How did He arrive at that kind of revelation about Himself? And what is its significance to us? What lessons can we apply to our own walk with the Lord?
Lesson No. 1: Take hold of the situation by faith and declare the end result that will glorify God.
Let’s look into John 11 and watch Jesus skillfully take the force of faith and master the spirit of death.
"Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was" (verses 1-6).
Notice in verse 4 that Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death.” That sure was news to the devil! Clearly his plan was certain death for Lazarus which would cause doubt and division among Jesus’ friends and followers. But when Jesus spoke those faith words He stopped the devices of the devil cold. He said, “This sickness is...for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” So He not only stopped the natural course of sickness in Lazarus, He redirected it to a different outcome with a different purpose.
Lesson No. 2: Get understanding of God’s purpose from Scripture and by the Spirit. Then follow love until that purpose is fulfilled.
Verse 3 describes Mary and Martha’s image of Jesus’ love for Lazarus. They said, “he whom thou lovest.” Lost to us in English are the different meanings of love revealed by the Greek words phileo and agape. Phileo, the Greek word for love used in this verse means, “to be fond of or have affection for—finding something appealing or meaningful about the person loved.”
But verse 5 reports that Jesus had agape for Lazarus. This is love on a totally different level. It is on God’s level because God is Love. God is agape! This love is purpose driven, not attraction driven. God has a purpose for mankind—to be His family. So when Adam’s sin separated him from God, God focused on the purpose for which He created man. And out of His agape love He sent Jesus.
If God had been operating in phileo love when Adam could no longer fellowship with Him, He would have abandoned Adam and all his offspring. But agape never loses sight of purpose, and the highest purpose is to glorify God. God could only be glorified if His family was.
BVOV : 23
