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That We May Die With Him
Today is the beginning of a story that is no doubt familiar to most of us: the raising of Lazarus. Probably some of us have a heard a sermon or two on this story and probably we'll hear one or two more in our lifetimes. There's a lot of profound stuff in this passage, which proclaims very clearly who Jesus is, what He can do, and what He WILL do.
Notice that Jesus lingers for two days when He hears that Lazarus is sick. Why? To show who He is to everyone. He asks Martha if she believes, speaking a very familiar phrase "I am the resurrection and the life." More on some of these things tomorrow. There's a small part of this passage that I think is a little confusing that I want to address, because it's unlikely that it would be mentioned in a sermon with so many other things going on in this passage.
Thomas says in verse 16: "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." First of all, this is one of the few places in any of the Gospels that Thomas speaks. I don't really think that is super significant, just interesting as a fact and because Thomas is so sulky most of the time he speaks in the Gospels. So what does Thomas mean?
"The decision finally to go up to Judea must have been frightening to Jesus’ disciples (11:8). Throughout the story we have learned of the growing tensions surrounding Jesus’ contact with the religious leadership. During the previous autumn celebration at the Feast of Tabernacles the authorities tried to arrest him (8:44), and rumor was out that they wanted to kill him (7:25). At one point a crowd tried to stone Jesus (8:59). A few months later at Hanukkah they tried to arrest him (10:39), and again there was the threat of stoning (10:31). The events of John 11 are set sometime between the winter Hanukkah Feast and the upcoming spring when Jesus is crucified—and the tension must have been palpable. The threat is not simply to Jesus but to his disciples as well, so that Thomas speaks up, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (11:16)." [1] (emphasis mine)
So there you have it - it's easy to think of this statement as some kind of reference to taking up your cross and dying to yourself, but it's really much more rooted in what was going on and an expression of Thomas expected to happen if they went to Judea.
In the end, Thomas DID end up dying for Jesus. Some traditions say he was boiled in oil while bringing the Gospel to India. Whether we think of him as "Doubting Thomas" or "that sulky guy", the reality is that Thomas was changed by Jesus and compelled to bring the Good News of Jesus to the ends of the earth, paying the highest price to do so.
That We May Die With Him
Today is the beginning of a story that is no doubt familiar to most of us: the raising of Lazarus. Probably some of us have a heard a sermon or two on this story and probably we'll hear one or two more in our lifetimes. There's a lot of profound stuff in this passage, which proclaims very clearly who Jesus is, what He can do, and what He WILL do.
Notice that Jesus lingers for two days when He hears that Lazarus is sick. Why? To show who He is to everyone. He asks Martha if she believes, speaking a very familiar phrase "I am the resurrection and the life." More on some of these things tomorrow. There's a small part of this passage that I think is a little confusing that I want to address, because it's unlikely that it would be mentioned in a sermon with so many other things going on in this passage.
Thomas says in verse 16: "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." First of all, this is one of the few places in any of the Gospels that Thomas speaks. I don't really think that is super significant, just interesting as a fact and because Thomas is so sulky most of the time he speaks in the Gospels. So what does Thomas mean?
"The decision finally to go up to Judea must have been frightening to Jesus’ disciples (11:8). Throughout the story we have learned of the growing tensions surrounding Jesus’ contact with the religious leadership. During the previous autumn celebration at the Feast of Tabernacles the authorities tried to arrest him (8:44), and rumor was out that they wanted to kill him (7:25). At one point a crowd tried to stone Jesus (8:59). A few months later at Hanukkah they tried to arrest him (10:39), and again there was the threat of stoning (10:31). The events of John 11 are set sometime between the winter Hanukkah Feast and the upcoming spring when Jesus is crucified—and the tension must have been palpable. The threat is not simply to Jesus but to his disciples as well, so that Thomas speaks up, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (11:16)." [1] (emphasis mine)
So there you have it - it's easy to think of this statement as some kind of reference to taking up your cross and dying to yourself, but it's really much more rooted in what was going on and an expression of Thomas expected to happen if they went to Judea.
In the end, Thomas DID end up dying for Jesus. Some traditions say he was boiled in oil while bringing the Gospel to India. Whether we think of him as "Doubting Thomas" or "that sulky guy", the reality is that Thomas was changed by Jesus and compelled to bring the Good News of Jesus to the ends of the earth, paying the highest price to do so.
[1] Gary M. Burge, NIV Application Commentary: John (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 314.
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