October 7
Verse of the Day for October 7
When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.John 11:6 KJV
The Key of Endurance · Day 7 of 31
Reflection · 4 min read
He Stayed Two Days
The sisters send word that Lazarus is ill. They do not ask Jesus to come; they simply tell him who is sick, and they identify him by a relationship — he whom thou lovest. They assume that is enough information.
It is. And what he does with it is not what anyone in the story expects.
When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
The hinge of that sentence is the word therefore. He loved them, therefore he stayed where he was. Not although. Therefore.
Every instinct I have wants that to be a translation problem. It is not. John has written the delay and the love into the same clause on purpose, and he has left it there for two thousand years for us to trip over.
Martha says it to his face when he finally arrives: if you had been here, my brother would not have died. She is right. That is the hard part. She is completely right, and he does not argue with her.
He loved them,therefore he stayed.
This does not make delay painless and the text never pretends it does. Jesus weeps at the tomb of a man he is about to raise.
It only rules out one conclusion: that the waiting is evidence you are not loved.
Carry this today
What have you concluded about God's love from his timing?
Pray
Read John 11:1–6
1Now 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.) 3Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4When 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. 5Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.