We often have a hard time waiting for the best God has to give. God may take much longer to act than we like. Mary and Martha came to tell Jesus about their brother Lazarus and his near-to-death illness. They knew Jesus had the power to heal their beloved brother. The Scripture says, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When He had heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed still in the same place where he was.”
How could Jesus have loved His friend Lazarus and yet desert him at such a critical time? Why did He wait until Lazarus’ funeral before arriving at the friend’s side? Could it be that Jesus’ works have their own hour.” Perhaps we need to realize that sometimes God comes through at the last hour.
Many today would react differently to a plea from Mary and Martha. We probably would have, in Jesus’ situation, gone immediately and healed Lazarus. Remember, Lazarus was Jesus’ friend. Healing him would have saved Jesus from accusations that He did not care. It would have saved Jesus from the grief of losing such a close friend. Jesus had the power to heal, and the religious authorities would have felt much better about Jesus’ healing Lazarus than they did about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus chose to act according to God’s will and not react according to man’s desire. Waiting until Lazarus was in the grave four days proved that Lazarus was truly dead according to Jewish beliefs. Tarrying a few days until Lazarus’ funeral gave other people an opportunity for a deeper faith. Had Jesus intervened too soon, it would have seemed Jesus had only human concern rather than having a higher purpose – following God’s plan. This miracle was the final step toward God’s purpose being fulfilled in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Jesus was teaching us that waiting for His Father to act in His own time and in His own way was worth it in the end.
There are many Scriptural examples in which God appeared to come too late. Sarah was ninety-nine when she had a baby! The Isrealites were in bondage for four hundred years before Moses led them out! Elijah, believing he was the only prophet who was left, was assured that there were many who had not bowed down to the false god! When Habakkuk asked the Lord when the violence would end, God replied, “My vision waits for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come.” The birth of our Lord was “in the fullness of time,” and Jesus did not die until “It is finished.”
God never comes through too late – He comes through when it seems to be the last hour! God may not always lift us out of the difficulties of this life. He wants to teach us to follow His plan and to trust His guidance, no matter what people may say and no matter what obstacles may come into our pathways. God may allow certain things to happen to us in order to accomplish a Divine purpose we are not presently aware of!
The point of this miracle is that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Only He can enable anyone to live beyond the grave. Lazarus was a sign of the resurrection, but Jesus was the Reality. Jesus said, “Whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die!” Place your faith and trust in Jesus and you will never go astray!
