John 11:4-11

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.”

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.”

8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”

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.” 

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.”

“Walk in the Day With Jesus”

Jesus’ close friends, Mary and Martha, sent Him a message that their brother, Lazarus, was sick. Jesus made this statement, paraphrasing, “This sickness will not lead to his death. It is for the glory of God so that the Son of God will be glorified through it.” Jesus knows exactly what He is going to do at this point. Verse 5 says that Jesus loved all three of these siblings. But verse 6 says that He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then, in verse 7, He told His disciples that they would go to Judea again. Some may ask, “So why didn’t He immediately go to Lazarus, heal him, and end his suffering?” If Jesus loves Lazarus, why let Him remain sick any longer than necessary? 

Let’s answer a question with a question. What was the most important thing to Jesus? The most important thing to Jesus was bringing glory to God through Himself. Jesus was on earth to fulfill the will of His Father and bring glory to Him. If we go back to verse 4, we see that Jesus was going to use Lazarus’ sickness to both glorify God and prove that He was indeed the Son of God. Why did Jesus say that Lazarus’ sickness was not unto death when he actually did die? Jesus meant that Lazarus would not stay dead. Death was not the final outcome of Lazarus’ sickness, because Jesus would later intervene on his behalf. Death is not our final outcome if we are in Christ. We may die physically someday if Jesus doesn’t come back before that happens, but spiritually we will still be very much alive. Jesus will intervene on our behalf before God if we have been faithful followers of Him. Then, He will raise all faithful followers up to meet Him in the air. Then Jesus will be glorified for eternity. If we are members of His body (church) and remain faithful to Him until death, we will get to witness His glory for eternity. 

When Jesus said that they were going back to Judea, the disciples were understandably concerned, because Jerusalem of Judea was where the Jewish leaders had tried to stone Him (John 8:59 and John 10:31-39). The disciples wonder, “Why do you want to go back there where they are trying to kill you?” What Jesus says next is so encouraging not only for His disciples, but for us as well. Jesus says, “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.” The twelve hours of daylight symbolize Jesus’ time on earth as He goes about His ministry. Walking “in the day” symbolizes walking with Jesus. The disciples have nothing to fear as long as they walk with Him. If we walk with Jesus, we have nothing to fear. As long as we keep our eyes focused on the “light of this world”, Jesus Christ, we will stay on the right path, and we will not stumble. In Matthew 8:23-27, Jesus and His disciples were in a boat when a storm came up. Jesus was asleep in the boat. The disciples were afraid the ship would sink, and they would all drown. They woke Jesus up, begging Him to save them. What did Jesus say? “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” And of course we know what happened next. Jesus saved them. They had no reason to fear. If they had gone down with the ship that day, what would have happened? Well, they were faithful followers of Jesus, right? Jesus would have saved them spiritually. No matter what happens, if Jesus is in our boat, we are safe from the storm. In Matthew 14:22-33, when Peter walked on the water to Jesus, He was so brave as he stepped out of that boat with his eyes fixed on Jesus, wasn’t he? But…..the second that he took his eyes off Jesus and started focusing on all the scary turmoil around him with the waves and the wind, he grew afraid, and he started to sink. We can’t do that in our lives either. We can’t focus on all the scary turmoil around us, grow fearful, and allow ourselves to sink. It is easy to lose ourselves in fear and negativity in this world right now. So…..eyes up, ladies! Eyes on the “light of this world”! And we will not be afraid, or stumble, or sink! When Peter realized that he was sinking, he cried out to Jesus to save him, and of course, Jesus was there to pull him up. What did Jesus say to Peter? “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus was saying, “I was here with you, Peter! You had no reason to fear!” He is saying this to us as well! 

In verse 10, Jesus proceeds to say the opposite of what he says in verse 9, “But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” Walking “in the night” symbolizes walking without Jesus or walking away from Jesus. Without Jesus, we have no light to guide us through this life. We are stumbling blindly through this world of darkness without Him. And the fear that we have when we aren’t walking with Jesus is crippling and traumatic. Physical darkness causes fear, confusion, panic, and trauma. It stops us in our tracks when we suddenly can’t see. Spiritual darkness is so much worse because sometimes Satan disguises himself as light. It is like living in a false existence where you are fooled into believing that everything is ok…..that you are ok…..but deep inside you know that everything is not ok, and you are not ok either. 

In verse 11, Jesus tells His disciples that they are going to wake Lazarus up because he is asleep, and he calls Lazarus their “friend”. We are Jesus’ friends. Remember John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” He has laid down His life for us… His friends. We remain His friends as long as we follow Him.

Let’s never forget 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” If we belong to Jesus, we are “walking in the day”. As we walk, we have perfect love through Him, and His perfect love casts out all fear within us. If we walk in fear, do we really have that perfect love? Do we really belong to Jesus? We belong to fear if we are allowing it to control us. If Jesus is in control of our lives, then fear has no control. Let us all allow Jesus to have control of us, and He will cast out ALL fear. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan God has outlined in His Word for humankind to receive His grace, which leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we must remain faithful until death or until Jesus returns, whichever comes first. (Rev. 2:10)

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about being saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves… and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t, or if you’re not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are… believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better… to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat, wondering what will happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you, Father, for the wonderful gift of Your Word!