John 11:17-29

I’m trying to read this story as if for the first time. So far in John’s gospel, Jesus has done some pretty amazing things. But it really looks as though He’s fouled this whole situation up. So what if He loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha enough to travel near Jerusalem again, risking His life? By the time He arrived (after a two-day delay) Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days! Is this just a case of good intentions gone bad? What hope can Jesus offer in this scenario?

Many people have already heard about Lazarus’ death since Bethany is so near to Jerusalem. But as Jesus approaches, only Martha goes out to meet him. At least initially. Martha is struggling, caught between her sadness over her brother’s death and her faith that Jesus is Christ. Both come through: “Lord, if you were here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give to you.” What a statement of faith! Faith confused by death, but still… faith! First, Christ would have prevented Lazarus’ death had He been there (both a statement of faith and, perhaps, a question as to what took Him so long). Second, an uncertain statement regarding what will happen next. Martha makes it clear that she will continue to trust in Jesus, and that she knows that God will do whatever He asks. But she doesn’t even dare to speak about what she would like Christ to ask for; she may not know whether Jesus considers it a possibility that Lazarus could or should be raised from the dead.

Then Jesus speaks words of reassurance: “Your brother will rise again.”

Even then, Martha does not dare to hope that Jesus means for this to happen now. She affirms that Lazarus will rise again in the last days. But Jesus quickly reaffirms that the power to raise people is in His own hands: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me – and even dies – shall live! And everyone who lives and believes in me will certainly not die forever. Do you believe this?”

Martha did. “Yes, Lord. I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God who was coming into the world.” After saying this, Martha went to Mary to send her to Jesus, and Mary got up to meet Him.

What an amazing story of faith! Jesus is making promises about Lazarus’ resurrection here, but so far no one is making it plain that this will happen before the final resurrection of all the dead. Yet Martha is willing to keep trusting in this Jesus – the Jesus she believes can prevent death, the Jesus she believes is the Christ, the Jesus she believes God sent into the world, and the Jesus who (for some reason she can’t understand) arrived too late to keep Lazarus, her own brother, from dying.

Life sends confusing circumstances our way pretty often. People move away just when we were hoping to be closer friends; we get sick on the very day we were scheduled for a promotional interview; stable companies collapse, laying off thousands of us employees; our country gets attacked by terrorists and throws us into doubt regarding our personal security; spouses walk out on us; children run away; cancer strikes. Isn’t all of this supposed to be in Jesus’ hands? Why does He let these things happen? It’s all extremely confusing. Doesn’t He care?

But Martha’s example is worth following. She did not know what would happen next, but she trusted what she knew. She knew Jesus. She knew He loved her and her family. She knew that He was the Christ. She knew that He was the Son of God. She knew that God sent Him into the world. She knew that He would one day raise Lazarus from the dead. And that was enough. It would have been nice to know for sure that Jesus was going to raise Lazarus from the dead that day, but she didn’t know this; she was willing to wait for the last day. Even this way, there is hope!

Father, when we are confused and even hurt, please remind us to trust. Remind us to trust in what we know – even if it isn’t much. Help us to find our hope in Jesus – our Messiah, our Savior from heaven! Thank You so much that there is hope in Jesus. Whether Your good promises come to us today, tomorrow, or at the end of the world, Jesus is worth trusting!