John 11:1–4 (NASB 2020)

¹ Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” ⁴ But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

John Chapter 11 Verse 11 says now there was a certain man who was sick Lazarus in the village of Marianne her sister mother so the sisters sent word to Jesus saying, “Lord behold he whom you love is sick.” When Jesus heard this he said the sickness is not to end in death but for the glory of God so that the son of God may be glorified by it.

Now this is very significant. Jesus talked like he’s so sure that Lazarus who was sick would not die. The question is how does he know? I would analyze it this way, Jesus it’s not about being sure, Jesus is about being the author of life. Jesus did not have to second guess what’s going to happen to Lazarus. In essence Jesus got to decide what is going to happen to Lazarus. This is very significant because it deals with the predestination of God and the sovereignty of God. You see in Genesis chapter one when God created the heavens and the earth, he came to the creation of man.

Genesis 1:26 (NASB 2020)

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.”

Moses wrote this that God said “let us make men in our image”. Who is us here? Who is our image? He can’t be talking about God talking to angels let’s make man in our image, because angels are only created being, and God is the creator. So it must be God talking to someone on par or inequality with he himself!

And that is God the Father talking to the God the Son and to God the Holy Spirit. Then the words let us make man in our image would make sense because Father Son and Holy Spirit are all equal in the Trinitarian godhead therefore they are the same. So it makes sense that God said let us make man in our image. Angels has no power to make men. They themselves are created beings like men. God cannot be talking to angels let us make men, no!

So Jesus spoke into being what’s going to happen to Lazarus. In fact after hearing the request to go to heal him, Jesus intentionally stayed two more days on his journey to see Lazarus. And that exactly accomplished his purpose. Because by that time Lazarus has been dead for four days by the time Jesus got there. We have to understand Jesus is the author of life. Have you heard the story of a group of people debating what Shakespeare means in his very profound deep literature in a room, imagine if Shakespeare walks right into the room and told everyone that this is what he means in his literature in his story. I’m telling you the debate is over, it is settled. Why? Because the author of the literature or story has just walked into the room. In the same way Jesus is the author of life, he is not just a helper of life, or healer of life. He writes our story. That’s why the word history is really His story.

I want to encourage you today; how important it is to see the absolute sovereignty and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus intentionally waited until Lazarus gone dead, so that it gives him an opportunity to be glorified, so that God can be glorified because Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the death. Next story I will share more but today be encouraged to know every time we pray to our God, he listens and he’s never surprised, he knows exactly what to do, in fact he determines the story, the overall big level scheme picture. He does not determine the finite details of our life of course, but he sets the destiny, the outcome of the world and our lives in this world.

Praise be to God in Christ Jesus, Amen.