I remember driving into work, turning through the parking garage, just prior to finding my parking spot when I heard John 11:40 over my car speaker.

John 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

As soon as I heard it, I thought – What if you didn’t believe? Was it not just a few verses earlier that the Word spoke of the Jews who were with her?

John 11:33 ESV – When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

What about the Jews who had come with Martha ? They saw Lazarus come out of the tomb. Did they see the glory of God? What did those who did not believe see?

John made sure I understood the reason Jesus performed this miracle in front of Mary, Martha and the Jews who had come to the tomb with Jesus and the disciples.

John 11:42 ESV – I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

His intent was for those who were present to believe that God the Father had sent Jesus. He was (and is) seeking others. The raising of Lazarus produced believers. They saw the resuscitation of Lazarus, and believed.

John 11:45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

Yet the question remains. What did those who did not believe and were present see, when Lazarus came out of that tomb? John did not keep me hanging in mystery about my question.

John 11:46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

They saw opportunity. A chance to find favor with religious leaders. They may have been plants, moles in the crowd that the Pharisees planted, but that is just my wild imagination running away with my thoughts.

What is clear is that those who were mourning the death of Lazarus moments previously, were now on the doorstep of the Pharisees, ratting on Jesus. This information was the final straw, and John informs us that the plot to kill Jesus was formalized.

Isn’t this the nature of faith shown in this simple question? To believe is to see glory of God. To not believe is to see opportunity for self, even though a miracle is obvious to all. The character of faith is to look away from self and to look to God. The character of non-faith, or unbelief is to look away from God and to look for self.

Note that the works produced from this act of unbelief was death. The Jews information of Lazarus to the Pharisees provided the last straw, the final motivation to plan the death of Jesus. The die was cast for the final Glory of God to be sacrificed in full view of the world, and to be raised up to never die again, and to provide a free and full salvation for all who would believe.

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