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Broken and the Blessed Week 2, Day 7

by David Joynt on January 21, 2017


DAY 14

JOHN 11:17-27, 38-44

Jesus’ decision to raise Lazarus was a momentous one. It sealed his fate with the authorities in Jerusalem, and earlier in this chapter we see the disciples realism about this. But Jesus was willing to die that we might live. The story of Lazarus illustrates this directly. Jesus had the power to reverse the chemistry and biology of death, to reanimate a putrefying corpse. His promise to comfort the mourning rests finally on this fact. Death is not the end for those who believe. Jesus has overcome death itself, initiating a new kind of life stronger than the forces of mortality and disintegration. This form of life can be shared. Loss in our lives is tangible and real, but not final.

 

Memorize verses 25-26 in Chapter 11 of John’s gospel.

 

FAMILY TIME—

Have you ever felt frustration with God’s timing? Have you ever expressed it? Talk about honesty in prayer. Use Mary and Martha as examples.

 

Tags: beatitudes, comfort, devotional, mourning, the broken and the blessed

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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