When God Disappoints on Purpose
A study of John 11:1–44
John 11 begins with a problem that should have been solved quickly.
Lazarus is sick.
Jesus loves him.
The message reaches Jesus in time.
Everything in the story points toward an immediate miracle.
And then comes one of the most unsettling sentences in the Gospels:
“Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.”
This is not delay due to ignorance.
This is not delay due to inability.
This is deliberate.
Love Does Not Always Hurry
John is careful with his words. Before telling us Jesus delayed, he reminds us:
“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”
The delay is framed inside love.
That is deeply uncomfortable for anyone who equates love with speed, relief, or rescue. We instinctively believe that if God loves us, he will intervene quickly and clearly.
But Scripture refuses that equation.
Jesus allows the situation to worsen.
He allows hope to decay.
He allows death to arrive.
Not because he is absent, but because he is doing something larger than preventing pain.
Faith That Knows When God Should Act Is Still Immature Faith
Martha meets Jesus with a sentence that sounds theological and wounded at the same time:
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
She is not wrong.
She is just early.
This is one of the great pastoral moments in Scripture. Martha believes in Jesus’ power. She just cannot reconcile that power with his timing.
Many believers live here.
They believe God can.
They struggle that God didn’t.
Jesus does not correct Martha with a lecture. He moves the conversation from explanation to revelation.
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Not I will fix this later.
Not I promise better circumstances.
But I am.
Jesus Weeps — Not Because He Lacks Power
Shortest verse. Longest echo.
“Jesus wept.”
He weeps knowing the miracle is minutes away.
He weeps knowing death will be reversed.
He weeps knowing victory is certain.
Why?
Because divine power does not cancel human compassion.
Jesus does not stand above grief explaining it. He steps into it and absorbs it. This matters pastorally. God’s answer to suffering is not emotional distance—it is presence.
He does not rush tears away. He sanctifies them.
Resurrection Is Not Just About Life After Death
When Lazarus comes out, he is alive—but still bound.
Jesus’ final command is not “Live,” but “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Resurrection creates life.
Community restores freedom.
This is a quiet rebuke to individualistic faith. God raises the dead, but he uses people to remove grave clothes. Healing is often communal, slow, and messy—even after a miracle.
The Hard Truth This Story Teaches
Sometimes God delays not because he is absent, but because he is preparing a deeper revelation of himself.
If Jesus had arrived earlier, Lazarus would have been healed.
By arriving later, Jesus reveals something greater.
Not healer.
Resurrection.
Not problem-solver.
Lord of life and death.
A Word for Pastors and Leaders
This passage dismantles performance-driven ministry.
You cannot rush God’s timing without shrinking God’s glory.
You cannot demand explanations without missing revelation.
You cannot bypass grief without cheapening resurrection.
Some delays are not obstacles to faith.
They are invitations to deeper faith.
The Question the Text Leaves Us With
Do we trust God only when he meets our expectations—
or also when he rewrites them?
Lazarus’ story reminds us that God is rarely late.
But he is often unwilling to be small.