As we approach Holy Week, we are given another great healing story, the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Last week we heard of the man born blind being healed which had apparently never been done before, and this week, even more amazingly, a man is raised from the dead after 4 days.
I learned this week that healing stories makeup just over 38% of the 4 Gospels, so it makes sense why we hear them so often, and they are all amazing, but today’s is especially striking. What stood out to me this time was Jesus’ love for Lazarus and his sisters. Listen again to the beginning:
“So the sisters sent word to Him saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this He said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was ill, He remained for two days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.””
Jesus’ love for them is made very clear, but yet He doesn’t go immediately upon hearing the news. It would be like me hearing someone is dying, and rather than go immediately to anoint them, I wait several days with the excuse that “it is because I love them.” It doesn’t make any sense. But this is what Jesus does, and intentionally so, out of a place of love for the three of them and His disciples, He says this clearly to his disciples: “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.”
Believe what? The disciples already believe Jesus is God, they are following him everywhere, what more is there to believe? But still, this is somehow for their good. It is clear that Jesus loves Lazarus and his sisters, and the disciples, and He has allowed this suffering and death to happen, even to someone that He loves so much.
That is comforting to me, should be comforting to all of us, we don’t believe that God wills or wants the suffering that we go through, but He does allow it, and if we see with the eyes of faith, we can recognize how it can draw us closer to Him.
Because, as this story goes on, we can see that Jesus fully entered into the grief and suffering that the sisters are feeling at the death of their brother. “Jesus wept” right along with them. And we trust that when we are going through a similar situation, He is with us as well. Jesus is with us in our suffering.
It is easy to think that God has abandoned us in our suffering. But that is just not true, and Martha and Mary actually professed their faith and their belief in Jesus despite their suffering, which should be our model as well, as difficult as it is. Jesus has not abandoned us either. In fact He is still in our midst desiring an increase in faith & belief.
When Jesus arrived and called Lazarus out of the tomb, this served to be for the glory of God because “many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.” And I have to imagine that it had a similar effect on the disciples and especially Martha, Mary and Lazarus, their belief all increased. What a gift!
I was talking to my dad the other night and he said “in the healing ministry, many people think if they don’t get healed that means they don’t have enough faith, but actually they have faith, they just might have doubts about their worthiness to receive healing, or fears, or whatever, but the healings in scripture help us to realize it is possible, the healings we see today help us to realize that God is still in our midst healing, and our faith is increased.”
Faith and Belief are not binary, they are not on/off toggle switches, if anything they are dimmable switches with no maximum. We can always believe a little more and grow in our faith a little more. When our faith and belief grows, our sin decreases, and our ability and desire to live the Beatitudes increases.
God gave everyone who witnessed this miracle a huge gift of increased faith. Today may He also give us what we need to grow in our faith and belief.