The apostle John wrote how Martha the sister of Lazarus left Jesus and, “went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calls for you. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goes unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have you laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him”, and in chapter eleven and verse thirty-seven of his book John shared how the Jews ask, “could not this man … have caused that even this man should not have died?” where we read:
And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind,
have caused that even this man should not have died?
The verse reads, “And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, ...” John began with the word, “and some of them said” which means “and a few or number of the Jewish people uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked”, “could not this man” or “was there no way available or capable for this male human being”, “which opened the eyes of the blind” which means “who unfastened and unloosed the physical eyes of people who had no vision” perform the following. John shared how a number of the Jewish people who observed Jesus began to question whether Jesus who had “made the blind see” not also be able to do the following.
The verse continues, “... have caused that even this man should not have died?” John added the words, “have caused” or “have made, constituted, appointed and declared” “that even this man” which means “that also and indeed this male human being, Lazarus” “should not have died” or “would in no way breathed his last, expired and perished”? John shared how the Jewish people who were questioning wondered whether Jesus would have been able to prevent “Lazarus” from “dying”.
When we consider John's words in this verse, we learn how the people surrounding Jesus, Martha, Mary and the others who followed them began to wonder whether Jesus would have been able to prevent Lazarus from dying. They knew He gave “sight to the blind”, and with such a powerful demonstration of His ability, they people thought He might be able to restore Lazarus' health. Jesus had a plan and purpose for everything He did on the earth, and His main focus was the “eternal” condition of mankind. Without a “Savior”, people would die in their sins without any hope for everlasting life. Jesus came to be the answer to that problem, and when He died on the cross, He paid the penalty for sins so everyone would have an opportunity to be forgiven. Let all who read these words know for certain, Jesus can indeed “prevent” death, but the most important “death” people will experience is “separation” from God the Father forever.
Next time John shares how Jesus, “groaning in himself came to the grave”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment