Following after Jesus #92

Not long before that first Good Friday, in John 11 we find:

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he 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.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

In the flow of John's Gospel, this account follows right after Jesus' grand announcement in chapter 10: 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He spends the whole chapter describing how Jesus, the Son of God loves the sheep, caring about what is best for them, and the Son and Father love one another.  He then wraps up the paragraph by saying: 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” This is what is on Jesus' mind as he enters this event in John 11, and this is what was on John's mind as He recorded it. Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. For awhile that might seem in doubt, as Jesus delayed His arrival, Lazarus died, the women grieved, and his body was buried. But God's love was in motion the whole time. Jesus was still being the Good Shepherd, attentive to the needs of His sheep.  The disciples as well wondered about Jesus' plan - this suicide mission toward Jerusalem. But Jesus was still their Good Shepherd, who would lay down His life for His friends. All the while, He must have been thinking about what He would be doing, as He would be walking through the "valley of the shadow of death" that first Good Friday, yet knowing that He would "take up His life again."