February 27
JOHN 11
12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you– John 11:12-22
JOHN 11 TRUE FAITH MANIFESTED
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Do you believe Jesus just because you see works and signs?
Do you believe that the word of God brings healing and life?
If we have faith even though we don’t see proofs
It manifests true faith because you have that confident hope.
David Guzik’s commentary says that Thomas the Twin was called such according to church tradition because he looked like Jesus. This puts him at special risk. If any among the disciples of Jesus were potential targets of persecution it would be the one who looked like Jesus., When Thomas said “Let us also go, that we may die with him,” it seemed like he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus was going to foreshadow his resurrection when he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. When Thomas uttered these words, he almost declared his dying faithfulness to Jesus.
When Martha met up with Jesus and said “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,” it was another Spirit led statement. She believed that Jesus could have healed her brother. Her following statement was another confident hope that knows that Jesus will ask his Father and he will be granted whatever he asked him.
REFLECTION
• Do you consider “believing only after seeing” true faith? Why or why not?
