Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped His feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. So, the sisters sent a message to Him: “Lord, the one You love is sick.” When Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after that, He said to His disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.” “Rabbi,” the disciples told Him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you’re going there again?” Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him.” He said this, and then He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m on my way to wake him up.” Then the disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.” Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought He was speaking about natural sleep. So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. I am glad for you that I was not there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
– John 11:1-15
Devotion
In one of His I AM statements, Jesus declared that He was “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). He proved it by raising Lazarus from the dead. This is a climactic story in the Gospel of John, occurring at the culmination of Jesus’ public ministry. The resurrection of Lazarus took place just a few weeks prior to Jesus’ final triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This greatest of miracles would push the religious leaders over the edge. They would now plot to have Jesus killed.
The Big Question
For how many days did Jesus linger before He set out for Lazarus’ village? Why is this significant? When Jesus said it was time for them to go back to Judea, how did the disciples react? Why? Jesus will claim to be “the resurrection and the life” before raising Lazarus from the dead. Why is this important?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.