An Apparent Contradiction

SCRIPTURE: John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
John 11:14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead."

OBSERVATION: No wonder why the disciples were confused. Here is, seemingly, an absolute contradiction. Jesus told the disciples, "This illness is not unto death," and then, "Lazarus is dead." What? That is a blatant contradiction. Or is it?
Something that seems to be a contradiction is called a paradox. This is certainly a paradox.
What would I have thought if I had been among the disciples? I probably would have thought, "Well, this is it. This is the first time that I have heard Him say something that is wrong. He said Lazarus wouldn't die but now he has died. He missed it. Maybe He's not Who He said He is."
I might have thought that, but I would have been wrong. Had I not hung in there to see the rest of the chapter, I would have made a big mistake.
Jesus didn't say that Lazarus wouldn't die. He said that the purpose of this illness, its final purpose, was not death. Death would not be the final answer, it would not have the last word.
What seemed like an iron-clad, air tight contradiction turned out to be just as Jesus said.

APPLICATION: In life, especially in my relationship with Jesus, I have to deal at times with apparent contradictions. "Jesus said this, but something else seems to be true." How do I deal with these paradoxes?
The Greeks were famous for introducing logic, reason and intellectual processing into the world. One line of logic made motion illogical and impossible.-- seemingly. The argument goes this way: If you string an arrow on a bow and pull back with significant force and release, the arrow will fly through the air. Imagine the arrow in flight. At any given instant the arrow occupies a set place in space. At any moment in time it is stationary (imagine taking a picture). An item can not be stationary and in motion at the same time. Therefore, motion is impossible.
It is a paradox because you can't evaluate an object in motion at a given instant. If you take a snapshot in time and not take the full picture in mind you are bound to make faulty conclusions.
If the disciples had taken a snapshot -- Jesus said the illness is not unto death and Lazarus has died -- they would have made a faulty conclusion. They had to wait for the intended, though highly unexpected, result that Lazarus would rise from the dead. When I, or others, take a snapshot of life at any given moment faulty conclusions can be drawn. When I am confused by a circumstance of life and feel a sense of contradiction: wait, look at the big picture and let Jesus resolve the paradox.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I know that my impatience often leads me to hasty conclusions. The disciples were willing to wait and they saw the miraculous. The disciples followed You anyway. I will follow You, no matter what.