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5-Glory (John 11:1–12:50)
- Baylor University Press
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107 = 5 Glory (John 11:1–12:50) After all the focus on not seeing, John 11 and 12 turn back to the inner circle of those who are willing to have their eyes opened, who wait expectantly even if all is not clear yet. The central focus here is the raising of Lazarus from the dead—the last sign. Raising Lazarus quite literally demonstrates what Jesus has come to accomplish. Life is dwelling with God, seeing him, taking him in, and resting—all of which the raising of Lazarus pictures. What is added to the discussion now is that Jesus will accomplish this—raise the dead to life with God—through his own death. All of the elements of this sequence point forward toward that. It is a difficult thing to see, difficult because we are blind to its necessity. But when its necessity dawns, as it does for the poets I turn to here, his death is seen as glory. Jesus is, in these chapters, laying out in advance this notion of glory, preparing us to see and understand, when it is finally revealed. Lazarus, 11:1-53 John begins with the fact that Lazarus of Bethany, brother of Mary and Martha, is sick. Mary, he tells us, leaping ahead of himself, is the one “who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair” (11:2), some days in the future. By referring to Jesus as “the Lord” and speaking to us as if we had already heard the story of Mary and appreciated its significance , John writes as if we were part of the inner circle of those who had been stirred and drawn toward the words of Jesus, rather than repelled or baffled by them. Whether that is true or not, it allows John to adopt a different tone, explaining, pointing forward, anticipating, inviting us to consider ourselves 108 John in the Company of Poets as among those who understood. The poets I consider in this chapter pick up on this tone of voice, responding to the Gospel as if from within its embrace. The sisters of Lazarus send word to Jesus that “he whom You love is sick” (11:3). Jesus, who is some days’ journey away, receives the news and tells his disciples, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it” (11:4). This is of course still quite mysterious , but it is exactly what the reader is about to see—God’s glory unfolded as his Son overcomes the powers of death. Jesus “loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus,” John continues, and then adds, “When therefore He heard that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer in the place where He was” (11:6). This gets our attention. Jesus stayed two more days before beginning his journey to Bethany—out of love. Letting those two days pass makes it clear that raising Lazarus is not an improvised response to an intervention gone bad but a deliberate sign, planned in advance and performed out of love. Loving Mary and Martha, Jesus waits two days, assuring their brother’s death, in order to show them his glory, the greatest gift he can give them. The days pass and Jesus tells his disciples that now it is time to travel to Bethany. Fearfully, they remind him that the Jewish leaders, clustered near Jerusalem, are seeking to kill him. He responds that as long as they walk in his light, their footing will be sure and they will not stumble. What he is about to do, he tells them, is something both very simple and almost impossible to comprehend: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep” (11:11). They at first take this literally, but Jesus of course means something much more radical: “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him” (11:14-15). This all along is what he has been calling them to believe—that he has the power to overcome death, leading them out of exile into the light of God’s presence. This will be the culmination of all his signs and a turning point of the Gospel. They arrive in Bethany and are informed that Lazarus has been in the tomb four days...