put you in a place where you are tempted above what you are able to bear (I Corinthians 10:13).
Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” Bless you, Thomas. You have a dedication of sorts: “We will stick with Him to the bitter end. We will go and die with Him.” But what about going and living with Him? prevailing with Him? being more than conquerors with Him? I think I would prefer the positive dedication rather than the negative.
So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him; but Mary still sat in the house. Martha therefore said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother shall rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” John 11:16–24.
It is very easy to interpret things according to set rules of doctrine which you have absorbed. Martha did that when she said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Even then the Jews were divided on the question of whether or not there was a resurrection. The Sadducees did not believe there was a resurrection, as you know from the riots recorded in the book of Acts; but the Pharisees believed there was one. So it would seem that Martha leaned toward the Pharisee concept. Even today the Jews usually do not believe in a resurrection or an afterlife.
Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection,” not, “I know that Lazarus is going to rise in the resurrection on the last day.” A person’s first reaction might be like Martha’s: “I believe in the resurrection of the dead.” In fact, that statement is found in the Apostle’s Creed. The resurrection has been made a doctrine. Those who understand the ins and outs of eschatology know that some day in the sweet by-and-by there is going to be a resurrection. But Jesus does not want us to believe in the resurrection as a doctrine. He said “… I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.” John 11:25.
When you embrace Christ, you embrace the resurrection. He is the resurrection and the life. You cannot separate them. You cannot come up with some vague doctrine about resurrection; He is the resurrection. Someone may say that he believes in the truth, but as Pilate said, “What is truth” (John 18:38)? One man’s truth is another man’s lie. The truth is a person. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Whenever you divorce doctrines from Christ you have lost it all. He is everything. He is our life. He is our resurrection. He is our future. He is everything to us. We must exalt Christ. This is the central theme of the Bible. There is nothing else at all except seeing Jesus Christ. If we break down the things of God into doctrines and teachings, we have lost them completely. He is everything, and when you come to believe in Him, you are believing in Him who is the resurrection and the truth and the life; who is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13). He is all things to us.
She (Martha) said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” And when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here, and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she arose quickly, and was coming to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. The Jews then who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:27–32. (These were the same words that Martha had spoken.)
When Jesus saw Mary weeping, He asked, “Where did you lay him?” Mary said, “Come and see,” and they came to the tomb. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Then the protest began: “There will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus then said to Martha, “Didn’t I say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
There are many who do not understand it that way. They say, “Show me, and I will believe.” God says, “If you believe; you shall see.” It has to start with faith. Therefore, it has to be a revelation to your own heart that the word is true.
After the stone had been removed from the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus prayed to the Father, and then … He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” John 11:43, 44.
The resurrection of Lazarus is a beautiful picture of what happens to some of the people in a New Testament order church. Often people will say, “I do not believe in this end-time walk because I see that Brother So-and-So still has problems in his life.” (They say it as if they have none themselves.) A real believer is coming forth from spiritual death, and we have to understand that even though God does a certain work, He is demanding that the Body of Christ complete it. He is giving us the responsibility to complete what needs to be done in everyone who becomes a recipient of the grace of God. He says to us, “When a man comes forth out of the grave, you loose him from the wrappings of death. You loose him and let him go.” The ministry of deliverance is somehow a marvelous way in which God permits us to be partakers in the perfect regeneration of a man’s life. God may do ninety, ninety-five, or even ninety-nine percent of the miracles of bringing forth a man to walk with Him. But then He says to the brothers and sisters, “Now, you loose him. You be patient with him. You help him out of the wrappings of death, the things that he has brought along with him from the old realm of death. You loose him. You deliver him.”
The ministry of deliverance is not an obnoxious task that is laid upon us as a heavy responsibility. It is the glorious privilege whereby the children of God can become partakers with Christ in the perfect work of a man’s redemption. I am glad the Lord did not do it all. It would have been easy for Christ to roll away the stone. Wouldn’t it have been marvelous if Christ had just exploded that stone in a kind of magical feat, if Lazarus had come forth and the grave clothes had instantly fallen off as he stood there with a glow and a beauty about him? That would have been quite a spectacle. Instead, Jesus asked the weak women to roll away the stone. Then He brought Lazarus to life and called him forth. Jesus told the people, “You take off the wrappings of death.” How marvelous it is to know what God has really ordained for us to be, that we are to be partakers with Him, co-creators with Him, co-liberators of a man’s spirit.
The time element may be perplexing for us, but when the Lord begins to move, He is never too late. There always comes a time in the midst of a hopeless situation when the normal reasoning says that God is too late. You may have a dozen things in your life right now of which you could say, “Lord, forget about them; they already stink. They have become a dead issue, so let’s not even worry about them anymore. I prayed and fasted. I did everything I could, and You let them all die. It is too late now.” And the Lord says, “Why are you bringing up that issue again? Now, roll the stone away.”
“What stone? Oh, that stone!” It is a stone that has a thousand facets to it. Perhaps it is a stone of unbelief, or a stone that says God is too late, or a stone that says God does not care, or a stone of self-condemnation. You know what your stone is. Roll it away.
Is it a day for a miracle? Human reasoning says, “No, it is a stinking day. It is too late.” God says, “Here I am, right on time.” It is an amazing fact that He is always on time. About the time you think He is too late, you find yourself challenged to run to catch up with Him. God moves in reverse sometimes to make the biggest advances. Have you ever seen that happen?
Do you remember those beautiful dreams Joseph had? Poor Joseph—now he has been in the dungeon so long that everyone has forgotten him. Nobody remembers him. Poor Joseph. Even God, who gave those dreams, seems to have forgotten him. Poor Joseph—God is just too late.
But suddenly the picture changes. Joseph, you will have to hurry because tomorrow you are going to take the throne next to Pharaoh. You have to get ready. You do not have much time!
In a moment he was moved from the dungeon to the throne. In only a moment we are moved from suffering with Him to reigning with Him. Oh, what He does to position you in the place so that He can say, “I am the right-now God, the present help in time of trouble. I am the answer; lay hold with faith. Believe today; now is the time!”
Have you already given up? Pick up your faith. Rise, O daughter of Zion, out of the dust, and put on your beautiful garments. Put on your crown and sit upon your throne (Isaiah 52:1, 2). It is time for you to see that He is not too late. He never has been too late. It is the day of miracles. He is the source of all life and strength.
Sometimes the dream seems to languish, and we say, “It is too late. How long, O Lord, until the prophecies are fulfilled?” It is not too late. We open our hearts to believe that this is the day of release. Our Lord lives and He meets our hearts. The door is open for His power. He is not too late. He has not tormented you nor driven you down in humiliation. He has only prepared you by His delays and by His discipline, because that is the quickest way to the throne.