Being the Cause

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

BEING THE CAUSE

John 12:9-11

9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

NIV

It was very tempting to move right along to the “Hosanna in the Highest entrance" of Jesus into Jerusalem, which are in the next verses. However, there is this idea if the Chief priests wanting to kill Lazarus as well as Jesus. Now come on, this is getting out of hand. Just because someone received a miracle from Jesus, they have to die. How were they going to accomplish the murder of Lazarus under the Law? What did he do that warranted death? Just because he was the reason many Jews were putting their faith in Jesus, they wanted him dead. Wouldn’t that make him, even more, a martyr and cause even more to follow Jesus? Consider over the years how some people have been put to death because of their faith. But it seems more than just because of their faith. All of the apostles, except for John were killed. Peter was hung on a cross, only upside down. Paul had been mistreated many times, tarred and feathered, so to speak, then evidentially imprisoned until he was killed. But it was more than about their faith. If they had kept quite who would have known they were followers of Jesus. We know Stephen was stoned because of his faith. Then men like Polycarp, Tyndale, Wycliffe and Bonhoeffer and more recently Jim Elliot and his friends, murdered while trying to reach a remote group of people with the gospel. It is unlikely we would be put to death in this country because we are Christians, at least in these current times. Who knows what our future holds. But it is not just about being a Christian. Lazarus was someone who caused people to believe, and so were all those other we mentioned. Are we someone who causes other people to believe in Jesus? It seems we spend more if not all of our concern about how well we live as holy people. It seems all our efforts are about us, rather than being a cause for someone to believe in Jesus. Do we think they will just believe on their own? How did we come to believe? Someone told us about Jesus. There it is. Maybe if we were a whole lot more vocal about all the miracles Jesus did in our lives, people might just believe in Jesus. But then we also might incur the wrath of others and experience a social type of death, being shunned by people. It seems there has always been and will always be those who hate to hear the truth and what to shut the mouths who speak it. We will not be silenced, we must speak up, and we must live out our faith out loud, hoping to be the cause for someone to follow Jesus. We are not much different than Lazarus. We were dead, and now we are alive. Let us be that cause for people to believe.