‘This sickness is not to end in death’ despair and Christian courage

Abstract

When Jesus’ friend Lazarus from Bethany fell ill, his sisters Martha and Mary sent a message to Jesus, who was probably on the other side of the Jordan, if we follow the ‘storyline’ in John’s Gospel. Wherever he was when he got the message, it seems to have been quite a distance from Bethany. When he got the message, he said, ‘This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it’ (Jn 11:4). Inexplicably, he stayed where he was for two days, before saying to the disciples, ‘let us go back to Judæa,’ and what he said next must really have bewildered them: ‘our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him’ (Jn 11:11). The disciples thought that meant Lazarus would be fine or, as they put it, ‘saved.’ But then came the bombshell, when Jesus said, ‘Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe’ (Jn 11:14-15). The disciples must have been completely confused. The story of what happened when Jesus reached Bethany is surely quite familiar to you. We see the anguish of Martha and Mary, the grief of their friends who were weeping, and even Jesus wept.