Perspectives: John

Bethan is a Kids Pastor in Erdington and runs sensory music classes for babies and toddlers at Colmore Coffee, GS St. Luke’s.

John 11:1-4 (NIV)
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)  So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 

This week, we'll look at John chapter 11, which details Jesus’ miraculous resurrection from the dead of his close friend Lazarus. This chapter of John has a lot going on: there are different locations, bold theological statements, a tumult of different human emotions and, of course, a man being raised from the dead after four days in a tomb. 

What we are going to focus on, however, is what God might have to say to us through the varied cast of characters we meet. In the Scriptures, as in life, there is a lot we can learn by putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes and trying to see things from other people’s perspective.

For the next four days, we’ll be looking through the eyes of the seemingly clueless disciples, Mary and Martha, in their grief and the cynical Pharisees, and we’ll explore how Lazarus might have felt before and after his death and resurrection. 

If you have a little time today, read all or part of John chapter 11. Try to enter the story in your imagination: the place, the sounds, the emotions. Ask God to help you put yourself in the character’s shoes. What moment stands out to you? Who do you relate to most in this story? 

Prayer - Loving God, help us get a fresh perspective on John chapter 11 this week and receive something new from you.