‘Then Jesus shouted, Lazarus, come out…’ (John 11:43)

It’s difficult for us to imagine or visualise this scene, but why is this passage so important?

‘My sheep recognise my voice; I know them and they follow me…’ (John 10:27)

In this busy world that we live in, with all that we have to do each and every day, how easy is it to always recognise the voice of Our Lord? Do we – and if not, what do we need to do in order to follow Him as we should?

Read John 12:20-36

This is a defining moment for Jesus after His entry into Jerusalem as He looks to the cross. Now His mind and energy are focussed on what lies ahead, but there is little time left to impress on both His disciples, and the wider audience, how important this moment really is.

1. What did Jesus mean by the Son of Man being glorified? (See Daniel 7:13)
2. John 12:27 appears to suggest that Jesus could have asked His Father in Heaven to rescue Him from the cross. Do you think He should have done this to extend His mission time here on earth?
3. Jesus talks elsewhere about taking up our cross and following him. Is the story of the kernel of wheat saying something similar and how do you see this happening in Christians’ lives?
4. The people heard the voice of God, rather than relying purely on scripture to speak to them. Does God still speak directly to us or do you think that the voice that spoke to the prophets has gone silent now?
5. How do you perceive God’s will for your life and how might He be glorified through it?

John tells us that at this crucial time the voice of God was heard, not only by Jesus but by the crowd standing there. Perhaps this should serve as a reminder to us that God is not silent, and perhaps it is more that we are not attuned to listening for his voice.

‘As water reflects your face, so your mind shows what kind of person you are…’ (Proverbs 27:19)

What does our mind say about us?

‘I am the Lord your God who holds your right hand…’ (Isaiah 41:13)

To know that as we walk through life, every step of the way the Lord is with us, holding us by the hand – what a wonderful comfort and joy this is.

‘The Lord is full of tenderness and mercy…’ (James 5:11)

Life can at times seem harsh and there will always be occasions when, in response to this, we will think, say or do things that we know we shouldn’t. What a comfort then to know that we can depend upon this tender love and mercy from the Lord.

‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…’ (1 Timothy 1:15)

As we journey through Lent to the cross with our Lord, let’s never forget why Jesus undertook that journey – a journey He didn’t have to take, but did – to save us.

Read John 11:1-16

As we read these verses, what are some of the main points that we can learn from them?

• As Lazarus grew very sick, Mary and Martha immediately turned to Jesus for help. How quickly do we turn to Jesus today when we need help of any kind?
• Despite hearing the news, Jesus chose to wait another two days before returning to Judea. We need to accept that God will answer in His way and in His time. Too often we expect immediate results, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
• The disciples are afraid of what might happen when they return to Judea. But are they afraid for Jesus, or for themselves, and is this really a lack of faith on their part?
• How strong is our faith when we are discouraged or afraid?
• All too often when we think of Thomas, we do as ‘Doubting Thomas’. Here he openly demonstrates his love and courage far beyond any of the others. How can we take encouragement from this?
• There are often high costs to pay as a disciple of Jesus – are we willing to pay those today?

Read John 11:17-37

What are the really important verses in this portion of scripture and what do they reveal to us?

• Immediately in verse 21 we have Martha’s acknowledgement of who Jesus is. She knows Jesus could have saved Lazarus and believes that even now He still could. Yet when Jesus says that Lazarus will rise again, Martha immediately thinks of the belief held in those days concerning the Resurrection, that it would happen at the end of time.
• Jesus, however, has the power over life and death now, and reminds Martha of this, and in verse 27, gives Jesus the response that He is seeking.
• Martha was best known as the sister who was always busy and had little time to sit with Jesus (see Luke 10:38-42), but here she shows tremendous faith in her confession of Christ. How does our faith compare to this?
• Later when Mary comes to meet Jesus, she responds as her sister did.

Read John 11:38-44

• Despite her confession of faith, we again seem to see some doubt in Martha when she reminds Jesus that Lazarus had been dead for four days. Or was she just being practical and pragmatic here?
• The fact that Jesus reminds her of what He said about the glory of God suggests that there was this small element of doubt. But just how practical and pragmatic can our faith be?
• Jesus knew exactly what He was doing in delaying going to Bethany. He was fast approaching His time, when His glory would be revealed once and for all and this was an opportunity to do a great thing that many might Martha and Mary might now believe without having any doubts.
• So often in our lives it is only when wonderful things happen that we too finally truly believe in exactly who Jesus was and is.
• Real faith, however, involves believing in Jesus all of the time and in trusting Him in all things, large and small, and because of the Gospel witness of people like Martha and Mary, we can do so without seeing these miracles for ourselves.

‘O Lord, you have searched me and known me…’ (Psalm 139:1)

How well do we truly know those around us every day in life? Our family, friends, neighbours and colleagues – do we truly know everything about them, all that is in their hearts and heads? Maybe we do. What we do know, however, is that God knows everything about us and, as the Psalmist would go on to say in these verses, there is nowhere we can hide from Him and nothing we can keep from Him. But still the Lord wants us to talk to Him, to commune with Him and to share with Him all that we are and all that we do. The question is, do we?