Jn 11:11     After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

  

Perhaps this verse, more than most, shows us the way Jesus worked. First, notice that Jesus reveals his plans to his disciples. Again and again he shared with them what he was going to do.

Second, note the way he shares what he is going to do: he shares it enigmatically, he says what is true but in such a way as to leave us wondering. Did the disciples, I wonder, when they arrived at Lazarus's tomb, when they heard he has died, think, “Oh, it'll be all right, he's just asleep, the Master will wake him up”? That was how Jesus viewed this death but it was different from how we would view it because of the next thing that emerges.

 

The third thing to note is the confidence in his power that Jesus reveals. He is quite confident that when they get to Bethany he will ‘wake up' Lazarus so he will be fully restored to his sisters. In other words, as will soon be revealed if you read the story in your Bible, Jesus is quite confident of his power to raise the dead! Why? Because this is his Father's will for this situation and what God wants, God enables to happen.

 

How does this work in our lives? First Jesus so often reassures us about a future situation that seems impossible, but doesn't give us details of how he will deal with it. Are we, I wonder, a people who listen to God speaking into our lives so that we actually do catch something of His plans and intentions for us, so that we can co-operate more fully with Him? Second there is nothing beyond his ability. If he indicates he will do it, then he WILL do it. Be reassured. But that also brings a challenge to our everyday lives: do we truly believe that a) everything is under His scrutiny, b) that He wants to be involved in our daily lives, and so c) there is no problem or difficulty we might face that He cannot deal with? He has both the power and the wisdom for this. Will we receive it?