Recently, when diving deeper into the Bible story of Christ Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (see John 11), I found myself valuing important details that I had overlooked before, one being that Jesus’ friendship toward Lazarus was different than we might expect of friendships today.
Jesus’ love for Lazarus included seeing his spiritual selfhood as permanent, intact, and as perfect as God, the creator of that selfhood. Jesus honestly and completely recognized Lazarus as God’s image and likeness, and this was how he loved him.
When Jesus received news that Lazarus was sick and dying, he was a day’s journey away from where Lazarus was. There wasn’t really any time to lose, but Jesus still chose to wait two days before starting that journey. I’ve often wondered why he waited. I think one reason is because Jesus knew that he did not need to be with Lazarus to know or witness Lazarus’ spiritual perfection. From this story, I’m reminded of the importance of acknowledging God’s ever-presence and recognizing that healing is always taking place whether we’re in a specific location or not.
