I like to share my thoughts on theological and philosophical topics. I am also a student working through an MDiv and occasionally share papers on the blog. If you have any questions on a paper or blog post, send me a message! I’d love to talk with you about it.
God and Delayed Justice: John 11
John’s gospel is actually riddled strategically with a message of hope when it feels like God is ironically acting against your best interests.
Jesus begins in the narrative by purposefully being absent where he is needed (11:6-7). As the narrative continues, his involvement deepens, his responses become more personal and hopeful (23-36), and a once seemingly distant God now takes on the suffering of the people (38-44).
We’ve all asked the same question that the Jewish community was asking? “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?” (11:37).
God, you’ve done harder things. Couldn’t you have fixed this?
The Lazarus miracle emphasizes that God’s purposes are not hindered by either Jesus’ delay or the reality of Lazarus’s decay; rather, these very elements are integral to the outworking of God’s sovereign will. John presents Jesus’ delay not as negligence, but as a profound expression of divine love for Lazarus and his family, and a day is coming when He will make all of it right again