Come Out!
Today’s passage: John 11:1–44
Focus verse: Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” (John 11:41–42).
Jesus loves the siblings Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. He sometimes goes to their house. The sisters send word that Lazarus is sick. But Jesus doesn’t leave to heal his ailing friend.
He tarries. “Don’t worry,” he tells his disciples. “Lazarus’s sickness won’t lead to death but is to glorify me.”
Jesus waits two days before heading out. “Lazarus is sleeping,” he says, “and I’m going to wake him.”
The disciples assume this means Lazarus is getting better.
Jesus corrects their wrong thinking. “Lazarus is dead.” He tells his disciples it was good for them he wasn’t there when it happened. “This will help you believe. Let’s go to him.”
As Jesus and his followers near the city where Lazarus once lived, Martha runs out to meet him. “If you had been here,” she says, “he wouldn’t have died. But even now, I know God will answer your prayers.”
Jesus promises Martha that Lazarus will rise again.
She agrees but assumes Jesus means her brother will rise to life on the last day.
“I am the resurrection, and I am the life,” Jesus says. “If you believe in me, you will never die.”
Martha confirms she believes and leaves to find Mary.
Mary reaches Jesus, with a throng of mourners trailing her. She falls before him. “If you’d been here, he wouldn’t have died.”
Moved in his spirit and troubled, Jesus asks, “Where’s he buried?”
They take him to Lazarus’s tomb.
Jesus cries.
He commands them to roll away the stone sealing the grave’s entrance.
But before God does anything, before God answers Jesus’s prayer, Jesus gives thanks. “Father, I thank you that you heard me. You always hear me.”
Besides thanking God for hearing his prayer, Jesus implicitly thanks him for the miracle that’s about to happen.
“Lazarus,” Jesus commands, “come out.”
The once-dead Lazarus staggers out of his tomb, burial linens still wrapped around his body. How shocking to see the formerly dead man lumber forth. It’s certainly worthy of thanking God.
Questions:
When we pray, do we believe God hears?
Do we thank the Almighty for answering our prayers before we realize the outcome?
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for hearing our prayers. May we also thank you in advance for your answers to our prayers. And even if we don’t realize the answer we seek, may we still thank you in faith, knowing that you have a better plan in mind.
[This devotional is taken from the November 26 reading in Thanksgiving with Jesus.]
Thanksgiving isn’t just a day—it’s a way of life. Let the 30-day devotional Thanksgiving with Jesus lead you into it. Then you can go deeper than the holiday.
Perfect for the Thanksgiving season or anytime you want to grow in gratitude.
Thanksgiving with Jesus is part of the beloved Holiday Celebration Devotionals Series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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