Countdown To Easter 7 Days!

"Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.” Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stonefrom the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. " Luke 11:14-45 :)

Question: In Luke 11:1-13 , we see that Jesus waited to go to Lazarus when He was sick. Why did Jesus wait to go to Lazarus? Why was He "glad" for their sakes (vs. 14-15) that Lazarus was already dead?

Jesus wanted to teach us all a huge Lesson! God has a plan...His own perfect plan set in motion and we all fall into that plan. Sometimes...bad things happen to us...that's just life. But God uses those tragedies for His glory. Notice the last verse I quoted...Many Jews ended up believing in Him through this. Jesus literally waited for the right time...for the right moment...for the right people to watch Him perform this miracle so they would believe! Wow...how amazing is it that Jesus would have THAT kind of concern and dedication for the people he had to DIE for! What Love is greater than that?

Sometimes we have to suffer through uncomfortable circumstances...don't think for a minute that Jesus doesn't care about your well-being (because He most assuredly DOES! read the last post!). But Jesus cares most about people believing in Him...so He may give them eternal life! God will use anything he needs to get people's attention...so be ready to be used in unexpected ways! Read more about this in one of my previous posts, "dealing With Loss" Here: http://mylifebymorgannicole.blogspot.com/2011/03/dealing-with-loss.html

God Bless

Morgan Nicole