
Working By the Light
Life & Light Community Church
Message from 6/3/2023
Life & Light Community Church began in the early months of 2020. What began as an opportunity for me, my wife, and step-kids to continue to worship together, has now evolved into a ministry that has expanded to include close friends, family, and those who are simply hungry for the word of God. You can find us on Facebook, so please, feel free to reach out and join us.
“Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So, the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”
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. “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So, Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
John 11:1–16 (NASB95)
At the close of chapter 10 in John’s gospel account, Jesus and the disciples leave Jerusalem and move “beyond the Jordan.” Jesus left Jerusalem because the Jewish religious leaders had picked up stones in an attempt to silence Him. As we learned in last week’s message, the confrontation with the Jewish religious leaders was a bit different this time – there was a sense that these leaders were “circling in on” Jesus with undertones of threats. Even still, we find that many believed in Him there.
We are given no indication of how much time has passed since Jesus left Jerusalem, but as chapter 11 opens, Jesus and the disciples remain beyond the Jordan. In the New Testament there are two Bethany’s mentioned – the first is where we find Jesus and the disciples currently involved in some ministry, The second is the Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters, Martha, and Mary, live and from which a message has arrived telling Jesus that Lazarus has taken ill. In a move that concerns the disciples, Jesus decides to return to Judea, for this Bethany is located close to Jerusalem. He assures the disciples that while Working By the Light they have no need to fear, for they will not stumble.
Yeshua receives a message that Lazarus is sick but declares this sickness will not end in death. Yeshua decides to return to Judea, though the disciples are concerned about the Jewish leaders. Yeshua reminds the disciples there are twelve hours in a day and Working By the Light, they will not stumble. Though Lazarus is dead, the disciples will see a result that will lead them to believe.
As Christ followers, we have all been called to some sort of ministry. Though our ministry is meant to glorify the Father and the Son, there will be times when we encounter delays in praying for our ministry. However, when Working By the Light, we can be assured our faith will be awakened and strengthened to a deeper belief, even in circumstances that shake our faith.
In this message we seek to answer the question, “What can we expect when we are Working By the Light?”
As Christ followers, when we are Working By the Light, we can expect to find roadblocks, delays, opposition, and a God who works to awaken our faith.
1). The first thing we can expect when we are Working By the Light is to see a result that will glorify the Father and the Son.
There are no circumstances that surprise our great God – no delay, or even death, can keep Him from receiving glory.
Here, at the beginning of chapter 11, we are introduced to Lazarus, whose name means “God will help.” Lazarus is from Bethany, which means something like “House” or “Place of the Poor.” This is important because Jesus visits both Bethany’s often; both are part of a network established by the Essenes to care for the traveler and the poor. The Essenes were a religious sect made up entirely of men who had never married. Throughout the Scriptures we see that Jesus would often use this network. One such case is mentioned in Luke 22 where Jesus tells those He sent to prepare the room for the Passover, to look for the man carrying the water pitcher. Because the Essenes were all men, they were assigned tasks that a wife or female servant might carryout.
Life and light are two major themes in John’s gospel account. In chapters 9 and 11 they are especially prominent as seen by the healing of the man born blind, who receives the light of the world, and in chapter 11 when Lazarus is raised from the dead and is given the life of the world. This directly echoes John’s prologue in 1:4-5, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of all men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” In these two events, Jesus, in a very real sense, is the Light and Life shining in the darkness, seen in the Jewish religious leaders, who seek to silence Him and His message.
The sisters of Lazarus send a message to Jesus, telling Him that Lazarus, the one “whom You love is sick,” but before the message even arrives, Jesus knows that Lazarus has died. When Jesus reads the message He tells the disciples what HAS happened, and what WILL happen. What HAS happened is that Lazarus has died. What WILL happen is that both the Father and the Son will be glorified through this death. Jesus then does something quite unexpected – He remains where He is for another two days.
John adds a comment to let us know there is more going on than we can see, for the next verse tells us that Jesus stayed where He was for two days. Why did John include this comment? John wants us to know that Jesus did, in fact, love Lazarus and his sisters. Therefore, Jesus did not delay because of a lack of love, but because He was constrained by the Father’s timing. Jesus has to “be late” in arriving so the Father and the Son will be glorified, and to further disclose the true identity of Jesus. We must remember that everything Jesus did was in the Father’s timing.
After Jesus tells the disciples it is time to return to Judea, the disciples express their concern that the Jews have tried to stone Him. Verses 9-10 seem to be somewhat of an oddity. Yeshua asks a strange question in reply to the disciple’s expression of concern. “Are there not twelve hours in a day?” seems to be a question out of place. It appears to have no immediate connection with the concerns just expressed by the disciples. Or does it?
The disciple’s fear is limited to the sphere of human effort. They are worried, and rightly so, what the Jewish leadership might do when Jesus returns to Judea. But Jesus points to an unlimited sphere – the sovereignty of God the Father. Jesus obeyed the Father will; He obeyed the Father’s timing; and He obeyed the Father’s purpose. Jesus had work to do, and the limited number of human hours would not keep Him from His mission. In the sovereignty of God, it is not His time to die, and the Father will see to the safety of His Son.
How does this apply to the Christ follower today? Yeshua refers to daylight and sunshine when referring to walking without stumbling. Obviously one cannot work, let alone walk, without stumbling in the darkness. But there is something more than just the obvious happening here. Yeshua uses the phrase “light of the world,” to refer to His presence when among His people. While Yeshua is with them, He is their light. As long as they worked in the light of His presence, they would not stumble.
In the same way, as they are working in the light of His presence, they are being obedient to God the Father. When Yeshua sends His people, He is doing so in obedient to the Father’s will, thus His people are being obedient to the Father’s will. When Yesha delays sending His people or in giving an answer to prayer, He is being obedient to the Father’s timing, thus, His people are being obedient to the Father’s timing. When Yeshua calls His people, or answers His people, He is being obedient to the Father’s purpose, thus His people are being obedient to the Father’s purpose – even when that purpose may not be immediately or easily seen. This happens for the Christ follower through the power of the Holy Spirit. We work in the light of His presence because He has given us the Helper, the Holy Spirit.
Questions for discussion/reflection:
The disciples experienced fear at the thought of returning to Judea with Jesus. What has Jesus asked you to do recently that caused you to experience fear?
As Christ followers, we often try to do things in our own strength and with our own limited human resources. In what area are you currently struggling because you are trying to work with limited human resources and effort?
What evidence do you have that you are being obedient to the will, timing, and purpose of God the Father?
As Christ followers, when we are Working By the Light, we can expect to find roadblocks, delays, opposition, and a God who works to awaken our faith.
2). The second thing we can expect to see when we are Working By the Light is to see a result that will awaken and strengthen our faith to a deeper belief.
Though what we see in the physical world may be discouraging, God works in ways we cannot see or understand.
Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep, and He must go and awaken him, but the disciples miss the euphemism about his death. The Greek word used for “asleep” is the word from which we get the word “coma.” So, Jesus has just told the disciples that Lazarus has fallen into a coma, and He must go and release him from this “coma.” When the disciples still do not grasp what Jesus is saying, He tells them plainly that Lazarus has died. Jesus then tells the disciples He is glad He was not there for their benefit! Why would He say such a thing? So that the disciples may believe.
Lazarus has died so that Jesus can demonstrate His power over death to His disciples, to the sisters of Lazarus, and to those who have gathered to mourn. Jesus not only has the power to raise His life from the grave, He also has the power to raise others from the grave. In the death of Lazarus, we see the power of Christ over death – we see His power to GIVE life! Jesus wants His disciples – including His disciples today – to know and understand that death is our “sleep.” This death was meant to stir up faith – to awaken the faith and strengthen the faith – of those who witnessed it and those who would read about it.
Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, even staying with them on occasion. This means the disciples also knew Lazarus and his sisters. In fact, Jesus said to the disciples, “our friend Lazarus,” indicating that the disciples knew Lazarus as a friend, and they all continued to know Lazarus as a friend in death. Jesus knew the pain the disciples and the sisters were experiencing, yet He did not respond immediately. God’s timing, especially His delays, may cause us to doubt that God will answer, or cause us to think that God did not hear us, or make us fear God will not answer us the way we want Him to answer.
But God will meet our needs according to His perfect timing and purpose. How many times have you prayed only to find the situation has gotten worse? Perhaps you even started to doubt or feel despair. But delays build patience, and our patience improves as we trust in God’s perfect timing and purpose. In fact, God does place some miracles in human history, simply to prove His providence and His sovereignty – even in His delays and our doubt.
Lazarus was close to Yeshua, yet he became deathly ill. Maybe the disciples asked a question similar to the one asked in chapter 9, “Who sinned?” In this case it might be something like, “What did Lazarus to wrong?” But Yeshua has pointed out that this is for their benefit – that Lazarus died so Yeshua could demonstrate His power over death to bring glory to the Father and the Son, but more importantly, that they, the disciples, may believe!
The disciples have spent nearly three years with Yeshua as He has traveled and ministered to others. Let us not forget that the events we examine in John are the events that John as chosen to emphasize. Matthew, Mark, and Luke include more events in the life of Yeshua as He travels with the disciples, and still, He seeks to awaken and strengthen their faith that they may believe. How much more does this apply to us today? We live in a world that grows increasingly dark and more violent – those who do not have the light of Christ within them will stumble in the darkness. If ever there is a time we need to see the Father and the Son glorified, to awaken and strengthen our faith, it is now!
Questions for discussion/reflection:
The disciples misunderstood what Jesus said about the death of Lazarus. In their confusion they thought Jesus meant literal sleep. What are you hearing from Jesus that is leaving you confused or that you might have misunderstood?
Jesus demonstrates His power over death as the Life of the world. In what area of your life is Jesus demonstrating His power to overcome?
How is Jesus “giving you life” today?
As Christ followers, when we are Working By the Light, we can expect to find roadblocks, delays, opposition, and a God who works to awaken our faith.
No one is exempt from pain, suffering, or death. Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, just as He loved His disciples, yet He did not rush to comfort them. The presence of pain and suffering in the Christ follower’s life proves they share the same life experiences of those who do not follow Christ. Christ followers do not have a different life than those who do not follow Christ, rather they experience life differently.
Hope in Christ does not isolate us from the storms and difficulties of life, but it does provide a way through those storms and difficulties and beyond them. God can and does use our difficult experiences to make us more compassionate people as we minister to others, while at the same time awakening and strengthening our faith to a deeper belief. There is nothing we experience in life that can keep God from receiving glory as the Light and Life of the world.
Both the man born blind, and the death of Lazarus were opportunities to glorify the Father and the Son. Miracles that remove human suffering often bring God greater glory than the everyday blessing we experience. In the healing of the man born blind, the Father and the Son are glorified as the LIGHT of the world. In the death of Lazarus, the Father and the Son will be glorified as the LIFE of the world. Both events also served to awaken and strengthen the faith of the disciples – including today’s disciples.
Finally, we see two more lessons that are meant to awaken and strengthen our faith as they glorify the Father and the Son. First, there is the love of Christ. Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. It is important for us to note that each member is mentioned by name – Lazarus, Martha, and Mary – because each member of the family had different needs. Each member needed and received help from Jesus in God’s perfect timing and purpose. Secondly, there is the need to wait on God in our crises. When Jesus delayed His return, Martha and Mary were learning to wait on God. In the case of severe illness or death, all we can do is pray and wait on God – even if God delays, He knows the exact moment we will need His help and how He can best help us!
We do all things for the glory of God, through Christ our Lord,
Amen and amen.
Next Week: John 11:17-29