God’s Word of Life
Introduction
John 11:28-44: Today’s reading concludes the story of the death and raising of Lazarus. Jesus weeps when he arrives. After praying to God, Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb and instructs the onlookers to remove Lazarus’s burial cloths.
Scripture Reading
Jesus Weeps
28After Martha said this, she went back and called her sister Mary privately. “The Teacher is here,” she told her, “and is asking for you.” 29When Mary heard this, she got up and hurried out to meet him. ( 30Jesus had not yet arrived in the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.) 31The people who were in the house with Mary comforting her followed her when they saw her get up and hurry out. They thought that she was going to the grave to weep there.
32Mary arrived where Jesus was, and as soon as she saw him, she fell at his feet. “Lord,” she said, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died!”
33Jesus saw her weeping, and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. 34“Where have you buried him?” he asked them.
“Come and see, Lord,” they answered.
35Jesus wept. 36“See how much he loved him!” the people said.
37But some of them said, “He gave sight to the blind man, didn’t he? Could he not have kept Lazarus from dying?”
Lazarus Is Brought to Life
38Deeply moved once more, Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. 39“Take the stone away!” Jesus ordered.
Martha, the dead man’s sister, answered, “There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days!”
40Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believed?” 41They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “I thank you, Father, that you listen to me. 42I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me.” 43After he had said this, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. “Untie him,” Jesus told them, “and let him go.”
Today’s Key Verse: John 11:40
Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believed?”
Reflect
When Mary meets Jesus, she says the same thing (verse 32) posed earlier by her sister Martha (verse 21). What does this indicate about their faith in Jesus? How do you demonstrate your faith in Jesus? What was Jesus’s prayer (verses 41, 42)? In what way was God’s glory revealed?
Pray
Lord Jesus, I believe and trust in you, and you reveal God’s glory. As I walk with you each day, strengthen my faith and help me to grow in knowledge of you. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
John 14:1-14: Jesus is the way to God the Father.
