Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” vs1-4

God is glorified in the sickness of His people, because He uses it for our salvation. Just like He allowed Lazurus to be sick and die, even so, the Lord gives us hardships and trials by Satan’s hand, so that He can glorify Himself in strengthening us [vs11, 15]. He allows us to fall to show His chastening love and keeping mercy. He allows persecution to show His delivering power - that His people trust Him to the death. He allows all things that harm us, even death itself, to show His ability to OVERCOME THE WORST! This is the teaching of the cross - the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus and our victory through Him. We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us [Rom 8:37-39].

Therefore, let us never stop at circumstances but look up to God our Savior [1 Thess 3:3]. Let us never believe in our failures, our weakness, or our troubles more than in Jesus Christ.

Secondly, Thomas is often called, “Doubting Thomas,” but here he had great faith. Believers hold onto Christ until death. vs12-16

Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Yes, in their weakness, according to the purpose of God, the disciples all forsook Him [Zech 13:7]. After the resurrection and the sending of the Spirit, however, they all laid down their lives for Jesus, and so do we. Rev 12:11, “And they overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” God gives us supernatural power to resist the world and live for Jesus against all odds. We hold out in persecution and in trial. We love Him, even enduring torture. It is written, “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection [Heb 11:35].”

Thomas was like the Huguenots of old, who endured hardship. Their pregnant women were tortured. They were tied to a tree, cut open, and their babies were removed. Then, they were left tied up until the wild beasts devoured them at night. Why? Because they confessed Jesus and would not let Him go. Paul tells us, “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall live with Him.” If we die by faith, holding onto Christ as most precious, then He’ll raise us again gloriously. “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us [2 Tim 2:11-12].”

This common Christianity of holding out unto the end is God’s gift to His elect. Every believer perseveres and endures.

Thirdly, do you believe the gospel? Even though you can’t understand everything, do you believe on Jesus? vs20-26

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, is beyond us. His teaching bewilders us, and there’s always more to learn. We may not understand why He allowed something to happen or said, “No,” to our earnest desire, but we still trust the Son. Vs22, “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” We are not those who turn away in hardship. Rather, we turn to Him and learn.

Bless God! Everyone who comes to Jesus, trusting in Him - not deterred by disappointments and hardships, but honoring Him as the Son of God our Savior - will learn more of everlasting life and the power of the cross. You’ll see that He is the resurrection; it is not merely a doctrine but a Person gives us life from the dead [vs25]. You will see that He is the life: He is how walk and please God, and He is what life looks like, being its source and power [vs25]. All spiritual doctrine is in Him whom God raised from the dead… who visits us in the gospel.