John 11:5 “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”
John 11:6 “When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.”
Our focal scripture today for me used to be one of the most confusing parts of this story. The Bible says Jesus loved Martha, Mary and of course the sick Lazarus, which we have discussed earlier; but the confusing part is that he chose to stay back where he was for additional two days!
As a matter of fact, the Message and the Amplified translation buttress this point:
John 11:6 “but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days.” (MSG)
John 11:6 “Therefore [even] when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He still stayed two days longer in the same place where He was.” (AMP)
The Message says “but oddly…,” the Amplified says, “…He still stayed two days longer in the same place where He was.”
The translators of these bible versions must have wondered at Jesus as well, having the same questions I had.
How can you love a man and you carry the healing virtue and then decide to stay back at the same place where you were despite hearing the news of his sickness? It looks paradoxical and complicated. How do you say you love me and don’t rush down when you hear such news?
On further research, I discovered that the journey from Bethany to Jesus’ location was at least approximately two days long. We can make this deduction because when Jesus eventually arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had been buried for four days.
Our conclusion about the journey being two days would be correct if he was buried same day he died.
Jesus knew this fact, yet he delayed.
I remembered sometime ago when I was called from my son’s school that he was not feeling well. I noticed he was a bit dull that morning when he woke up before going to school.
To be continued…
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