Below is the manuscript to this Sunday’s sermon. Chances are, you will encounter grammatical errors. Please be gracious. I pray this will be beneficial to you as you study the Word of God that is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17).”
Recap of John 11:1-16
As we read and Ryan taught about 2 weeks ago, we are now in the story of Lazarus, Marth, Mary and Jesus. What we learned from that passage is that Martha and Mary sent for Jesus because their bother Lazarus was very ill. This family had a close relationship with Jesus as it was stated that He loved this family. We also learn that Jesus hears this information and stays an extra 2 days where He is. This was where Ryan really dug into the teaching of “prolonged suffering does not negate God’s love for you.” So it’s this thought that somehow Jesus not rushing to save Lazarus will be good, and show love. And then in our lives just because we are going through suffering does not mean that God hates you or is even punishing you. Somehow God is using your life to show His love and using the suffering for good. And then at the end of the passage we find out that Jesus does then leave after staying 2 days longer and makes his way to go visit the family He loves. The only problem is they are heading back into the land of Judea, specifically one near Jerusalem, where Jesus and Hid disciples had just fled from as the Jews in that area were trying to stone them!
John 11:11-27
So this is where our story picks up and this is the scene that is laid out as the story unfolds. Let’s read John 11:17-27.
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two milesoff, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God he twill give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
There is a lot here in this small section but just like any other passage let’s take one small bite at a time starting with the first verse
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
It is good information to have that Lazarus had been dead 4 days as there was an old Hebrew belief that the soul hovered over the body 3 days after someone died and it wasn’t until the 4thday when the body would start to decompose that the soul would then leave hovering over the body. This is letting us know as the audience that Lazarus is dead. Like for sure dead. This guy that was once ill now no longer has any life in his body.
It is worth mentioning that the word “found” used here in this first verse is not showing that Jesus was surprised to find out that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days but rather that it’s just information that John is giving us to show 1.) That Lazarus is for sure dead, 2.) Jesus is entering the town now days after Lazarus had died. So this sentence could be said as Jesus “discovered” or “informed” that Lazarus was dead 4 days.
And then we get even more information into the scene that Jesus is rolling up on.
Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
This was a very close trip. 2 miles really isn’t a large trek to take. I’m no runner but 2 miles really isn’t that bad to run yet alone walk. If the average person walks at about a 15 min mile pace, this trip would only take 30 min!
This is also setting the scene for what Jesus was about to do. Now we can cheat and read the rest of the story and see what Jesus does. But for a second I want us to forget that Jesus is about to do one of Hs last miracles. Think for a second that you are a friend of the real, in the flesh Jesus. You have eaten with Him, walked with Him, had Him over your house, and you know the things He has done. Then He goes on his way finishing His ministry while you stay with your sisters and brothers. Then one of your family members gets sick. And not only sick but really sick. To where they are declining at such a fast rate that by the time you have communicated to someone the state they are in they are already in a worse state of health. So you throw a message to the only person you think can help because modern medicine at that time was very limited to help your situation. You are scared your family member is going to die, you are trying to do all you can humanly to help them, and you are calling on the one person who you believe can do anything for this situation. You have faith in Jesus, you know He can fix this situation, He just needs to come quickly because the days are evil and this family member does not have much time left. You can see yourself even staring down the road often trying to look if you can see Jesus and his pose coming down the road. Anxiously and fearfully yet faithfully you wait. This is the backdrop being laid out for us when Jesus arrives.
Now that you feel what Martha and Mary are feeling, we get another insight into the scene, “many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.”So there are a group of people also here. This isn’t just a family affair but rather a community affair. We see friend and family coming together to help grieve, lift up, console, and take care of one another during this trial. What an example this is!! As a church this is a great example of what true community and relationship looks like. We don’t desert each other when times get messy but rather come along side, helping, nurturing, and supporting our brother and sister through their grief.
So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
This shows 2 different reactions from the sisters which would probably reflect on cameo we get of them in the Gospel of Luke (10: 38-42). Here Mary sits at Jesus’ feet while he is visiting while Martha on the other hand is busy cleaning and preparing the house. Martha then gets upset with her sister and tells Jesus to get her sister to help her, but rather than rebuke Mary like Martha wanted, Jesus tells Martha that Mary has made the right choice by sitting at his feet.
Each sister responds to their character. While Mary sat quietly in Luke at Jesus’ feet and was applauded then, here in the Gospel of John it is Martha who is applauded for passionate activity. This just goes to show that 1.) people will react different to situations. And that 2.) there is a time for quiet reflection but there is also a time for action. Pray for discernment in what to do. Pray for rest when you need it, and pray for energy when needed. All seasons of life are different, and how God cares for us during those times pampers to our specific situation.
So now that Martha, the doer, has gotten up to meet Jesus, she has some words for Him. She states:
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
The words Martha utters to Jesus teach us a lot of Martha’s heart as well as our own. These words uttered here, “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died” are very scrutinized words. Most scholars view these words as words of rebuke Martha is giving to Jesus. But these words could also be just the words reflecting a grieving heart. These are probably words she and her sister uttered to each other frequently those past couple of days. She probably would have liked to say “why didn’t you come as soon as you got the message” but instead the all too familiar words of her heart flowed out of her lips, “if only you had been here.”
One thing this interaction shows is it is not wrong for us to outpour our hearts to God. 1 Peter 5:7 says to cast “all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
This includes our questions, struggles, griefs, and frustrations. As a matter of fact, the Psalms themselves are filled with these sort of cries and laments.
Psalms 22 opens up like this: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance?”
Psalm 12 declares: “Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains; the loyal have disappeared from the human race.”
God’s willingness to receive Martha’s complaints of the heart are proved by Jesus’ tender ministry to Martha.
Another nugget to dig out of Martha’s response to Jesus here is in suffering we normally lose hold of truths that we know are true about the Lord (“If only you had been here”). We all go through times that seem hopeless and full of hurt. It’s okay to have emotions, tears, frustrations, and all other feelings that come from this human experience. But it is important for us never to forget who is in control and the truths He says. And when one of our brothers or sisters are having these thoughts, it’s important for us, as their family to gently remind them how loved they are, what God promises to them, and come alongside them to help them tangibly through this season.
Richard Phillips, a commentator on this passage. He states it this way,
“When eyes that are clouded by tears fail to see, and when trembling hands lose their grip on faith, our calling is not to rebuke them for unbelief but to gently remind them of the grace and truth of the Lord” (Richard Phillips REC, pg. 26).
As humans, we will have emotions and questioning. It is our pleasure that we get to use God’s Word, His promises, and our past trails to help build one another up and remind them the child of God they are!
*Community group challenge: Look up at least 5 of the truths, promises, and statements God makes about His children. Write these down and share them with each other.
Martha also makes an assumption during her response to meeting Jesus. She assumes that her will and God’s will are the same (“Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died”). She assumes that it is the Lord’s will that her brother recovers.John informs us that this was not God’s intention. Remember 2 weeks ago what we read was Jesus’ response upon hearing that Lazarus was ill? “So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed 2 days longer in the place that he was” (John 11:6). Jesus arrived exactly when He intended to. His timing is perfect, not ours. His will is perfect, not ours. This waiting wasn’t for suffering to continue as a cruel joke to the ones Jesus loved, but rather a plan unfolding that would change the lives of everyone involved forever.
Some of us are waiting to be cured of a sickness, or maybe we are waiting for a job, struggling with infertility, struggling with waiting for a spouse, fighting maybe just to even get up in the morning because life is just really hard right now. Trust God’s timing. It’s probably different than yours. He’s smarter than you. Pray for patience, understanding, and wait on Him. Trust me, He is not inactive. Rest in Him.
But even in this response we can still see that Martha hasn’t lost her faith in Jesus:
But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give to you.
We can see that Martha didn’t lose her faith. “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Now it is unlikely that Martha meant a resurrection of her brother (John 11:39, “Lord by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days”). So what does Martha mean then?I think this is Martha reaching down into her faith, showing herself and others that she recognizes Jesus has an intimacy with God that no other person has.She has not lost her confidence that Jesus can somehow affect this situation for good.
And so Jesus has a response to Martha’s outpour, He says:
“Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus responds to Martha and gives her the only comfort He can give, “Your brother will rise again.” We as mere humans try and comfort each other when we are grieved. We offer comfort, sympathy, fellowship, and love. And while these are good things, they don’t seem to fit the bill that grief writes. Jesus offers something better than what we can give. He offers the solution to our grieving souls!Our suffering hearts are meant to direct us to Jesus. Paul states this in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who do not have hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”So only people who have put their hope in Christ can truly have a hope that looks beyond this life and sees eternally.
But we see Martha struggle through Jesus’ comfort, “I know that my brother will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” This is a big statement that helps us as the reader see what Martha believed theologically.This was making this distinction between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees believed in a life to come, the Sadducees did not. The OT seems to make a point to show readers that there will be a life after we physically die (Job 19:25-26; Psalms 16:10-11; 73:23-24).
Job 19: 25-26 says,
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God
Psalms 16:10 says,
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
§ Psalms 73:23-24 says,
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
This thought of glory with the Lord has always and will continue to give hope and comfort in this life the help sustains us in all of life’s griefs.
Then Jesus makes his ending remarks to his exchange with Martha:
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
This statement Jesus makes here to Martha is one of perplexing beauty. Jesus first talks about what hope we have when we died (“though he die, yet shall he live”), and then speaks on those who are living who then believe in Him (“everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die”). How can this be?
Jesus reveals Himself to be the source of “the resurrection and the life.” How? Well, we can hope in a resurrection because Jesus Himself beats death and resurrects from the grave. To believe in Jesus is not only to benefit from his life and death, but from his resurrection also. But the resurrection source begins with Jesus himself. There is no other way to obtain this promise without first putting your faith in Christ.
He also offers life. How? Through His teachings, life, and Spirit we are given life more abundant than anything we could pursue on our own. Jesus says, later on “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
“Whatever Death is, and all that Death is…that is what we shall be saved from in this salvation. And whatever Life is, and all that Life is…that is what we shall be saved to in this salvation.” –Benjamin B. Warfield
It’s no wonder that Jesus concludes this exchange with Martha this way. For we all are dead. And it is only Christ who can save us.
Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 says,
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins… 4 ButGod, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…”
Jesus is still asking this same question to us today “I am the resurrection and the life, do you believe?” Do you believe that God can give you this hope no matter the circumstance? Do you believe that Jesus can give you life even if it looks like this Earthly life isn’t worth it? Do you believe that God can be good even if life isn’t so good right now?
I pray that God gives us eyes to see past our circumstances, past our grief, and the ability to see more into Him! God give us more of you, give us more of your love, use us to bring about your glory!