King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 20 notes
1Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2( It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
5Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
6When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
7Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judæa again.
8His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
They were afraid 😨 for their lives and that of their master.
Jesus could care less. But I think actually he did care.
He was human after all.
9Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
Jesus indeed faced grave danger even in fulfilling his ministry here in the 🌎.
So why did he do it?
10But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
11These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
12Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
13Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
14Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
15And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
16Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
17Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
18Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
19And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
That was faith right there.
23Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
GOD is often accused of taking too long before vindicating his own or answering.
However, that is not always the case, as we see here.
Martha thought Jesus was talking about the future resurrection, but Jesus was talking of just a few minutes away.
25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
This statement is true and will be the criteria in the last day for both the dead and the living.
The key here at this time was that the one who would cause all this to happen was himself present.
So he could front-load the resurrection and cause it to happen now and not later.
"I am the resurrection and the life."
27She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
28And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
29As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
30Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
31The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
32Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
33When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
34And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
35Jesus wept.
Such a mix of emotions, groaning yet weeping. Groaning in the spirit at death and its pangs against mankind.
Jesus knew that one day he would collect the keys from this beast that has caused so much 🙏 pain.
Of course Jesus did not weep because Lazarus was dead.
He was weeping at the state of mankind and the pain and tears 😢 brought on by death.
Death, which had no power over man, had now gained mastery over man.
36Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
He might really have wept bad... For them to have concluded his love 😍 for Lazarus by how deep the weeping was.
Somehow I used to imagine him shed a tear 😢 rather than weep 😭. I guess because I couldn't imagine a Jesus being who he was really weeping.
But that seems the case as described here.
It really was tears of how fallen the natural man had become.
37And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Groaned in anger (G 1690), not out of pain of loss but the pain of the suffering that the thief Satan was causing his creation.
He groaned in his spirit how that man, the master of the earth, the one who was to have dominion in the earth 🌎, was now so weak and beggarly.
Man had been deceived and continues to be.
But alas, he was here, and here to crush the head of the serpent 🐍.
39Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
40Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Oh, Jesus was in his full elements... ready to take on the challenge and demonstrate what belief in God produces and the power of the Christ who is the resurrection and the life.
He was issuing commands and was readying himself for the grand miracle.
He was groaning in him because of the state of man. Man was fallen and was now reduced to a piece of bread 🍞.
But he was come to restore all things and man to his previous glory.
I thank thee that thou hast heard me?
So Jesus had already prayed about the situation and had received a hearing from God and knew exactly what to do.
This was just a replay of what was already discussed.
42And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Jesus had already prayed for Lazarus, and now it was time for the prayer to manifest.
43And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
45Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
46But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
47Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
48If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
So this was what this was all about: their place in the nation.
To the extent that they seared their conscience against the Messiah and denied the validity of vivid miracles.
How great their judgement will be.
They believed more in the power of the Romans to take their place and nation than in the power of God to keep their place and nation.
The Messiah was to end all rule against Israel 🇮🇱 and to establish God's rule.
They did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, else this would not have been their concern.
They had convinced themselves that he did miracles by devils.
They were evil 😈 men, else even if they did not believe in Jesus, his works would have made them re-think, and even his resurrection.
As we see in Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.
But these children of the devil stuck to their ways after all contrary evidence to their claims.
49And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
50Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
51And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
52And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
53Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
54Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.
Jesus the Son of David ✡ was adapting the ways of David.
He also stayed around the wilderness even as an escape strategy from his enemies, just as David his father did.
Jesus is the son of David, but he is David's Lord.
Both are true, but though David is his ancestor, he is not subject to David, but rather the opposite.
Jesus is our elder brother, but he is not our buddy-buddy brother; no, he is our saviour and God.
Jesus is the son of God as we are sons of God, but he is more than that; he is God.
So when the Bible makes two statements which sound contrary but are both true,
there is a greater truth hidden in these seemingly contrary statements, in that both are true, but one truth supersedes the other in manifestation.
So for instance, Jesus is David's son is true, but Jesus is not subject to David as sons are to fathers. He is David's son only in ancestry but not functionally.
David rather is subject to him as his Lord and God, and not just as a statement but in deed and all the ways of divine worship 🛐 and subjection.
55And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.
56Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?
57Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.
Oh, then Jesus's guise really worked.
Jesus seemed very adept at hiding himself.
No wonder that even on the day of his arrest Judas had to identify him to them, so they don't miss him.