John 11:11-16 (NIV)
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”
Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
It had been two days since the message came from Mary and Martha that Lazarus was very ill. But Jesus knew two things: Lazarus had already died, and God had a plan to fix the problem and a timetable on which He was working.
After the two days were over, God’s call came to Jesus to go to Bethany. But His disciples resisted the idea, since the religious leaders had nearly stoned Jesus twice in the last few months, the second time just a few weeks earlier. That was when Jesus told them that Lazarus had died.
In His first attempt to communicate that compelling fact, Jesus used a euphemism, saying that Lazarus had fallen asleep, and that he needed to go and wake him up. But the problem with euphemisms is that they can be taken literally, as the disicples did here. They figured that Jesus had somehow heard that Lazarus had finally fallen into a deep and restorative sleep. So, they misread Jesus’ news as good news, and in doing so completely missed the implication of Jesus “waking him up” as raising him from the dead.
Since Jesus’ first attempt had failed, He was much more direct the second time, clearly stating that Lazarus had died, and that they needed to go to him. That statement sobered the mood of the group considerably. This time Jesus wasn’t as clear about His intentions to raise Lazarus from the dead. He merely alluded to the fact that this turn of events would provide one more opportunity for His followers to believe in Him.
In view of Lazarus’ death and their friendship with the family, the disciples conceded that they really should go, even though they knew it had potential to be extremely dangerous. It was Thomas who put words to the feelings of the group: “We might as well go with Him, so we can all die together.”\
Father, how often do we receive Your instructions, and then second-guess them because the circumstances seem wrong, or even dangerous? It is so easy for us to forget that You are always working Your plan, and that anytime You command us to do something, it is something that will move Your plan forward, even if it is unlikely, dangerous, or whatever, and that YOU will see it to its success. Jesus walked in that assurance every moment of every day. Help me to walk in it every day as well. Amen.