FOR HIS GLORY

Jn.11:4 – But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

What does Jesus mean by this statement? Of course He is speaking of Lazarus being raised from the dead, but could He be talking about something more than that? Could it be He is talking about His death and the glory that would come from the work of the cross? I think that is exactly what Jesus was saying. Because of the stir Jesus had already made throughout Israel, raising someone from the dead near Jerusalem as the multitudes were arriving there for Passover could not be ignored. It was this miracle that caused the death of Jesus to be imminent. Not only would Jesus be glorified by this public defeat of death, it would bring the glory of Calvary to be a certainty. Here is how Barclay describes this verse.

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’ (John 12:23). And it was of his cross that he spoke, for he went straight on to speak of the grain of wheat which must fall into the ground and die. In 12:16, John says that the disciples remembered these things after Jesus had been glorified, that is after he had died and risen again. In the Fourth Gospel, it is clear that Jesus regarded the cross both as his supreme glory and as the way to glory. So when he said that the cure of Lazarus would glorify him, he was showing that he knew perfectly well that to go to Bethany and to cure Lazarus was to take a step which would end in the cross – as indeed it did. With open eyes, Jesus accepted the cross to help his friend. He knew the cost of helping, and was well prepared to pay it.”

Lazarus being raised from the dead was a sign and wonder to Israel that the Messiah had come. The result of this miracle was the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. The beauty is the glory that came out of His death. First there was the display of His resurrection, death had been defeated and the first man was resurrected to eternal life. The gospel began to be preached as a result, all who believed found salvation in His name. This is where the glory of God is seen in its greatest display of all. Every kind of sinner; from drunkards to athletes, are being transformed. There are prostitutes, academics, homeless, and millionaires all finding life in Christ. Lazarus sickness was unto death but the result would be the glory of God.