LAZARUS IS SICK
Tuesday – July 2, 2019, Sivan 29, 5779
Greetings precious children of God, sons and daughters of the Most High God, the only living God and welcome back to this powerful Bible Study of the Book of John. The featured pictures this week are of a recent visit to Peaks Island. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment to hit the “like” and “share” buttons to expand the reach of this Ministry, the gospel, the good news. Thank you so much for liking and sharing. Now let’s move to our primary Bible text for today and read it aloud.
John 11:1-4 (KJV)
1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
We are now moving forward into the eleventh chapter of John and the account of raising Lazarus from the dead. The Holy Spirit will bring forth many wonderful teaching points in this account that should impact our understanding but more importantly our thinking, our speech, and our actions. Until our thinking changes, what we really believe changes, our lives will not change. Selah. As we pick up this account, we are told that this man by the name of Lazarus who lived in Bethany with his sisters Mary and Martha was sick. Since they were sending for Jesus it seems obvious that they were aware of His healing ministry. They were sure about His ability to heal or bring healing but as we will see not so sure about the raising of the dead.
As we move into the second verse, we are told a curious thing. First, let us remember that the Book of John was not written until many years after the ascension of Jesus into Heaven perhaps around 90 to 100 AD. This would place the writing of this Book in a similar time frame as the Book of Revelation and some sixty years after the Ascension. We are told parenthetically that the Mary referenced in the first verse is the same Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair. This account is in the twelfth chapter of John and after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. This act of anointing Jesus was no doubt in Mary’s heart even at this time. Could it be that the Father by way of the Holy Spirit placed this desire before her and her plan or determination to do that thing set the stage for this miracle. Time means nothing to God and really should mean nothing to us. Yes, this obedience lies in the future but could it be that her past obedience’s to the leadership of the Holy Spirit assured the Father that she would once again be obedient and thus her faith set the stage for an outstanding miracle. Do we have a pattern of obedience that assures miracles in our lives even before the next obedience? Things occurring out of chronological sequence is common in the ministry of Jesus. For example, lots of Gentiles received healing and believed upon Him although He was sent for the lost sheep of Israel. Consider the Syrophenician woman, a Gentile, who by faith called a miracle from the future into her present.
Mark 7:26-30 (KJV)
26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.
29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
The “dogs” referred to here are the Gentiles who were yet to be grafted into the vine. When the Jews rejected Jesus, it opened the door to all peoples, but did not close the door except for a season to the Jews as a people. From the beginning we are told that a Messiah is coming and He, the Seed, was coming for all peoples and came by way of the Jews (Abraham the first Jew). In the following verse we see that the Seed, Jesus, the Messiah, is on the way.
Genesis 3:15 (KJV)
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
In the following verse God is talking to Abram with whom He will set in motion The Blood Covenant that redeems us all.
Genesis 12:3 (KJV)
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Bold added by Dr. Wood)
Jesus The Seed came, was sown and has produced an abundant harvest including me and you.
John 12:24 (KJV)
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it by faith in Jesus name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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