April 1, 1990

Something Worse Than Death

(John 11:1-45)

In November 1988, I was asked to preach a person's funeral service who had never been involved in the church. He had, however, family members scattered throughout the churches in our town. As his terminal cancer progressed quickly, most of the preachers in town -- at the request of this fellow's family members -- were charged with the task of converting him "before it was too late." Whether a successful campaign was mounted or not was the subject of much speculation during the next ministerial alliance meeting.

During the funeral this long passage, John 11:1-45, was read in its entirety by another minister. I watched the family member's faces while this story of John's was read. Some of the faces relaxed as they heard these words as words of comfort; other faces were twisted in pain as they seemed to be confronted by the gospel truth. Some faces reflected anger that such a long passage would be read during intense grief. I simply marveled, hearing the profound beauty of John's story.

Artistically, this narrative has many literary nuances which could be beneficially explored. I would rather, however, look at it as a story of Jesus' ministry with one disturbing question attached: why does Jesus not come quickly to Bethany after He hears of Lazarus' death? You remember, Jesus hears of Lazarus' death and "He stayed two days longer in the place where He was" (verse 6). Why?

Several answers can be put forth. First, we might say that Jesus already knew what was to happen at Bethany. The delay was to heighten the faith of the disciples when the actual raising of Lazarus took place. "Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe" (verses 14-15). Or we might point out Jesus' saying, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him out of sleep" -- this itself being an indication that Jesus has power over nature and over death.

A third explanation might be tied to the importance of the ministry Jesus was doing before going on to Bethany. After all, everything Jesus does in the Gospels has ultimate significance for those with whom He is engaged. Though the need at Bethany was great, who is to say what ministry is the most important. It is, in any event, a matter of perspective.

All these answers are plausible, but most of us know what kind of suffering people go through when a loved one has died. People are never ready for death. They have a wide variety of thoughts and feelings. They are anxious and troubled. They feel pain, separation, anger, and despair. Whatever reasons Jesus had in delaying his trip to Bethany, the feelings of the family do not seem to be taken into account. Their pain seems an awfully high price to pay to make a theological point.

Mary and Martha, grieving as they must have, make Jesus' empathy in this story look anything but sensitive. Why did Jesus not drop what He was doing and go to them at once? This is a valid question and one which begs for an answer.