When Jesus Doesn’t Do What You Expect
A devotional on John 11 and the God who works differently than we imagined
Misunderstood from the Start
When you read the Gospel of John closely, a theme surfaces again and again: Jesus rarely does what people expect. Everyone around Him thinks they understand who the Messiah should be and what He ought to do, yet every single one of them misreads Him. His own brothers speak to Him with a kind of dismissive skepticism, as John 7:5 tells us they didn’t even believe in Him. His disciples walk with Him daily, yet they frequently misunderstand His words about His death, underestimate His authority, and doubt His ability to provide (even after they watched Him feed thousands). The religious leaders, armed with Scripture and tradition, cannot grasp that the Messiah would be God in the flesh or that the One who gave the Sabbath cannot violate it. John paints a consistent picture: the expectations people had for Jesus were too small, too shallow, or simply misplaced.
John 11: When Expectations Die
This pattern becomes especially clear in John 11. When Mary and Martha send word that Lazarus is sick, their message carries an unspoken assumption: if Jesus loves Lazarus, He will come immediately. But the Gospel surprises us: “When He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days…” Jesus deliberately waits, and from the outside it appears passive, almost uncaring. When He finally says it is time to go, His disciples are confused and fearful, reminding Him that the Jews recently tried to stone Him. Even then, when Jesus describes Lazarus as “sleeping,” they fail to grasp His meaning, thinking He is referring to natural rest. They simply cannot understand why Jesus is acting this way, and their confusion echoes Mary’s and Martha’s later questions. Everyone seems to think the same thing: if Jesus really cared, He would have prevented the suffering.
When Your Lazarus Is Still in the Tomb
This tension resonates deeply with our own experiences. We know what it feels like to wait for Jesus to move, only to feel like nothing is happening. We know the ache of praying for healing, clarity, provision, or restoration, and sensing only silence. There are seasons where our “Lazarus” — the thing we love, the situation we hoped God would fix — remains in the tomb. And like Mary and Martha, we assume that love and speed should go hand in hand. If Jesus cared, wouldn’t He respond immediately? If He saw our pain, wouldn’t He change our circumstances right away? But Scripture gently teaches us a different truth: Jesus’ delays are never expressions of indifference. They are purposeful, precise, and rooted in something far greater than our immediate understanding.
What Jesus Wants to Do in Your Story
Jesus finally arrives in Bethany not to prevent Lazarus’ death, but to reverse it. He allows the situation to reach its darkest moment so that the glory of God might be seen in a way no one had imagined. Mary wanted healing. Martha wanted intervention. The disciples wanted safety. The religious leaders wanted reasons to accuse. But Jesus wanted resurrection. He intended to reveal a dimension of His power and love that none of them were prepared to see. And in doing so, He teaches us that His greatest work is often found not in preventing hardships but in transforming them. When He stood before the tomb and called Lazarus forth, He demonstrated that no situation is too far gone, no hope too buried, and no moment too late for Him to redeem. And if that is true, then you can trust that Jesus is closer than you think — right around the corner, already at work, preparing something infinitely greater than anything you could ask, imagine, or expect. And just as He once spoke life into a sealed tomb, He will speak into the tombs of your own story. He will call healing to come forth, provision to come forth, strength to come forth, and the mission He has placed in you to come forth. His word still brings resurrection. His voice still calls dead things to life.
📖 Note: This post is not part of the Matthew series — it’s a stand-alone devotional reflection from the Gospel of John. From time to time, I’ll be sharing posts like this to explore Scripture devotionally, slow down, and sit with what God might be saying to us in the text. Stick around for more devotionals woven throughout the upcoming Matthew studies!