Flight Delay

SUMMARY

In this sermon on John 11, Karl Ihfe explores the story of Lazarus to remind us that God's timing, though often confusing, never fails us. Through Martha's honest cry — "Lord, if you had been here" — and Jesus' deliberate delay, Karl shows us that delays are not signs of God's disinterest, but invitations to deeper trust. What feels like a setback may actually be the stage God is setting for his greatest glory.

TRANSCRIPTION:

I was thinking today as you make your way over to John 11. You know, sometimes preachers have a tendency to present things as if they know all the answers. And while that's true for me, it's not always true for all preachers. But this morning, the passage we're going to jump into is deep waters. And I want you to know I know that because this is a passage that I've wrestled a lot with, and maybe some of you have as well.

And so we'll wrestle with it a little bit together, and I'm going to share a few reflections and thoughts on it. But I certainly. I want you to know it's not every thought that's ever been made on this passage, but it's a few that I hope will be helpful to us as we think about who God is calling us to be and this idea of staying grounded in him. When I was living in Austin, early on, I had gotten my license to practice marriage, family therapy, and I've got to keep up with my licensure. And so I was taking a flight from Austin to Denver.

And on the way, there was a big storm kind of moving through the area, Waco area. So our flight had to fly out west, kind of toward Abilene, kind of around the storm, and then back into DFW. When we landed, I recognized I had about 20 minutes before my next flight was about to take off. Those of you who have ever flown through DFW, you can see where this is going. Now, luckily, I didn't have to change terminals, but I did have to go from one terminal and kind of gate one or two, all the way to the other end of the same terminal.

Now, mind you, this is pre Skytram time. So I am running down the concourse. I am literally sprinting. And as I'm running up to the gate, the flight or the attendant, the gate attendant is closing the door. And so I scream, wait, wait, wait.

I'm supposed to be on that plane. Look, it's a connection. The flight out of Austin had to go all this way to get back, and I missed. Missed the flight. I've got to get on that plane.

I'm going to my conference. I've got to be there. And she says, sir, you're going to Denver. And I said, yes, that's why I've got to get on this plane. And she said, sir, that plane hasn't boarded yet.

The line is right here, okay? And she points. And there are 200 people just watching me as I'm going, please, no, let me on that lane. You know, there have been other times where I've made the connection. But I think we all know what it feels like to experience a flight delay or maybe even missing a flight.

Sometimes life feels that way, doesn't it? Where we thought we were going to make it. But it doesn't quite turn out that flight's been delayed. Maybe it was a door that we thought was going to be open and it closed. Maybe it was an opportunity that we thought was coming, but it passed us by.

Or a healing that we had been praying about that didn't happen. Or even a prayer that didn't get answered. Maybe it was a relationship we were hoping would we would discover and it never came. And so somewhere deep inside of us, there's this question that echoes in our hearts and in our minds. God, where were you?

God, what happened? I thought, how did it end up this way?

In our passage this morning in John 11, we encounter one of these stories, one of these moments. But it's not just learning how to deal with a delay or a setback. It's how do we deal with death and how do we deal with God's timing? How do we deal with his purpose? I think what we'll discover this morning is that what happens in this story, Jesus isn't being random.

He's actually revealing something to us. And so the truth I want us to hold on to this morning is that God's timing might confuse us, but it never fails us. So let's jump into this story as John shows us a few things. Number one, I think he's going to show us that the delay that we encounter with Jesus this morning, that delay was intentional. Now, Jesus, we're told in verse five, loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

And so when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. And then he said to his disciples, let's go back to Judea. Now, at first glance, this sounds kind of backwards, doesn't it? God loved them. Jesus loved them.

So he waited. You know, we expect love to move fast. We expect love to take the opportunity to jump in as quickly and as surely as it can, immediately. But Jesus doesn't react the way that we expect him to. He doesn't rush in to fix the situation.

Instead, he makes a deliberate choice to stay.

What we'll see is his delay wasn't an accident. It was intentional. One verse earlier, we're told Jesus told his disciples, this sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory, for God's glory. So that God's Son may be glorified through us, which tells us something important.

That this delay is not about neglect, it's about Revelation. That Jesus purpose goes much deeper. He's. He isn't just responding to a situation that's unfolding. He's actually orchestrating a sign.

In fact, if you've read through John's gospel before, you'll recognize this is that final sign before the cross, the moment where Jesus will reveal that he has the authority not only over sickness, but over death. If Jesus had gone immediately to help Lazarus, Lazarus would have been healed. But because he waited, Lazarus is going to be raised and God's going to get the glory. You see, sometimes God lets situations in our life move beyond what we can fix so that when he steps in, there's no confusion about who gets the glory. You know, the story isn't just about Lazarus.

It's also about Jesus, how he was constantly surprising and overturning expectations. So if we ask that question, why does Jesus delay? Why does he take his time? John tells us that he's trying to tie this moment into God's bigger story, his bigger plan. And if history is correct, and I think it is, Jesus was determined to do his followers, or rather his Father's will, not just respond to all the different demands and expectations of the people around him.

You know, often before an important decision was made, we are told in the Gospels that Jesus would go out into lonely places, out into the wilderness to pray and spend time listening to God. As John 11 opens, that's exactly where Jesus is. As chapter 10 ends and 11 opens, we discover Jesus is in the wilderness. So it makes sense that he would be spending some time praying. You know, he doesn't go when Mary and Martha send him word that the one you love is sick.

And he does go when his disciples say Jesus, didn't they just try to kill you? Are you sure you want to go now? In fact, at the end of the chapter, we're told, John tells us that the chief priests will declare, it is better for you that one man die for the people than the whole nation perish. This kind of foreshadow of what's to come on the cross. But when Jesus prays in verses 41 and 42, he's thanking God for hearing his prayers.

I can't help but think, and N.T. wright argues this, and I tend to agree with him, that that prayer wasn't just about that specific moment of raising Lazarus, but rather referring to that time he spent in the wilderness. God, I thank You, I thank you that you listened to my prayers, that you've heard my prayers. Prayers not only for Lazarus, but prayers for his own wisdom and guidance and his next steps. That somehow what God is doing in his great big plan is tied to this moment in Lazarus life.

That those events aren't disconnected, they're actually connected. In fact, we'll discover at the end of chapter 11 that this raising story, when he raises Lazarus, that's kind of the straw that breaks the camel's back. When it comes to the religious leaders of the day, they know they have to kill Jesus now. And so from this moment on, they're going to take his life. But even so, they're fulfilling this prophecy that the High priest Caiaphas had made.

We're told in verse 51 that Caiaphas did not say this prophecy on his own. But as high priest that year, he prophesied Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation, but also for the scattered children of God to bring them together and make them one. See, I think one of the things we learn is that Jesus isn't late. He's actually aligning this moment with God's bigger story. So if you're being made to wait, if you're being delayed, let me invite you to consider.

Delay does not mean disinterest. But God is at work and his love is often wrapped up in waiting. So if he's making you wait, perhaps he's trying to build something bigger. Perhaps he's connecting your story to God's bigger plan. And the invitation is, would you keep trusting?

You see, because even when we don't understand God's timing, trust is still possible. Verse 17, we hear. On Jesus arrival, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now, Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him.

But Mary stayed at home. Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you ask.

Martha's words. Lord, if you've been here, Lord, if you had been here, honest and real, it's the place that many of us have lived, haven't we? God, if you just. If you'd just been here, things wouldn't have gone this way. If you showed up sooner, if you had a different answer, God, if you had done something.

We know Martha's pain and what she says next is even more powerful. But even now. I know, but even now, that's faith right there, friends. You see, faith is not the absence of questions. Faith is holding onto God in the middle of them.

When understanding isn't possible, trust still is. See, Martha is living in this tension, isn't she? This tension between disappointment and trust. God, where are you? What is happening?

And Jesus meets her right there. I think it's amazing. He doesn't rebuke her. He doesn't question or belittle her. Instead, we're told, he reveals himself.

Jesus said to her, to Martha, your brother will rise again. Martha answered, I know he'll rise again at the resurrection, on the last day. And Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they die. And whoever lives by believing in me will never die.

Do you believe this? This question that Martha gets? It's also our question, do we believe this? See, Martha believed in resurrection, but in the future, she knew that one day God would come and he would raise up all those who were in him. But Jesus shifts that understanding.

Resurrection isn't just something God does someday. Resurrection is a person. It's a man. It's Jesus. Martha thought resurrection was a date on God's calendar.

At some point, Jesus says, no, it's standing right here, looking at you face to face. It's one of the clearest moments in scripture where God's future hope, his promise of new life, and his defeat of death come crashing into the present. In Jesus. It's this reminder that it's okay to grieve the delay, that God can handle our honesty. He handled Martha's, and he too can handle ours.

It's also a reminder that grief is not the opposite of trust. It takes trust to be honest with Jesus, doesn't it? And Martha gives us a beautiful illustration of that. You see, trust is choosing to believe in God's creation character, even when you don't understand his timing. And Jesus shows we don't have to pretend.

We don't have to try to manage impressions or think or ignore even what's going on inside. He says, stay connected, keep trusting. Because God uses delays for his glory. You know, by the time Jesus arrives, we're told Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. Now, in that day, and certainly in ours today, when someone's been gone for four days, it's over, it's done, it's finished.

They're not coming back. That's exactly when Jesus steps in. Because sometimes God waits until it's impossible, so that what he does is unmistakable. But before the miracle, something else really significant happens. Told shortest verse in the Bible, Jesus wept.

Kind of an odd verse stuck in there. He knows what's about to happen. He knows what he's about to do. He knows Lazarus is coming out of that grave. And still he weeps.

Why does he weep? In fact, he weeps so demonstratively that the Jews around who have come to comfort Mary and Martha say, see how he loved him. And it wasn't just some tear. It was a weeping. This brokenness.

You see, this is not a picture of a detached miracle worker. This is God in the flesh, standing on the precipice of human suffering and entering into it fully. Then what's even more is there's this sense that Jesus isn't just sad. We're told he's deeply troubled. He's troubled because he's facing the great enemy of humanity.

Death. Right? Jesus doesn't avoid death. He confronts it. In just a few chapters, he's going to defeat it.

But here, in this moment, he gives us a preview of what's to come. John tells us, once again, more deeply moved, Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. Take away the stone, he said. But Lord, said Martha, the sister of the dead man, by this time there's a bad odor, for he has been in there four days.

Then Jesus said, did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me. But I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.

And when he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. And the dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. And Jesus said to them, take off the grave clothes and let him go.

The man who's been dead for four years. Excuse me, four days, he walks out wrapped in grave clothes. But he's alive now. Don't miss this. This miracle is not just about Lazarus.

It certainly is. But this miracle is a sign. It's a sign pointing forward. From this moment on, religious leaders are going to decide Jesus has to die. This kind of work, this kind of miracle, it can't be ignored.

What we learn here in John 11 is that Lazarus walks out of his tomb so that Jesus could walk into his. This Miracle reveals a number of things. Certainly that Jesus had authority over death, that God's future resurrection, it's breaking into the present and also reveals the path to the cross is now unavoidable. So as we leave this morning church, may we remember that our delays may be the stage for God's glory. So let's not quit before he shows up.

Because what feels like in the end a delay may actually just be a setup. You know, the story, as it turns out, isn't just about one man being raised from the dead. It's about God stepping into time, into our pain, confronting death and his future, breaking into the present. It reminds us that God is never rushed. He's never random.

Delays aren't just disappointments. They're invitations. They're invitations to trust, to trust deeply, to learn to see more clearly, to know Jesus more fully. Because even when the clock runs out that this isn't where the cowboy rides away, but rather this is where we discover he is leading us home. So this week I invite you to have and ask God this question.

What's been your God, if you'd only been here moment, what's been one of those moments in your life recently? Would you be honest and share that with Jesus? He can handle it. He can take your honesty. He will listen and he'll meet you right there.

But don't stop right there. Take one more step. Would you ask this follow up question, God, what are you revealing about yourself to me in this moment?

What might you be revealing to me in this delay? As I wait, as I hold on to my questions and trust in you, God, what is it that you want me to know about you? Because God's not just trying to fix your situation, he's trying to reveal himself to you. The question is, will we trust him enough to ask God? That's my hope and prayer for us this week as we think about those moments in our life that are so important to us, those moments when we've come face to face with the kingdom of this world where sin has led to death.

Whether that's a death of someone we care about or a death of a relationship or an opportunity or a job or a circumstance or a situation. Maybe it's to a dream. Yeah, we come face to face with the reality that we cannot fix it. There's nothing we can do to change it. And God, if you just, if you'd been there and if you'd just been there, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

But even now, God, we know even now that God will do for you whatever you ask. Jesus, would you be real to us this week? Would you meet us in these moments that I know some of us are facing head on? And God, some of us, we may not be facing them right now, but we will soon.

Those if you'd been here moment, God, would you help us to get honest with you this week? If we're living in that space, God, would you help us to bring those to you just the way that Martha did, to know that you can handle any question, any concern, any fear, any worry, any anxiety? God, we can cast it on you because you love us, you care for us. That even in the midst of this delay, as we may not understand your timing, God, we know that we can trust you.

We can trust you, Jesus, because you gave your life for us. You were willing not to sit idly by, but you broke into our world, you came, you entered into our pain and you were willing to go to the cross for us. So, God, in the midst of our delay, would you meet us as you did? Martha, would you reveal yourself more fully to us as we hear that question once again? Do we believe this, God, would you help us to answer yes, with a bold faith and a trusting heart?

And God, would you help us to take our next step? God, for those who are in that midst of that moment, may we, as your church, rally around and support and encourage them, help them to discover the life that is truly life. God, thank you for believing and trusting and loving us enough to be your ambassadors here on earth that we might live more fully in your kingdom. So God, would you help us this week to be a light and a witness bearing truth that you are the God who can bring life out of death, that there is no situation or circumstance in which you cannot call as you did to Lazarus, to come out of the grave? God, would you help us?

We pray in Jesus name. Amen.