Why Did Jesus Delay?

November 18, 2025

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was” (John 11:5-6 NASB95).

Have you ever been in a very difficult situation and wondered, “Why hasn’t God helped me yet?” Have you ever thought, “If God loves me, why won’t He act?”  I believe the above verses can shed some light on these kinds of honest questions.  These words were written about the illness of Jesus’ beloved friend, Lazarus. When Lazarus became ill, his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus.  But when Jesus received the news, He waited for two days before leaving for Judea.  Why did Jesus delay?

One reason was because Jesus knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, and in raising Lazarus, both God and the Son would be glorified (John 11:4). This great miracle was also going to create faith in the disciples and in others who witnessed the miracle (John 11:15, 45). 

But there is another reason, related to the first, why Jesus delayed.  He waited because He loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.  Notice the flow of the verses:  Jesus loved them, so (or therefore) He stayed two days longer.  One might think the verse would read, “Jesus loved them, and so as soon as He heard about Lazarus, He left immediately to help.”  But such is not the case.  It was because of His love for them that He stayed.  He stayed so that they could see the glory of God.  He stayed so that their faith could be built up in a profound way.

There is a deep lesson here for us:  Jesus’ love is demonstrated to us not by taking all our problems away, but by letting us see His glory in the midst of our problems.  Mary and Martha got to witness the glory of God in one of the darkest times of their lives, and it built their faith. What about you and me?  Is there anything Jesus could do that is more loving than letting us see His glory?

If you are going through difficulties in life, know that Jesus cares deeply for you.  He loves you.  Our pain deeply moves Him (John 11:33). Let us never doubt His great love for us, even when we’re wondering why He has delayed. It may be that, in times of difficulty, He is helping us to see His glory more clearly. May God help us to see it!

—Scott Colvin

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Living in Light of the Resurrection

May 2, 2025

Our faith and our salvation are built upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The historical fact of His resurrection cannot be over emphasized.  There is no way in which we could speak of it too often, for it is the critical component to everything we believe.  As Paul writes to the church at Corinth (who were doubting the resurrection of the dead), “But if there is no resurrection from the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain… and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14, 17-19 NASB95) Without the resurrection of Christ, our faith is meaningless, we are still in our sins, and we have no hope for the future.

But the fact is, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, NASB95) This is the glorious fact!  Jesus was raised!  There are many powerful and convincing proofs of this fact.  There are many eyewitness accounts of this fact.  We can be assured that His resurrection is real, and our faith can rest solidly in this reality.  And because He is alive, we too are alive!  Because He is risen, we have been raised with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6) Because He is risen, we are now dead to sin and alive to God.  Because He is risen, one day we too will be raised with a glorious new body.   Because He is risen, we have hope of seeing our loved ones who have died in the Lord again.

Jesus is alive!  And we have been made alive with Him!  Shouldn’t this truth have a major impact on our lives?  How should we now live?  As Paul writes, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3 NASB95).  We should now continue to seek the things above, setting our mind on heavenly things rather than earthly things. 

How should we now live?  We should continue to put to death our earthly ways. (Colossians 3:5) Immorality, greed, anger, slander, lying, and the like should all be rooted out of our lives with the help of God’s Spirit. 

How should we now live?  By putting on the qualities of the resurrected life: Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. (Colossians 3:12-14)

Let’s rejoice on this day!  Jesus is alive, and we live with Him!  Let us now walk as those who are alive from the dead!

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

When Jesus Comes Again

August 9, 2024

We go about our busy lives day after day.  The weeks, months, and years seem to run together.  We get in a rhythm of life and each day seems to carry on just like the days before it.  In all of the routine, it is easy for us to forget that one day, everything we know will change.  Every illusion we may have that life will always go on as usual will be shattered.

There is a Great Day coming!  It will be a day like no other.  On that day, the Lord Jesus will return from heaven in the clouds, and everything will change. Are you ready for that day to come?  What will that day be like? Let’s look at some of the things that will happen when Jesus returns. 

On that day, “… the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 NASB95) Those who were faithful to Jesus (the dead in Christ) will be resurrected first.  What a day that will be!  Can you imagine the sound?  Can you imagine the sight of the dead being raised from their tombs? 

On that day, what will happen to the faithful who are still alive? “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NASB95)  

On that day, when the trumpet sounds, the faithful (whether living or dead at that time) will all be changed.  “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53 NASB95) On that day we will all receive a new body that is imperishable and fitted for eternity.  In the blink of an eye, when the trumpet sounds, God will give us all our new body.

On that day, all of the dead will be raised to a resurrection of life or a resurrection of judgment.  Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29 NASB95)

Are you looking forward to these things?  Are you planning for that day?  Are you living your life with the end in mind?  Yes, I am thankful in many ways for the rhythm and routine of life, but let’s not get lulled into thinking that life will always go on just as it is now.  There is a great day coming!  Are you ready to meet the Lord?

—Scott Colvin

Leave a Comment » | 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, John 5:28-29, judgment, Second Coming | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
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I Shall See God

November 10, 2023

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will rise up over the dust of this world.

 “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall behold God,

“Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 19:25-27 LSB)

These are the words of Job.  They are words of hope from a man who was at the lowest point of his life.  He had “hit rock bottom” in a way that few mortals will ever experience.  He had lost all his possessions, his children, and his health.  Even his friends and his own wife had turned against him and brought him no comfort.  Job was left completely rocked and bewildered by all of this.  In his anguish, he said some things he should not have said (see God’s response to him in 38:1 and 40:1-2), but we see in these words the hope to which he held.

Job knew that His redeemer (or vindicator) lived.  He knew that one day God would stand over the dust of this earth and make things right.  Job knew that one day, even though his body would be destroyed, he would see God in his flesh and with his own eyes.

You and I can hold to the same hope, and since we live on this side of the cross of Jesus, we can hold this hope with even more clarity and certainty.  No matter how bad things get in this world, no matter the struggles we go through in this life, God is going to set everything right one day.  And though our flesh will fail us, and our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, we will see God in our (new and glorious) body.  Our eyes will behold our Lord Jesus.  We will be like Him.  We will be with Him for all eternity in our heavenly home.

Praise God for the gift of His Son, who has given us this sure and steadfast hope. 

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin