So I went to a Bible study with a group of guys this past Thursday morning. The topic was John 11, the story of Lazarus being brought back to life by Jesus. As I was reading John 11 and researching the message in this part of the scripture, I came across a commentary that was quite interesting. The commentary sort of centers on Thomas’s words in John 11:16, “So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’” Just a quick background for this part of the story. Jesus was going to go back to Judea to help Lazarus. His disciples remind Him that Jews in that area just tried to stone Him to death no long ago. But that’s not going to stop Jesus from going. Then Thomas shows us his faith in verse 16.
So I am going to post the commentary that I read. It was quite intriguing. Read it and see what you think about it.
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Commentary
“Since we as Christians are certain that we will be raised from death into life when Christ returns, shouldn’t the hope of that resurrection and eternal life encourage us? Shouldn’t it keep the fear of death away from our thoughts? Shouldn’t we view dying as non-threatening as we view laying down for a nap? Yes. For followers of Christ, when we physically die, we are really just taking a nap. We are getting some rest from the labor of the past day; our life we just finished living on this earth. You might even say that our physical death is even better than a nap, because sleep is temporary. But everlasting life with God in heaven is . . . everlasting. When you take a nap or go to sleep for the night, you will eventually have to get up, face the day, get back to the daily grind, and do it all over again. But death for Christians is the end of earthly, physical toils here on this planet. Death in our physical body means that we will be in the presence of our Savior. How awesome is that going to be!!
So when Jesus said He was going back to Judea to see to Lazarus, the disciples reminded Him that the Jews in that area had just recently tried to kill Him by stoning. Just in case you don’t know, stoning is when people nail you with rocks until you die. I doubt Jesus needed to be reminded of this, but let’s not get off track. His disciples tried to talk Jesus out of going to visit Lazarus in Judea; a trip that would have exposed Jesus and His disciples to the same people who nearly killed Him before. It was dangerous.
In a way, I think this mirrors our own ideas about life and safety. We often hope that the good work and service we are called to be a part of in Jesus can be done by some other means or by some other person if there is danger involved. But look at the fruit of their actions; their obedience. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, many people believed in Him because of this. And there was much done to make perfect the faith of those who believed. So let us go to Him, let us be obedient, let us serve God and serve others with the love of God no matter the danger or the circumstances. Death cannot separate us from the love of Christ, nor can it put us out of the reach of His call. Like Thomas, in difficult times, Christians should encourage one another and rely on the power that comes from Christ. The death, the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, should give us the willingness to die whenever God calls us.”
