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JESUS LOVED THEM. John says so.

He loved all three of them — Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (John 11:3, 5).

And that’s why He waited.

The sister’s sent urgent news to the Lord. It was a sort of first-century 911 call for medical assistance. And they didn’t say, “Lazarus is sick,” but “he whom You love is sick.” Jesus not only knew the identity of the one who was ailing, but He recognized him as His dear friend.

Jesus wasn’t that far away either. He could have rushed to Lazarus’ side and healed him. All would be well, the sickness would be over, and their lives would continue as normal.

But oddly enough, Jesus didn’t make the trip. He didn’t hasten to Bethany and “treat” Lazarus’ condition. There was no hurried journey to see his beloved companion, in fact, just the opposite. Not only did Jesus not go to Lazarus (not that He needed to “go” at all — cf. Luke 7:1-10) as the sister’s anticipated, but he waited two more days! In a sense, the Great Physician failed to make a house-call and, in-so-doing, lost his first and only patient.

Think about it.

He waited.

Hours.

Days.

Yes, knowing Lazarus’ precarious condition, Jesus waited.

For a long time I didn’t understand that. Evidently Mary and Martha didn’t make sense of it either. They both rebuked the Lord for His slow response (vv. 21, 32). “If You had only been here earlier…”

It was Jesus’ fault.

He shouldn’t have waited; He should have come immediately.

He had wasted precious time.

If He really loved the family as they believed, He would have virtually run to see about Lazarus’ welfare.

Maybe He didn’t love them as they thought.

So why did Jesus wait…?

It wasn’t a matter of lethargy, lack of love, or apathy, dear reader, it was a matter of faith. You see, Jesus could have made his way to Bethany and healed Lazarus, and Mary and Martha’s faith would have been enhanced. Instead, Christ chose to wait until Lazarus was dead, buried, and in the tomb (a total of four days) and THEN raise him up!

Because He loved them, and because He was concerned with the sister’s spiritual maturation, Jesus waited until after Lazarus was dead and buried to show that not even a crypt and a corpse could impede His wonder-working power (John 11:25)!

Rush to Lazarus’ bedside and effect a cure, or wait until after he was dead and buried and then call him forth? Jesus chose the latter because He really did love (Greek — agapao) Mary and Martha and he wanted to see their faith grow to an even higher degree (John 11:23-27).

I don’t want the doctor to wait when I’m in the emergency room. I’m the emergency! I want the physician at my bedside, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, with prompt and accurate therapeutic care. I’m the same way when hurting emotionally or spiritually. “Lord, I need you NOW…!” “Come to Bethany!” “The one you love is very sick!” And sometimes…because he loves me…He waits.

Give it some thought.

“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike

With the Bible as our rule of faith and practice, containing as it does, the revelation of God’s will to us, we should be very anxious to do just the things that it authorizes.

This is especially true since we are saved from our past sins and become Christians only if we obey the truth (John 8:32; 17:17).

Also we are to be judge by the word of the Lord (John 12:48).

WHERE does the Bible say that inspired men ever invited alien sinners to the altar to pray for salvation?

In Acts 22:16, we read of an alien sinner, engaged in prayer when the Lord sent a preacher to tell him what to do.

Saul, who had been one of the worst enemies Christianity ever had, became convinced of the error of his way.

He asked the Lord what He would have him to do (Acts 9:6).

Jesus told him to go to Damascus and there he would be told what he must do (Acts 9:6).

So he went to the city and waited for – that information.

Ananias, a gospel preacher, was sent to tell him what to do.

When Ananias arrived he found Saul, the sinner, engaged in prayer.

Many modern preachers would have told Saul to “pray on until you pray to pardon.”

Did Ananias tell Saul to pray on?

He did not.

However, he told Saul exactly what God wanted him to do.

He stopped Saul from praying and said, “And now are you waiting?  Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

To “arise,” means “to get up.”

So Ananias told Saul to get up from his prayer and do something else – to be baptized and wash away his sins.

Has it ever occurred to you that the average preacher of our day would not tell an alient sinner what Ananias told Saul to do?

That is, to “Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins…”

When one is thus baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), is is obediently “calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16; Mat. 7:21; Luke 6:46).  Garland Elkins, Sinners – Not Instructed to – “Pray Through,” COME AND SEE, 11

“God loves you and I love you and that’s the way it’s gonna be!” – Mike

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:12).