Devotions

As told in John 11, Jesus’ going to Bethany wasn’t so much about Lazarus’ death as it was about His own death. Think about it: When the time came for Jesus to face the cross, how would His followers ever believe He could be raised up? There was only one way they would believe it. That was for Jesus—there in Bethany with His beloved friends—to enter the most hopeless situation and work His purposes in the face of the humanly impossible.

I’m convinced Jesus would not have entrusted this experience to anyone outside His inner circle. Such things were reserved for those who were intimate with Him, who didn’t think as the world thinks. You see, it is only in such friends—people who know Christ’s heart and trust Him fully—that He can produce a faith which can’t be shaken.

The fact is, Jesus knew all the future hardships that would take place in the lives of these dear ones. He knew every illness and tragedy they would face. And He wanted to see in them a faith that would believe in His care no matter what calamity they faced.

When Jesus finally arrived, Martha’s first words to Him were, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee” (John 11:21-22). These words may sound full of faith on Martha’s part, but when Jesus responded, “Thy brother shall rise again” (11:23), Martha’s answer was revealing: “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (11:24). In other words: “It’s all over for now, Jesus. You’re too late.”

Jesus replied, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (11:25–26).

Christ was telling her, in other words, “No, Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Believe in Me and you’ll never die.” Again, He wasn’t just talking about Lazarus, but about His own death and resurrection. To Him, Lazarus’ raising was already a settled matter: “Martha, don’t you believe I can go even into the grave and do the impossible for you and Mary, all of your days?”

We’re told throughout the Psalms and other wisdom writings that we have a God who laughs, weeps, grieves, and can be stirred to anger. Likewise, the New Testament tells us we have a high priest in heaven who is touched by the feelings of our infirmities; the same flesh-and-blood Man who was God on earth is now a glorified Man in eternity.

Without question, our Lord is a God who feels. And I have to wonder: How can Jesus not be wounded by the great unbelief taking place throughout the world today?

How often does the Church today wound the Lord by unbelief?

Think of the unbelief of the disciples in the boat with Jesus, as it began to flood from the roiling waves. How wounded Jesus must have been as they aimed these accusing, unbelieving words at Him: “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38).

What about the times when Jesus miraculously fed crowds of people with only a few fish and bread loaves? Twice He wrought this miracle, feeding a total of 9,000, not including the women and children on those scenes. Yet, even after these incredible works, Jesus’ own disciples were still mired in unbelief. After one such miracle feeding, Christ spoke to them about the leaven of the Pharisees, and “they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread” (Mark 8:16).

Jesus must have been shocked at their words. He had just miraculously multiplied bread for the masses, before His disciples’ eyes. Clearly He was wounded as He replied to them, “Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? Perceive ye not yet, neither understand? Have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? And having ears, hear ye not? And do ye not remember? When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? . . . How is it that ye do not understand?” (Mark 8:17–19, 21).

Luke 19 gives us a powerful picture of Jesus making His final entry into Jerusalem. The image is of Christ approaching the city on a donkey with great throngs shouting His praises. He started at the Mount of Olives, and the closer He got to the city gate, the larger the crowds grew. Soon the people were casting down their garments before Him, waving palm branches, and crying, “He’s here! The hour has come for the King of Israel to arrive. Peace has come to Jerusalem. Finally, the kingdom is here!”

Why was there such loud rejoicing? “Because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear” (Luke 19:11). In the people’s minds, Jesus heralded the arrival of God’s promised “kingdom on earth.”

Yet this didn’t mean they trusted Him as their Messiah. Their only thought was that God’s reign had begun: “Goodbye, Roman rule! There will be no more wars, because our king will rise up with a sword and cut down every enemy. We’re going to see peace in Jerusalem and in Israel, with no more bondage, no more food shortages. God has finally sent His expected king.”

No one on the scene that day expected what would happen next. As Jesus came down the mount and the multitudes shouted His praises, He looked out over Jerusalem—and broke down weeping. “When he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it” (Luke 19:41). Here was God Himself in flesh, weeping!

The reason for His tears? It was the people’s blatant unbelief. You may think, “But these crowds were singing praises to Him, shouting hosannas. That doesn’t sound like unbelief to me.” Yet Scripture tells us Jesus knew what was in men’s hearts.

Jesus saw the payday of unbelief coming. And He prophesied to that crowd, “The days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of the thy visitation” (Luke 19:43–44, my italics).

There is a growing wrath in the hearts of wicked men against the very name of Jesus. All over the world, there is arising a red-hot hatred for God’s Word. The Bible is despised, mocked and cursed by ungodly men. I ask you: What is it about Jesus’ name that stirs up such anger by its mere mention? No name is so despised, yet there can be no salvation in any name but His. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

We know that Jesus’ name has always been hated by wicked men, but now that hatred has turned into a demonic rage. Christ’s name is slowly and subtly being erased from society, by legislative mandates in nations all over the globe.

I received word from a very reliable source about an astonishing development in the U.S. military. An attempt is being made to rule that no chaplain, Catholic or Protestant, can mention the name of Jesus Christ. The reasoning behind this is unbelievable: “We must have spiritual maturity in a pluralistic society.” What a deception! Think of it: first, forbidding any mention of the name of Jesus, and then saying it’s a matter of spiritual maturity. This is straight out of hell!

Why is there such rage against the Son of God? Why do wicked men shudder at the mention of His name? It is because of what Christ’s name represents—deliverance from sin. His name means freedom from the dominion of sin. It means death to the old, fallen, sinful nature, and entry into newness of life. It means power to forsake and deny all ungodly lusts and pleasures.

God’s Word tells us the destruction and blasphemy being brought about by man’s wrath won’t last much longer. “Surely the wrath of men shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain” (Psalm 76:10). How will this happen? Simply put, the more intense the wrath of men becomes, the more God will pour out His grace. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

Israel's crossing of the Jordan happened at harvest time. During that season, the banks of the river weren't just full, they were overflowing. Humanly speaking, it was the worst possible time to cross over.

The skeptics around Joshua surely would have scoffed, "You picked the wrong time, Joshua. We've got pregnant women, sick people, the elderly. This isn't of God."

Yet God does call us to things that are humanly and physically impossible. He looks at our situation and says, "The conditions are perfect for Me to move on behalf of My people. Now the world will see how I rejoice to supply all to My servants."

Right now you may be thinking, "God, I feel You leading me to make a tough decision. I know I don't have what it takes to pull this off." That's right where He wants you. In our weakness, God is made strong. And in our lack, our God is great. We say it is impossible, but with God at the center, nothing is impossible. “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26, ESV). 

Up to that point in their history, God had parted the water for Israel but this time He was asking them to step into the water first. Specifically, He commanded the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant into the rushing river by faith.

Imagine the skeptics' voices! "God has never led us to do this before. He has always parted the water for us. This isn't obeying Him, it's tempting Him!"

Even Joshua may have had his doubts. "Lord, I've been down this road before with You and I know how it works. You always part the waters first. Why would You have us step into this rushing, muddy water? It doesn't make sense."

It never matters how risky or challenging the path is that God has put before us. If we step in with faith, He'll part the water. And we can move across on dry land.

“Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters” (Isaiah 43:16, ESV).