John 11:4, 40 - If you believed
But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4)
Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)
When the messengers came to Jesus to tell him that Lazarus was deathly ill, he replied, “This sickness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4) Jesus is saying that when he raises Lazarus from death, both God and the Son of God will be glorified. They will be shown to be as amazing, powerful, majestic, awe-inspiring, and worthy of worship as they in fact are. That is what will happen when he raises Lazarus.
But later, when he is there at the tomb, just about to raise Lazarus, Jesus adds something in his question to Martha. “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40) Jesus introduces the phrase “if you believed.” In other words, even when Jesus raises Lazarus from death in a few minutes, Martha will only see God’s glory if she has faith. God will in fact be glorified (see 11:4), but Martha will not see God’s glory without faith. It is Martha’s faith that will determine what she sees in the miracle Jesus is about to perform.
We can see the stark difference between faith and non-faith after Jesus raises Lazarus. There were a bunch of others there when it happened. But only some put their faith in Jesus in a personal or spiritual sense. “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done” (John 11:45-46). All of these Jewish people who were there for the funeral and mourning saw what Jesus did. And it says that “many of the Jews” believed in him. But some of them who went and reported Jesus’ miracle as if it were some kind of crime, even though they also “had seen what he did.” In other words, in a factual sense, they believed that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. They had seen him do it. It is the very fact of Jesus’ raising Lazarus which they are reporting to the Pharisees. But, even their eye-witnessing of this astounding miracle did not lead them to believe in Jesus as Lord or as the Christ. They could only see Jesus as an evil person who must be stopped. They certainly believed that Jesus raised Lazarus. But, they did not believe in Jesus in any sense. Their belief in what Jesus did had no influence on who they believed Jesus was.
So, it is faith in Jesus that makes the difference.
Returning to John 11:4, God will be glorified when Jesus raises Lazarus. And Jesus, the Son of God, will be glorified through this miracle. But, only those who are spiritually receptive to God and to Jesus will, through that miracle, see the glory of God.
It’s kind of like the sun. It is always shining, but we do not always see it. We may be indoors or asleep or blind or simply have our eyes closed. But it is always shining. God shines with glory. The Son of God shines with glory. Do I see him?
Give me a heart of faith to see your glory, Jesus, Son of God. Shine in my heart, in my mind, in my imagination, in my dreams, in my life. Begin to shine your light in me as brightly as you in fact are.