Lazarus, A Friend of Jesus, Dies
Today, I will ask you to read John chapter 11, verses 1-16. Our purpose is to see “the purpose” in this passage of scripture. According to verse 4, “Lazarus’ sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby,”
What Is The Glory of God?
It is the manifestation of All that God is, and Who He is. It is the very presence of God. In the Old testament God’s glory was likened “to a devouring fire on the top of the mount” (Exodus 24:16-17). This was a visible manifestation of the person (glory) of God, showing His might and His power. John 1:14 tells us that God manifest Himself in and through Jesus Christ. Isaiah 43:7 says that God created us for His glory. We glorify God through His glory that can be seen in us…like the Love and Honor we give to Him and to others. We are in a sense carrying all that belongs to God inside of us (Jars of Clay; 2 Corinthians 4:6-7). We are the vessels that contain His glory, for the purpose of glorifying Him.
Notice in verse 11, that Jesus refers to Lazarus as “Our Friend“. It is very significant that Jesus calls Lazarus “friend”. In John 15:15, Jesus is speaking to His disciples and says, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” You see, friendship is a very special relationship. Friendship has to be about something. Friends have something in common. To be a friend to Jesus, you have to know Him. We share in His message of hope.
Think about those who you call “your friends”. Who are they? Write their names down and think about why you call them friends. You will see that, if they truly are your friends, you do have something in common….something that you share……something that you both believe in.
I also want you to make a mental note of verse 5. It says, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. Here, the word loved is ‘Agapao in the ‘Greek. It means,“to love, indicates a direction of the will and finding one’s joy in anything. ‘Agapao is used of God’s love toward man and vice versa. ‘Agapao stands higher above ‘Phileo because of its moral import; love that expresses compassion.” Quote from The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible
Today, your scriptures to ponder are John 11:4,5 and John 15:14-15
Jesus is “Your Friend” and His Love For You is ‘Agapao-Compassionate
This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 10:20 pm and is filed under Bible Studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
