Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus told her,
“Your brother will rise again.” “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” (John 11:21-27)
Martha ,it seems, kind of laid the blame on Jesus for Lazarus' death, but then seems to have tremendous faith. But when Jesus tells her that her brother will rise, she automatically assumes that he is referring to the last days when everyone else rises from the dead. This struggle with faith is something that we are often guilty of. Its easier to have faith in something far off into the future. When it has to do with our lives right now in this moment our faith sometimes isn't as strong as it should be. I know I am guilty of wondering if God can or will solve the problems I face at the moment I face them.
When Jesus finally sees Mary, he is confronted with the same type of questions that Martha asked.
When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32)
By this time it seems that Jesus is getting a little frustrated seeing everyone sobbing with apparent lack of faith that he could or would do anything about the situation.
When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.
“Where have you put him?” he asked them. (John 11:33-34)
It can also be translated as "he was angry in his spirit". In the King James version it says. "he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled." In the Amplified Bible it says, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. [He chafed in spirit and sighed and was disturbed.]
Whichever translation you pick, Jesus was obviously bothered by this. After all, he had been here before and many people (especially Mary and Martha) said they believed that he was the messiah. They had seen him do miracles before. But for what ever reason death seemed too great a challenge for God in their minds. Jesus seemed to expect that they had come further in their faith than this. In fact he was still upset when he reached the tomb and questioned their belief.
Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.
“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
Jesus responded,“Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” (John 11:38-40)
Of course Jesus does raise Lazarus from the dead, but what I think is overlooked about this event is what the reactions of people were. Sure, some people believed in Jesus, but some went and told the Pharisees what had happened. You would think that if a man was just raised from the dead, that would really make an impact on you. The Pharisees, even though they believed it happened, were more worried about what the Romans would think and about their high status in the nation and positions at the Temple.
We have to ask ourselves if we are still guilty of this today. Are we worried about what someone will say or think if they know that we are Christians? Do we sometimes avoid expressing our faith, values, or sharing the gospel because someone might be offended or react negatively?
Its also interesting to note that the high priest Caiaphas interrupted the conversation and told them it was better for one person to die to save everyone else. The scriptures say that these were not his words though. God used him to prophesy to the truth, to what was really going to happen.
Caiaphas, who was high priest at that time, said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about! You don’t realize that it’s better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.”
He did not say this on his own; as high priest at that time he was led to prophesy that Jesus would die for the entire nation. And not only for that nation, but to bring together and unite all the children of God scattered around the world. (John 11:49-52)
So, what have we learned? Is this event still relevant to our lives today? Yes it is. God does not change, and therefore neither does his Word. And as much as we would like to think that people change, we keep on doing the same sinful things over and over. That is why Jesus came. We would have never broken the cycle without Him.
