and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
9 sermons cite this verse
… that he stopped working. And then Jesus, in a few verses later, he tells the disciples why. In verse 14, it says, so then he told them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And for your sake, I am glad I was not there. Okay, this is, this is hardcore, Jesus. So that you may, what? Believe. But let us go to him. For your sake, I'm glad I was not there. So that you may believe. What was happening here was that he was trying to produce a deeper faith and a bigger depth of trust. And sometimes when our circumstances aren't changing, we forget to see that those circumstances might actually be changing us. That it might be producing in us, like Paul says, perseverance, strength. Applied pressure can feel horrible in the moment, but what it's producing in us is beautiful things within our maturity as Christ followers. And that wait rarely can feel peaceful. And waiting sometimes often leads to the next thing that we see is the wrestling. …
… And then Jesus told them plainly, verse 14, Lazarus is dead. But then he says, I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Now let us go to him. Why does God delay in answering? why does he put off what seems to be the better plan as we view it and even with a submissive heart we want his plan? Why does he seem to take delight in being so slow? I find a couple of reasons why God is viewed to be slow at times, why God delays. The first reason is in verse 4, that the Son of God may be glorified. The second reason is in verse 15, that our faith might be strengthened. You notice he says, I am glad so that you might believe. I think that is a very significant point. Who would ever grow in a stronger faith if every time you ask something, you've got it. What kind of a stretching experience would that be? …
… Lazarus has died and for your sake I am glad that I was not there so that you may believe. What's more important than life? Believing is more important than life. Infinitely more important than human earthly life. What is believing then? John 1 14 We beheld his glory Glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth Jesus said in John 6.35 or John wrote in John 6.35 I am the bread of life whoever comes to me will not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst so coming to Jesus to eat unto soul satisfaction and believing in Jesus to drink unto soul satisfaction is faith. That's what believing is. Believing is a coming to Jesus as the all satisfying fountain of water and living bread. It is the revelation of the glory of God in Jesus that is what our souls were made for. And only he will satisfy that. Not life and not health. Christ, God, his glory is what will satisfy the soul. …
… you don't have to put that in there. Come on, this is what happened, right? These are real people. Back to Jesus' statement. I am glad I was not there so that you may believe. But here's the question. Don't leave early. This is so important. Believe what? And this is so important. or let me put it this way. What is so important for them to believe that he would let a friend die while the friend's sisters watched and waited for Jesus to show up to save the day and Jesus doesn't show up and save the day. What could be so important for them to believe that Jesus would allow these circumstances to play out the way they did? And the answer to that question is related to the answer to this question. who is you? In other words, I'm glad I was not there so that you may believe. Well, obviously part of the you was the 12 apostles traveling around with Jesus. But again, John wrote this many years after the event and John wrote this many years after the resurrection of Jesus. …
… So then Jesus said to them clearly, Lazarus has died and I'm glad for you that I was not there that you may believe. Let us go to him. So Thomas called Didymus said to his fellow disciples let us also go to die with him. When Jesus arrived he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem only about two miles away and many of the Jews who had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him. But Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise. Martha said to him, I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus told her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he dies will live. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. …
… plainly because he wants you to understand exactly what he's meaning in your life. It says this in verse 15. And for your sake, I am glad I was not there so that you may believe, but let us go to him. Then Thomas, also known as Didymus said to the rest of the disciples, Let us also go that we may die with him. I want to preach a message today on the last installment of this series. Write down the title. It's called Everything's Better When You're Here. Everything's Better When You're Here. I'm telling you, Jesus, everything gets better when you walk into the room. Everything's better when Jesus is here. Amen to that. I don't know if you've seen this commercial. There's a commercial going on right now. and it's these ladies, these moms that are on a vacation. By the way, every mom deserves a vacation. And these moms are on a vacation. They're at the pool, you know, having like virgin pina coladas. And they're like by the pool. …
… plainly. Thank you, Jesus. Lazarus is dead. That was about as plain as he can say it. I think everybody got it at that point. And for your sake, I'm glad I was not there. So that you may, here's our word, this is what the whole point of John 11 is, so that you may believe. But let us go to him. Okay? Then verse 16. Then Thomas, also known as Didymus, I'd have probably just stuck with Thomas personally, said to the rest of the disciples, let us go also that we may die with him. Love it. He's, Thomas, still a little bit confused. He's got a confused mind, but I think a very genuine heart. He's like, okay, we didn't go to Lazarus, but now he's dead and we're going to Lazarus. So he's like, well, let's all go die. You know, verse 17. Finally, Jesus comes to Bethany. On this, on his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus has been out in the tomb for, had been already in the tomb for four days. Now, Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed home. …
… He stayed two more days in the place where He was. And then after this, He said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to Him, Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are you going there again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him. These things he said, and after that he said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go, that I might wake him. Then his disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well. However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. So then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him. …
… did, that Jesus would come immediately. But instead, He stayed two more days where He was. And then after that He said to the disciples, let us go to Judea again. And the disciples He said, Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are you going to go back there? And Jesus said, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. These things He said after it had been said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go, that I may wake him up. And the disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, then he will get well. But Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he was speaking about simply taking rest in sleep. And so Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. …