Did He Mean to Say That?

I'm not sure he realized what he was saying.

This week we studied the story of Lazarus in John 11. So much of that story revolves around Jesus' decision to stay in Judea an additional 2 days, a delay that ultimately resulted in the death of Lazarus, brother of Mary and Martha and beloved friend of Jesus. Upon revealing to the disciples that Lazarus had passed, Jesus summoned the disciples to accompany him to Bethany, a trip that was perilous in light of Jesus' enemies in that area who had tried to stone him. There was also much about this trip that now seemed pointless since Lazarus was already dead. Wasn't it Jesus who had previously said, "Let the dead bury their own dead"???

That's when he said what he said:

 

"Let us also go that we may die with him." (Thomas the Twin, John 11:16)

 

"What did you mean by that, Thomas?" This statement has always puzzled me. This is the first of 3 statements from Thomas in John's account. All three times Thomas gets a few lines in this drama they are unique to say the least, as evidenced by his encounter with the risen Christ that earns him the title, "Doubting Thomas." It's hard not to read the skepticism of John 20 into this statement to his fellow disciples. Was he being skeptical? Was he being sarcastic? Was he being pessimistic? This statement may have been a combination of all three. Upon further reflection, I'm not sure he realized what he was saying, however, it was a mouth-full.

Jesus' raising of Lazarus would be the last straw for those that opposed him. John 11 concludes with the opponents of Jesus plotting his arrest and execution. Ironically, the raising of Lazarus results in the death of Jesus. Jesus' promise that this "sickness will not end in death, but it is for God's glory…" is prophetic. God will be glorified through the raising of Lazarus, but infinitely more glory is displayed in the death and resurrection of Jesus – events made possible by Jesus' ill-advised trip to Bethany.

Whether he knew it or not, Thomas is inviting us to experience the death and resurrection of Jesus. Let us go and "die" with Christ.
I wasn't sure why a professor wanted to read a portion of my paper out loud, but that's what happened one day after we had turned in a final project in a class on the Synoptic Gospels. In the paper, I had offered a few comments on an enigmatic statement of Jesus and hadn't given that section of the paper a 2^nd thought – that is until our professor decided to pour effusive praise on my exposition of the text and commend my "creative approach." To make a long story short, that which the professor thought was so great about my paper was actually the complete opposite of what I had intended. Thanks to my poor writing, I conveyed in the paper a polar opposite of what I had intended in my mind. I got an "A" on the paper. However, I was reminded that my academic skills and golf game could both be described by this simple adage: "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then."

Like Thomas, I had no idea what I was actually saying. The 20^th Century Martyr, Dietrich Bonheoffer said, "when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." I wonder if he ever studied Thomas in John 11? It sure looks like it. Whether Thomas knew it or not, that's essentially what he says to his fellow disciples and to us: "Let us also go that we may die with him."
Following Jesus couldn't get any clearer than that.