The Gospel of John: John 11.1-16

Read and meditate on John 10.11-13.
Sometimes we can see that Jesus is thinking at a level that other people simply have not attained. Here is an excellent example.

                 ¹¹These things He said, and then
He said to them, “This Lazarus our friend
is sleeping, but I go to him that I
may wake him.” ¹²His disciple answered, “Why?
If he is sleeping, he will get well.” ¹³But
the Lord spoke of his death, although they thought
that He was talking about resting.

- John 11.11-13

Reflect
1.  Jesus used the word sleep to describe Lazarus’ state, and wake to explain what He was planning to do. In what ways was this an appropriate use of these ideas? How was Lazarus asleep? What would Jesus do to wake him? Complete the following prayer: Lord, one day I, too, will fall asleep in You, and I thank You that…

2.  The disciples took Jesus literally. Evidently, they did not yet have the sense of being asleep that Jesus was talking about here. They were thinking on one level, while Jesus was thinking on another. Meditate on Isaiah 55.8, 9. How can we see this illustrated in this exchange between Jesus and His disciples? How would the disciples get the clarification they needed, and thus learn to think about sleep in other than temporal and material terms? Help me, Lord, when the thoughts You reveal in Your Word are too high for me to grasp, to look to You for…

3.  The principle here is explained in 1 Corinthians 2.12, 13. The Holy Spirit teaches us “the things that have been freely given to us by God” by “comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” The Bereans seem to have been practicing this principle in Acts 17.11. What do these verses suggest about how we should approach understanding things which are beyond what we can immediately grasp? Thank You for Your Spirit, Lord, Who teaches me…

4.  How did Jesus’ phrasing His intentions this way turn into a teaching moment for His disciples? Can you think of other times in Jesus’ ministry when He did a similar thing (cf. Matt. 16.5-12)? What makes this an effective way to teach new ideas or truths? All around me every day, Lord, ordinary things and everyday situations are speaking Your truth. I just need to…

5.  The Christians of the first few centuries found this idea of being asleep a most hopeful way of thinking about death. They named their burial grounds cemeteries, which in Latin means “dormitory.” How can believers use this understanding as a source of comfort and encouragement? Bring together your prayers from questions 1-4 into one prayer.

Summary
“It was really true that he was sleeping. To his sisters he was dead; to our Lord, he was sleeping. To those who could not raise him again, he was dead. Our Lord awoke him with as much ease from his grave as you might awake a sleeper from his bed. He calls him then ‘asleep,’ with reference to his own power, … as the apostle says, ‘But I would not have you to be ignorant, concerning those who are asleep.’ … Asleep, he says, because he is foretelling their resurrection. And so, all the dead are sleeping, both good and bad. But just as it matters to those who sleep and wake again daily, what they see in their sleep—some having pleasant dreams, others nightmares so scary that they are afraid to fall asleep again in case they reoccur—so it is [in death]. Everyone sleeps and wakes up again in circumstances peculiar to his own situation.” Augustine (354-430 AD)

Jesus used everyday situations to reframe people’s experience and teach them how to think with His own mind. Lazarus was dead? Well, yes; but not really. And Jesus knew it was important for His disciples, as shepherds of His flocks, to think about life and death matters in a manner appropriate to His Kingdom and rule. This is thinking with the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2.16; 2 Cor. 10.3-5). How might you learn to think more consistently like this?

Closing Prayer
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

Psalm 23

Psalm 23 (Taladh Chriosda: Song of the Christ Child)
The Lord my Shepherd is, and I
Shall not want; He makes me lie
In green pastures, leads me by
Refreshing waters, still.

Restore my soul, Lord, day by day;
Lead me in Your righteous way
For Your Name’s sake, Lord, I pray,
According to Your will.

And though through death’s dark vale I go,
I no fear of evil show,
For Your rod and staff, I know,
Shall guard and comfort still.

A table You before me spread
In the midst of those I dread,
And with oil anoint my head;
My cup You over fill.

Thus goodness e’er shall follow me;
Mercy all my path shall see;
Your house shall my dwelling be,
Forever after still.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.