The Light in the Delay

Our story begins in a small home in a village called Bethany. A man named Lazarus is very sick. He is dying. His two sisters, Mary and Martha, are frightened and worried. They love their brother deeply.

So they do the most natural thing in the world: they send a message to Jesus.

But notice the words they choose. They do not say: “Lord, a good man is sick.” They do not say: “Lord, someone who goes to the temple every week needs you.”

They say something much simpler and much more beautiful:

That is their whole prayer. Six words. No long explanation. No list of reasons why God should help. Just: “The one you love.”

When Jesus hears the news about Lazarus, He says something surprising:

Then the Gospel of John tells us something even more surprising. Jesus loves Mary, Martha, and Lazarus very much. And because He loves them — He waits. He stays where He is for two more days.

To our human ears, this makes no sense. If you love someone who is sick, you go to them immediately. You do not wait. But Jesus is not working on our schedule. He is working on God’s schedule.

Why Does God Sometimes Make Us Wait?

Many of us know what it feels like to wait:

• Waiting for the nurse to come.
• Waiting for a phone call from family.
• Waiting for a prayer to be answered.
• Waiting for pain to ease.

Waiting is hard. Waiting can feel like God has forgotten us. But this passage teaches us something important:

Jesus was not being careless. He was being intentional. He allowed the situation to become worse — even impossible — so that when He acted, the miracle would be unmistakable. No one would be able to say, “Well, perhaps Lazarus would have recovered on his own.”

The disciples are nervous. The last time Jesus was near Jerusalem, people tried to throw stones at Him. Going back seems dangerous.

But Jesus answers them with a beautiful image — the image of sunlight and walking in the day:

What is Jesus saying? He is saying: “I am the Day. I am the Light. As long as you walk with Me, you will not stumble in the dark.”

The Darkness We Sometimes Feel

In a care home, “darkness” can feel very real. It can feel like:

• The darkness of a memory that is fading.
• The darkness of losing a friend.
• The darkness of pain in the middle of the night.
• The darkness of wondering if God still sees you.

But here is the good news. The prophet Malachi called Jesus the “Sun of Righteousness.” A sun that never sets. A sun that never goes behind the clouds for good.

When Jesus finally tells the disciples it is time to go to Bethany, He uses a very gentle word for what has happened to Lazarus:

The disciples misunderstand. They think Jesus is talking about ordinary sleep — a nap! But Jesus is talking about something much deeper. He is choosing the word “sleep” on purpose.

Why Does Jesus Call Death “Sleep”?

Think about what sleep means:

• Sleep is not the end. You wake up from sleep.
• Sleep is not frightening. You rest during sleep.
• Sleep ends in morning. Morning comes after the night.

For the person who trusts in Jesus, death has been changed. It is no longer the last word. It is a “falling asleep” in the arms of a God who will one day say, just as He said to Lazarus: “Wake up. Come out.”

Jesus is not afraid of death. He is the One who stands at the bedside. He is the One who speaks the word that wakes the sleeper. And the Bible promises that when He wakes us, it will be to a world where:

It is the 5th Sunday of Lent. We are almost at the end of the Lenten journey. We are close to Good Friday. We are close to Easter.

We are a little like the disciples on the dusty road to Bethany. We may be confused by the timing. We may be grieving what we have lost. We may be tired from the long walk.

But take heart.

He is coming to turn our “sleep” into a Great Awakening — into a morning of joy that has no end.

As you go about your week, remember this: you are not simply a resident of this home. You are a citizen of His Kingdom. And the King is walking right beside you.