John 11: Disappointed in God

The eleventh chapter of the Book of John contains one of the events showing God’s amazing glory and power. Jesus does one of the miracles that only the Messiah could do. To accomplish this, His actions would impact those closest to Him and will show us how to remain in faith through trying times.

There are a pair of sisters that reveal how we may react when God doesn’t do what we think He should:

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (John 11:1-3 ESV)

Martha and Mary were mentioned as staunch supporters of Jesus. The two women were mentioned by Luke:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 ESV)

Martha was the one to first recognize the Lord and invite Him into her home. However, she was busy working for the Lord. Mary chose the better path because she was listening to Him. Their attitudes will play a critical role in how they respond when something bad happens. When their brother became ill, they sent word to Jesus.

The Lord had healed others by speaking a word, but Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing. He didn’t speak a word of healing for Lazarus like He did for the Centurion's servant.

When Jesus received the message, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death; but [on the contrary] it is to honor God and to promote His glory, that the Son of God may be glorified through (by) it.” (John 11:4 AMPC)

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. (John 11:5-6 ESV)

The Lord spoke about the future, that is a prophecy. These words are the seeds sown so that the miracle could take place. Jesus is declaring that the situation will not end in death. He didn’t say Lazarus wouldn’t die. He didn’t declare healing, He only said what the Father said to say.

God didn’t tell Jesus to go immediately to help, so Jesus stayed where He was, like was waiting for something to happen. It doesn’t say another messenger arrived, but the Lord knew that Lazarus had died. This is when He finally told the disciples that they needed to go, they were not happy about it!

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.” (John 11:8-10 ESV)

 This is a wonderful promise from our Lord. When we are walking with Him, He is the Light. He can keep us from being attacked. If we are not close to Jesus, then we may come into difficulty, we may stumble into harm. Thomas’ attitude was not one of trust:

Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” (John 11:14-16 ESV)

“Doubting Thomas” proves true to his nickname. Though Jesus had been doing miracles hourly, he didn’t have faith that He would keep them safe. Thomas was focused on the natural physical world. Jesus was willing to do what His Father asked, knowing that He had a destiny with death at a particular time and place.

Has God Let You Down?

Both of Lazarus’ sisters spoke with Jesus demonstrating two opposite reactions to the death of their brother. Seeing how the Lord interacts with them will help us understand what He expects of us.

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.”

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:21-27 ESV)

Martha expected Jesus to keep her brother from dying and was quick to accuse Him of not being there when they needed Him. Have you ever felt that God didn’t show up when you needed Him? The Lord shows you what needs to happen so God can work in your life again. After Martha accused Him of not being there for them, Jesus had her confess two things:

1. Her belief in what He could do.

2. Her belief in His omnipotence.

If you have a hardness in your heart concerning God’s goodwill toward you, remember, this:

 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7 ESV)

God values you greatly! He knows all things and He has a plan. You may not understand it yet, but trust in Him. Begin learning about Him so that He can reveal that plan to you.

Grieved by God

Mary had a different attitude when she approached the Lord after her sister.

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus wept.

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” (John 11:32-37 ESV)

Even though Mary said exactly the same words as her sister, she spoke out of her pain, not in accusations. Not only that, she worshiped Jesus by falling at His feet. The Lord didn’t make her state her belief in Him, because it was evident in how she approached Him.

Have you been grieved by God when you thought He should act but didn’t? This is when God brings comfort as He joins us in that moment of pain, just as Jesus wept with those who were grieving.

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone… (John 11:38-41 ESV)

Martha was ready to work for the Lord, but only in what seemed proper. Here, when He asks her to do something that seems unusual, she balks. To receive from God, you must be willing to do what He tells you to do. This means you must be listening to Him. You must believe that God can do all things!

Lazarus had been dead for four days. According to Jewish beliefs, the soul leaves the body after three days. Only God could raise someone up who had been dead for four days. After Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb, many more people began following Him, but others reported what happened to the Pharisees. Since Jesus had done all three miracles that only the Messiah could do, they knew who He was. How did they respond?

So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” John 11:47-49 ESV)

This was the root of the issue. They didn’t believe that God could do all things. They were afraid that the prophesied conquering Messiah would get them destroyed by Rome. This fear caused them to reject what God was doing.

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. (John 11:50-53 ESV)

God had a plan and the prophecy of the High Priest shows that God knew Jesus would be sacrificed. This is the same nation that refused to enter the promised land for fear of the size of the people there. Now they refused the Messiah for fear of Rome. Fear of what will happen keep God from moving in your life for it is directly opposed to Him:

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:5-7 ESV)

We must stir up our faith, knowing that God can do all things! We must not be ashamed of our Lord and who He is. Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Do you believe that? Then you should be excited to talk about it so that others can make it to Heaven as well.

One of the biggest witnesses we can give is how we handle the times when God doesn’t do what we think He should. Grieving is fine, and falling at His feet is even better. No matter what happens in your life, continue in faith, knowing that it wasn’t a surprise to God. He knows all things and there is a reason for it, if you will learn His ways, you may find out what it is.

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John 11: Disappointment in God? Online Christian Church

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