Getting back to the situation with
Lazarus, one can see that Jesus did in fact say, “This sickness will not lead
to death.” However, just a few verses later, after the two days of delay
in His going to see Lazarus, Jesus tells His disciples that “Our friend Lazarus
has fallen asleep. But I am going there to awaken him” (John
11:11b). Because of His disciples’ reported confusion about what Jesus
was attempting to communicate to them, Jesus clarifies His meaning and says,
“Lazarus has died” (11:14b). This would seem to run contrary to His
previous statement, but one must keep an eye on the bigger picture. Thus,
to this He adds, “and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you
may believe. But let us go to him” (11:15).
Here again, the reader is
presented with another question to consider. Did Jesus expect that His
raising of Lazarus from the dead would finally cause His disciples to believe
that He was Who He seemed to be indicating that He was, namely, Israel’s
Messiah (King=Son of Man & Son of God)? In similarity to the first
answer proffered in this study, this is unlikely, as if these disciples had not
yet come to believe in the strong possibility that He was in fact the
long-awaited Messiah that would usher in the kingdom of heaven and a new golden
age for Israel and all the earth, especially after all that they had been said
to have seen and experienced to this point in the Gospel narrative, it is
improbable that this event would serve to convince them.
At the same time, it would seem to
be more than likely that they already believed that He was the promised
Messiah, and that they were firmly ensconced within His movement, though there
could certainly be lingering doubts about the manner in which He was going
about His mission, and an ongoing wondering if He was going to eventually take
up arms in the style of King David, so as to drive the Romans from the land,
which would have been part and parcel of the widely held messianic
considerations.
Now that’s not to say that they
would or could not be quickly shaken from this belief---the evidence as it is
reported following His arrest and crucifixion suggest otherwise. At this
point however, they do seem to be largely on board. In fact, one of the
disciples---the one referred to as a doubter---might very well have been put on
display in the story as the first and only one to both realize that Jesus was
the Messiah, and that, contrary to what the rest expected, that He was also
going to die on behalf of the people, as their King.
If Thomas does realize this (or
something like this), it would be widely contradictory to the commonly held
worldview that a messiah, by definition, is not going to die. If this
realization is realistic, it seems that Thomas, following the death of Jesus,
may have had a change of heart, which is more than understandable (though
“doubter” as an epithet simply does not seem to fit Thomas any more than the
rest of the disciples, at least when the Gospel narratives are broadly taken
into consideration).
After Jesus informed His disciples
that they were going to be returning to the area around Jerusalem, of which the
disciples had previously reminded Jesus that “the Jewish leaders were just now
trying to stone You to death” (11:8b), this one disciple was heard to have
said, “Let us go too, so that we may die with Him” (11:16b). It does seem
possible that, at least here, the “doubter” might have been the one with
understanding, grasping the nature of Jesus’ mission, what would be required of
Him, and what it would ultimately accomplish.
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