John 11:1-7: a reflection

1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. 2It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, “Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick.” 4But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God’s Son may be glorified by it.” 5Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was. 7Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let’s go into Judea again.”

When word comes that Lazarus, whom Jesus loves, is gravely ill, we might expect Jesus to rush to Bethany at once. Instead, John records something that seems almost jarring: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. He loved them, and therefore he stayed, he waited, deliberately, while Lazarus died. The delay was not despite his love but, somehow, connected to it.

Notice how John frames it. He does not say Jesus delayed because he was too busy, or did not care; he pointedly says Jesus loved them, and then that he stayed two days. Jesus' delay, which allowed Lazarus to die, was not a failure of love but served a greater purpose, the glory of God and a resurrection more wonderful than a mere healing would have been. His love was working on a longer timeline and toward a greater good than the sisters, in their crisis, could see.

There is deep comfort here for the times God seems slow in our crisis. When we are desperate and God delays, when the help we plead for does not come when we expect, it is tempting to conclude that he does not care, that his slowness means indifference. This passage says otherwise: Jesus loved them, and he stayed. God's delays are not evidence that he does not love you; his love may be working toward a greater good than the quick relief you long for. When God seems slow, do not doubt his love. He loved Lazarus, and he waited. Trust that his love, even in its delays, is working a greater glory than you can yet see.

Lord Jesus, you loved Lazarus and his sisters, and yet you deliberately delayed, working toward a greater glory than they could see in their crisis. When you seem slow to help me, when the relief I plead for does not come when I expect, keep me from concluding that you do not care. Remind me that you loved them, and you waited. Help me trust that your love, even in its delays, is working a greater good than the quick relief I long for. I trust your love and your timing.