Introduction:
The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines the
expression “The end justifies the means” is an:
“idiom used to say that a desired result is so good or important that any method, even a morally bad one, may be used to achieve it.”
In our gospel reading today it is very clear that in the case of the seemingly terminal illness of his friend Lazarus, Jesus knew the outcome and knew that the outcome would glorify the Father, but was the
means by which the outcome was played out justified?
If you were to have heard the story as one unaware of who Jesus is, I dare say that your impressions of the moral character of this itinerate miracle worker from Galilee would be less than favourable.
I used to teach soldiers that moral courage is the moral strength to stand up for what
we know to be right or to stand up against that which we know to be wrong or to put it more simply “Do the right thing on a difficult day.”
Jesus did not seem on the face of it to have the moral courage to do the right thing on a difficult day on learning that his close friend Lazarus was dying and that his sisters Mary and Martha were in a state of great distress. It is obvious to anyone listening to his story that the right thing
for Jesus to have done was to have dropped everything he was doing and make his way to Lazarus’s bedside as soon as possible, but he didn’t.
Jesus had no excuse for not doing so. If we connect the end of chapter 10 in John’s gospel with the beginning of chapter 11, then Jesus did not even have far to travel.
We read in John 10: 40 “Then Jesus went back across the
Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed.”
Now if you refer back to the ministry of John the Baptist recorded in the first chapter of John we read: “This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.” John 1:28
This means that Jesus was either in Bethany itself or close to where his friends lived making his seemingly callous indifference even more hard to fathom.
His attitude in the situation is extraordinary.
First of all he either lies to his disciples or makes a wild conjecture in verse 4: “Jesus said, “This sickness will not
end in death”, but then later in v 14 changes his mind.
Secondly, instead of attending to Lazarus straight way when he had means and opportunity to do so he puts off the journey for two days.
Thirdly, having wasted two days in v 14 he not only announces: “Lazarus is dead”, but intimated that he was glad of the fact. Some friend.
Fourthly, when he does finally bother himself to go into the village of Bethany he seemingly puts on a great show of public emotion which bearing in mind his behaviour may have seen at best like “crocodile tears” to anyone watching his disgraceful behaviour.
In many ways I am very surprised that Mary and Martha and the village folk of
Bethany let him anywhere near them after his behaviour, but somehow Martha still trusted in him.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” V 21-22
Was Martha grasping at straws or did she see something else and knowing
Jesus as she did, did she truly trust in his judgement?
My rendition above has been deliberately harsh. It is the sort of one sided reporting one would find in a newspaper whose columnist is trying to discredit Jesus. I want to look more closely at the detail of the text to highlight facts that the tabloids would have conveniently ignored.
Firstly, when Jesus gave his prognosis that Lazarus’s illness would not end in death he was not lying. Prognosis for Jesus is not the professionally based assessment of a physician, but the Greek word meaning “Foreknowledge.” When Jesus said: “This sickness will not end in death” he meant it because he knew it. Furthermore, Jesus demonstrated his foreknowledge of the plan which his Father had in
putting Lazarus and his sisters through weeks of hell when he then said of Lazarus’s illness: “No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
Secondly, for this to happen Lazarus needed to be dead, truly dead, both anatomically and culturally. What do I mean by that? According to Jewish mystical tradition the earliest a soul leaves the body after death is three days. Jesus waited until the
fourth day before attending his friend’s grave and as we see later even Martha was concerned that the body of Lazarus was by that time well into decomposition.
Thirdly, Jesus did not say “I am glad that Lazarus is dead”, but he said to his disciples: “for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe” v15. With his prognosis Jesus foreknew that the result of this trial of faith would not only bring
great joy, but would strengthen the disciples faith in him. This would be vital in the weeks and months to come.
Fourthly, Jesus’s tears at the sight of his dear friend’s grief and sadness were not feigned, but genuine. He is moved by our tears and does care even if he has the bigger picture.
Conclusion
Why do you think Jesus behaved in the way he did? I think the answer is that the “end justified the means.” The end for Jesus was not raising Lazarus from the dead or even bringing relief to the village of Bethany, but to provide and visible, undeniable proof that he is “The resurrection and the life.”
Having provided such proof in such an undeniable way, his own death sentence was
sealed and were learn later in John 12:10 than a plot was hatched to kill Lazarus too, why? In Chapter 11 v 48 the chief priests and phrases feared: “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” How stupid and small minded is the proud human heart.
Despite all of this it remains true that Lazarus and his sisters were put through
weeks of suffering in order to bring about Jesus’s desired “ends.”
This story tells us that even our suffering, sadness and pain can serve the purposes of God. The way we stand up under such suffering can be a great witness to the power of God and faith of his people.
Because of this story we know that Jesus is who who he says he is and that despite
all that we may have to endure our “end” is so glorious and so full of joy that the means to achieve it will always be justified if we trust in the loving, powerful foreknowledge of God’s prognosis. All will be well with our soul.
“Jesus said to (Martha), “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by
believing in me will never die.”
When you know the ending of the story you can face the journey with faith and joy no matter how tough the challenges are along the way.
Amen