Lazarus raised from the Dead

We know from an earlier account of Jesus eating in the home of Martha, Lazarus' sister, that He was a personal friend of theirs. They would have expected Him to come right away upon hearing of Lazarus' illness, but He deliberately delayed His trip to Bethany. He seems to have intended to wait until Lazarus had died so that He could raise him from the dead, so that the disciples "may believe". Bethany was less than 10 miles from Jerusalem, where the desire to have Jesus killed was intense among the religious leaders. Nevertheless, He heads out, followed by His loyal disciples ("doubting Thomas" is mentioned by name) who knowingly walk into harm's way as His companions.

After hearing that Lazarus had died, our translation says that He was angry, but the NIV says that he was deeply moved in His spirit. I'm not sure what he would be angry about, so I think the NIV translation fits better, but I am no scholar of the Greek or hebrew language. After Lazarus was raised from death, many people believed in the face of such compelling evidence. But many Pharisees, already perturbed by Jesus' following, ran back to Jerusalem to tattle to Caiaphas, the high priest. Not knowing who Jesus was or what His true agenda was, the Pharisees feared that he would incite a rebellion that would attract the attention of the Roman government. being that the Jews were harshly oppressed by the Romans, they feared a reprisal against their people and temple. Ultimately, they feared losing their positions of honor and prestige, but under the guise of protecting the nation of Israel, they plotted to kill Jesus. Caiaphas said, "it's better for you that one man should die than for the whole nation to be destroyed". What he meant was that, unfortunately an otherwise innocent man was going to have to die to prevent further persecution of the Jews. But he was inadvertently speaking prophecy. One man DID die for the people so that the whole nation would not be destroyed!

Tomorrow's reading: Luke 18:9-30; Mark 10:1-31; Matt. 19:1-30