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John 11 – The Problem of Pain – Spiritual Disconnects
When reading John 11 we can empathize with those that hurt because we see them suffering the same pain we do. That pain is not just physical or emotional. There is spiritual pain also. We can see this in what I am calling “the confused conviction” of Martha and Mary. We have all asked, “Does God care?”
This spiritual suffering is caused by a disconnect. Let me explain what I mean by “disconnect.” A “disconnect” is that separation between two realities that we as people, and as Christians, strive to “reconnect” or “connect” for the first time. That struggle is found within the dual paradoxical truths that we in the world but not of the world (Jn.17.15-16). It is this struggle, this life struggle, that is the source of much of our pain and suffering.
Physical and Spiritual Reality (vv.25-26)
John 11:25-26 NASB Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, (26) and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Physically we live, and then we die. Spiritually, we have died and now we live. The physical realm mirrors the spiritual. The dual worlds within which we live are physical and spiritual realities. The sinful world around us, and the spiritual world of the kingdom. The physical world inhabited by our flesh, and the spiritual world of our souls. Connecting both troubled the Gnostics of 2000 years ago. Connecting both troubles the monastic mindset of today.
Hope in Future and Pain of Present (vv.21,24)
John 11:21, 24 NASB (21) Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. (24) Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
It is the hope of the future that eases the pain of the present. But the pain in the here and now is just real as the future reward.
What God Had Done and What God Can Do (v.37)
John 11:37 NASB But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”
The amazing aspect of the former miracle is that “since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of the a person born blind” (Jn.9:32). The friends of Martha and Mary believed that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’ death. There is even a hint of blame directed towards Jesus.
What God Can Do and What God Will Do (v.21-22, 40)
John 11:21-22,40 NASB (21) Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. (22) “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” (40) Jesus *said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
God in the flesh had the power and the right to prevent the death of Lazarus. But to do so would have prevented something more glorious. Seeing the unseen because it has not happened yet is often the source of much of our pain and suffering.
What God Can Do and What We Think God Can Do (v.37)
John 11:37 NASB But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”
The friends of Martha and Mary believed Jesus had healed a blind man, something that had never been done. But somehow they did not believe Jesus could resurrect Lazarus, something that Jewish history had already witnessed with the great prophets Elijah and Elisha. Not believing what God can do is often a source of painful disconnect.
God’s Timetable and Man’s Timetable (vv.6-7,21,32,43-44)
John 11:6-7 NASB So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. (7) Then after this He *said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
John 11:21,23 NASB “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
John 11:43-44 NASB When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” (44) The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
One of the most frustrating, and yet necessary aspects of belief in God in found in the command to “wait on the Lord.” Waiting is submitting ourselves to God’s timetable. Notice the temporal shift in the triumphal words of Jesus – I am (present) the resurrection and the life; he who believes (present) in Me shall (future) live even if he dies” (Jn.11:25)
Pain and suffering is real. It is lessened by connecting these “disconnects” but is can only be partially connected until all is made whole. We live in the world, but not of the world. We live in pain and in hope.
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