Near the end of John chapter ten and the beginning of chapter eleven, Jesus deliberately lets a dear friend die and is about to lead his disciples into mortal danger. Understandably, the disciples are really having a hard time understanding all of this. When we look deeper, we see that their problem is this: They just don’t grasp the magnitude of who Jesus really is. Let me give an earthy illustration.
I grew up in Michigan, surrounded by the Great Lakes, and yet to this day I still don’t grasp how gigantic they really are. If you want to drive all the way around them, you’re looking at a 6,500
mile trip! They cover 94,250 square miles of surface area. (Eighty percent of the individual States in our country are smaller in area than that!) They contain 5,439 cubic miles of water (that’s 6 quadrillion gallons.). Imagine a giant cube-shaped steel tank that’s 17.5 miles wide, long, and high filled with water! By volume, they make up 21% of the total surface water on the entire planet! The largest of them, Lake Superior, is staggering in size. It is 350 miles east to west and 160 miles north to south! Its shoreline is 2,726 miles long. It holds 2,900 cubic miles of water with an average depth of 500ft and a maximum depth of 1,332 ft. Even medium-sized Lake Huron has over 35,000 islands. Manitoulin, the largest of its islands, is 1,068 square miles, making it the largest inland island in the world! And it’s an island entirely within Lake Huron!Now imagine that I have a friend who’s going to move to Michigan and he says to me: “You used to live in Michigan. I’m planning move there and to drill a well near the shore of Lake Superior, but I’m a bit worried. Do you think that over time it could jeopardize the level aquafer?” With 2,900 cubic miles of water? . . . Probably not! It’s so hard to grasp how gigantic the Great Lakes really are.
That’s much the problem that we face in trying to grasp just who Jesus really is. We just don’t begin to understand His power and majesty. As above, in John chapter eleven the disciples are afraid that if they follow Jesus back across the Jordan into Judea (where the Jews had just been trying to arrest and kill Him), that their own lives will be in jeopardy (v. 8). Thomas gives voice to their fear when resigns himself: “Let us also go, that we may die with Him!” [This, incidentally shows how total their commitment to follow Jesus really was.] So, Jesus tells them that if they walk in the day they won’t stumble because they are walking in the light of this world (v. 9). This seems to be His “parable sort of way” of saying, “Since you’re walking with Me, the light of the world (Jn. 8:12; 9:15), you don’t have to worry about stumbling in the darkness and getting killed. There is no need to fear death if you’re walking with ‘the Resurrection and the Life.’ (v. 25-26)”
In our passage, John goes on to tell us that because Jesus loves Mary and Martha (v. 5) He waits for two more days (v. 6) until their brother Lazarus actually dies! And then he tells his disciples that he is glad that he wasn’t there, so that they will be able to fully believe in him (v. 15)! Obviously, Jesus sees death very differently than we do. As I read this and try to put myself into the story, my little brain shares their panic and I think: “Oh, no! He’s going to get us killed by leading us back into the hands of the guys who just tried to arrest and kill Him.” But that is wrong-headed because darkness is no threat when you’re walking next to the Light of the World, and death is no problem when you’re standing right next to the “Resurrection and the Life”.
The point that I’m trying to get our minds around is this: Jesus does not present himself as some kind of super magician who is able to spectacular deeds. These deeds are simply and expression of Who he is! We don’t have to worry about stumbling in the darkness of this world because he is the Light. We don’t have to worry about dying or being murdered because he IS the resurrection, and whether in this world, or in the next he will raise us up on the Last Day. HE is our hope. HE is our life. HE is our light, and our salvation.
Remember how Jesus handled the problems and calamities of the people he encountered during His ministry:
“Are you running out of wine at the wedding feast? No problem. Here’s 150 gallons to tide you over.” (Jn. 2:1-11)
“So, there’s not enough food for the tired and hungry crowd? No problem. I’ll see to it that you can all eat your fill and end up with twelve large baskets full of leftovers!” (Jn. 6:1-14)
“Are you a widow and your only son just died? No problem, I’ll just command him back to life again.” (Lk. 7:11-16)
“You’re afraid of the storm that is about to sink your boat in the middle of the sea? No problem. I’ll just tell it to stop.” (Luke 8:22-25)
“You’re worried about what happens if you die before I return? No problem. I’m going to raise you up at the last Day anyway.” (Jn. 6:39-54)
“You’re worried about being snatched out of My hand? No problem. When you’re in my hands, you’re in my Father’s hands, and those are the hands that shaped the creation.” (Jn 10:28-29)
“You’re overwhelmed by grief and sorrow at the loss of a loved one? Remember that I wept with Mary and Martha as I walked with them to their brother’s tomb. I’m right here next to you, and I’ll get you through all of your grief.” (Jn. 11:33-35)
“Are you destitute and worried about food and clothing? See the gigantic flocks of birds filling the forests and migrating with the seasons? I’m the One who provides their food. See all the hills, and mountains and valleys covered with wildflowers? I’m the One who clothes them all.” (Matt. 6:25-33)
Are you getting the picture? These events are not some kind of spectacular magic tricks. What we have here is Jesus giving us sign after sign of Who he really is. Stop and think about what they mean. Jesus is the antidote! He is the answer! And the greatest challenges and calamities that life may deal to us begin to look very trivial and inconsequential as we stand next to this Jesus whom we have chosen to follow, and as we begin to get just the slightest glimmer of who He really is.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20–21