Stroll through Scripture for February 22, 2026

Based on John 11:1-44

This story is rich in so many ways.  It provides so much depth and links to many other parts of the Gospel.

The linkage starts right at the beginning telling us who Lazarus is along with Mary and Martha.  Verse 2 tells us that Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. The only problem is that this hasn’t taken place yet.  It will happen in chapter 12.  John is preparing us for what will happen to Jesus, just as Mary was preparing Jesus for what was to happen.  And the tie here is Lazarus – a man who dies and is raised up in resurrection. 

As the passage moves on, we hear Jesus talking about going back to Judea.  The disciples remind Jesus about almost being stoned to death.  These events are recorded in both John 8 and 10.  But Jesus decides that it is time to go so that, like his interaction with the man born blind in John 9, here too, might show who Jesus is.  

It’s worth remembering that the Gospel of John has a core message that belief in Jesus brings a type of spiritual enlightenment.  This starts right off in John 1: “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.”  In John 8, Jesus identifies himself as the “Light of the World.”  This light transforms believers offering clarity and revelation of truth.  

Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead and in the tomb for four days already – which is a significant reference.  According to Jewish tradition, it was believed that the soul hovers near the body for three days following death.  Jesus specifically comes after that time period in order to show his power over death – something that he will show later in the Gospel with his own death and resurrection.  

One of the most powerful parts of this passage is showing Jesus weeping.  It’s one of the rare glimpses that we get of Jesus being fully human, feeling emotion.  And again, it’s important.  Resurrection isn’t a rewind.  It doesn’t cause us to skip over death.  Death still happens.  Jesus’ weeping shows that in order to get to resurrection, one must go through death.  Death isn’t just a physical thing.  Death brings sorrow, loss, pain, and more.  The community has been changed – what once was, is no more.  And resurrection doesn’t negate any of that.  I’ve been known to say that death serves a purpose – to get in our face in a way we can’t avoid, and tells us point blank that we are not in control.  Resurrection doesn’t put us in control either.  Lazarus died, resurrection doesn’t change that.  But resurrection is God’s declaration that death doesn’t get the final say.  

What’s so interesting about this story is what comes after it.  In John 12:9-11, the chief priests plot to kill Lazarus along with Jesus, because of his resurrection causing many Jews to believe in Jesus.  Humanity struggles deeply with the notion that it is not in control.   It struggles with the notion of death telling us that we are not in control.  It struggles resurrection.  History shows how radical resurrection actually is. 

Questions for further reflection:

• When you read that Jesus wept, what significance is that for you?
• John shows an ugly reality of humanity – the constant questioning of who Jesus is and not accepting him for who he is and what he calls on followers to be like and do.  How does this recognition impact how we live faithfully?