Martha’s Amazing Confession of Faith (Part 33)
Text: John 11:17-27
We’re looking at the resurrection of Lazarus this morning, and just to remind you of what we looked at last week, let me re-cap it for you. Jesus had gone out of the area of Judea because the Jews in that area wanted Him dead. But then He gets a message from His good friends Mary and Martha that their brother Lazarus is very sick. And Jesus loved Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus dearly, but that didn’t mean that He immediately jumped up and went to heal Lazarus. In-fact; we read it last Sunday… He loved them, so He waited two more days, before He came to them.
What that means is that probably, right after the messenger was sent, Lazarus died. It took the messenger a day to get to Jesus, and Jesus waited two days after that before He made the day’s journey to Bethany. Making it 4 days now since Lazarus had died.
And that brings us to our text. So go ahead and open your Bibles to John 11:17-27 (READ).
What the text tells us is that when Jesus came, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. In other words, when Jesus comes, He stops outside of the town of Bethany, near the tombs. The tombs were always outside of town, because of Jewish ritual purity laws. So Jesus didn’t go on in to town to Mary and Martha’s house. He stopped and inquired about Lazarus. And apparently; someone noticed Him, and ran and told Martha that He was around. Now a couple of things just to fill in the story for you… First of all, it’s important for us to see that Lazarus had been in the tomb, dead, for 4 days. He wasn’t just in a coma or some kind of deep sleep. The dude was truly dead. Second… why was it that Martha was told about Jesus being nearby and not Mary? Well… we have to think back about what we know about these two sisters. Martha is the worker, the planner, the organizer. She’s the “doer”. Mary is the contemplative one. She’s the thinker. She’s more interested in ideas, and learning. Remember the story about Jesus coming to their house, and Martha was busy working, cooking, cleaning, being a host, while Mary was the one sitting at Jesus feet, listening. So they’re going to deal with the death of their brother in different ways. Martha, she’s probably going to deal with her grief by staying busy, whereas Mary is going to process this with emotion, and retrospection. And ultimately; it probably comes down to the fact that Martha is the oldest of the siblings… she’s the matriarch of the home, so if there’s information, it’s going to come to her. Regardless; Martha is the one who hears the news first, and she goes out to meet Jesus. And in verses 21 & 22 she says, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give You.”
Now let’s stop right here!
I want to remind you of John’s purpose in writing this Gospel account. John 20:30-31 (READ).
So John’s purpose in writing this book is not so that he can entertain us… it’s not so he can make a buck, or be a best-selling author. He wants people who read this to come to full, and complete faith, in Jesus Christ! And all through his Gospel, he’s talked about how people had a form of faith, but not true saving faith… how people had a form of faith, or how they believed certain things about Jesus and God, but also how they sometimes believed wrong things… or how their faith was limited to certain things. And that’s what John is doing again here.
This statement from Martha, it isn’t like she’s blaming Jesus for not being there. She’s actually making a statement of faith. She’s acknowledging that Jesus has the power to heal. And that He could have prevented Lazarus’ death. She even goes on and says in verse 22, “But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” Now let me clarify this… because if you read a little further, it’s not like Martha believes that Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead. What she’s saying here is, “Jesus, I know You have the power to heal, and I know that You could have prevented my brother’s death… and even though You didn’t, I still believe that You’re from God, and that You’re the Messiah, and that God still listens to Your prayers and is working through You.” In other words; “Even though my brother is dead, I still trust in You Jesus.”
That’s what Martha is saying here. She’s not expressing a belief that Jesus is going to raise Lazarus from the dead at this point in time.
Basically she believes certain things ABOUT Jesus. She has believed to a point. But she’s still lacking in her faith. We could say it’s not mature yet. It’s there. She believes in Jesus to a point, but she also limits Him. Now we shouldn’t come down on Martha too hard here. We’re going to see Mary do the exact same thing next Sunday… and we do this same thing all the time.
We doubt God… whether it’s His love for us… or His desire to do us good. We doubt whether or not He would bother with the things we’re going through. And we’ve all probably been there… where we limit God, or doubt Him… Can God heal you of any illness? Yes! Can God fix your marriage? Yes! Can God save your lost loved one? Yes! Can God work in that situation you’re struggling with? Can He bring revival to this nation? Can He grow use you for something great? Can He grow our church? YES, YES, YES! Now I’m not talking about if it’s His will to do those things. I’m talking about CAN HE? Determining whether or not is something that He wills is an entirely different thing. But the first step in getting prayers answered is knowing that God is ALL MIGHTY! It’s knowing that there is nothing too hard for Him. And then it’s knowing Him, and His character. It’s knowing His love for you… Does God love you enough to do those things? That’s a question people sometimes struggle with. They’ll say, “I know God can do anything, but I don’t think He’d do that for me.” Now why do they say that? Maybe because of their sin… But the Bible says that if we come to Christ, we will be washed clean and forgiven of EVERY sin. Does He love the believer enough to answer his or her prayers? What does the death of Christ show you? Greater love has no man than this – that He lay down His life for His friends. If you’re in Christ – you have no idea HOW MUCH God loves you. He loves you with an immense, eternal, and incomparable love. It’s indescribable! It’s immeasurable! If you’re in Christ, there’s no doubt that God loves you. And as you get to know Him, you understand that there are certain things that are always His will, and there are certain things that are never His will. But you learn those things by being in His Word, by drawing near to Him, but hearing the Word, studying it, reading it...
So John wants us to get it. He wants us to come to maturity in our faith. He wants us to know Jesus, and grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him, and in our relationship with Him. He doesn’t want us to settle on just a few facts, but to continually be learning Who Jesus is, and what He’s like, and to love Him more and more, every day. Why settle on knowing just a few things about Jesus? Why would we ever be content just with milk? There’s steaks out there! There’s fried chicken! There’s so much, to know about Christ, and to love and enjoy, and see.
Martha gets it half right… she says, “Jesus; I know you have the power, and I know that you loved my brother, and so if You had been here, I know You would have healed him.” And then Jesus says – in verse 23 “Your brother will rise again.” And she knows, and confesses that she believes that he will… but on the last day. And again; that’s true! That’s right! She’s orthodox! She knows it, and she’s right in her theology and doctrine! But she’s not seeing the big picture. Jesus is talking about what He can do right in that instant! But if God can raise up billions and billions of believers on the last day, people who have been dead for hundreds and thousands of years, why couldn’t He raise up one in that moment in time, who had only been dead for four days?
And so Jesus has to bring Martha to a better understanding of who He is.
Verse 25 and 26 (READ).
I AM – “ego eimi” – the resurrection and the life. This is a clear statement by Jesus that He is God. He is God almighty. He’s the same God who said to Moses “I AM”. He’s the same God who created all things. In-fact; that’s how John begins this Gospel account – remember? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh.” All things were made by Him, and for Him, and without Him there wasn’t anything made that was made. Jesus is saying, “I AM the same God who created Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into him.”
I am the God who will bring about this resurrection on the last day. It’s not only that Jesus has the power of life IN Him, He is the power. He is the life. In-fact; you don’t have life… true, eternal, abundant, “zoe” life, without Jesus! So Jesus is saying that He is the source of life, both physical and spiritual.
Turn with me back to John 5:26 (READ).
And Jesus goes on and explains to Martha, “Whoever believes in Me, even if they die physically, they will be raised up to life “zao… and not only that… if you are a believer, you will have eternal life “zoe”.”
And then look at what Jesus does… He doesn’t just leave it with, “Oh hey, I’m God, I’m the one who creates life. I have the power over life and death. I have the power to give eternal life…” He looks at Martha, in the last part of verse 26 and asks her, “DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?”
And that’s the ultimate question isn’t it?
DO YOU BELIEVE? What do you believe about Jesus? Do you believe He can give you eternal life? Do you believe that He has made you right with God? Do you believe that He can forgive you of your sins? Do you believe that He has done EVERYTHING that needs to be done in order to do those things? Do you believe this? Now look at Martha’s reply in verse 27.
“Yes Lord…” So right there, she says “Yes I believe everything you just said. And you are in-fact my Lord. My King. My Master and Commander. You are Lord and Sovereign over my life.” And then she goes on, “I believe that you are the Christ…” The Christ is a title… it means Anointed One, Messiah, Savior. And she goes on… she says, “Not only do I believe what you just said Jesus, that You are the Resurrection and the Life, and not only do I believe that You are Lord… and not only do I believe that You are The Christ. I believe that You are the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Remember when Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are The Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Thomas… after the resurrection, bowed down and said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” But Martha, man, Martha gets it. And then look what she does (READ vs. 28). So before… Martha demanded that Mary leave Christ’s feet and come help her, but now… Now Martha is bringing Mary to Christ.
Church; that’s what this passage is about. It’s about knowing Christ, and believing in Christ, and trusting Him with everything. To the point where He changes you, and you become a new creation. It’s about giving Him all your hopes and fears, and you future. It’s about not stopping half-way in your relationship with Jesus, but pressing on, going deeper. It’s about having faith, even when you don’t understand… Having faith, even when things are hard.
It’s about Jesus, being not only your Savior, but your Lord.
So the application for us this morning is in the question He asked Martha – Do you believe this?
Do you believe in Him?
CLOSING
