Lord you are too late
Text:
John 11:21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
You have no doubt heard this story recorded in John 11 many times.
It is interesting to note that only John wrote about this story.
Matthew, Mark and Luke never mentioned it for some unknown reason.
It's a very familiar story that begins in verse one.
“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.”
Bethany was situated nearly two miles east of Jerusalem at the foot of the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives.
From reading the scriptures it seems that Jesus spent a lot of time in and around the town of Bethany.
It would also appear that Jesus had some sort of close relationship with Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus.
Verse 3, “Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.”
He must have had a very serious illness because there seemed to be an urgency coming from Mary and Martha.
These two sisters knew Jesus personally and therefore knew that He had the power to heal the sick.
Now, we read in this chapter that Jesus indeed received the message about Lazarus being sick.
Verse 6 “When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.”
Jesus was at Bethabara (Joh 1:28; 10:40), about 30 miles from Bethany when He received the message.
This was about a day's journey, and it renders it probable that Lazarus died soon after the message was sent.
One day would be occupied before the message got to him; two days he remained; one day would be occupied by him in going to Bethany; so that Lazarus had been dead four days (Joh 11:39) when he arrived.
Now let's go to verses 17-21, “Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Then in verse 32 we read that when Mary saw Jesus she made the same statement as her sister Martha.
“Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.”
In other words they were saying, “Lord, you are too late.”
If you had only came when you first got the message, he would not have died.
But now, it's too late! He died four days ago, and has already been buried.
Lord, if only you would have been here four days ago.
John 11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible, says, “Jesus wept.”
There are different views on why Jesus wept.
Some say Jesus wept because He planned to bring Lazarus back from a place where there is no death, no sorrow, and no pain to this mortal life, a world of suffering and sorrow.
But my view of why Jesus wept, is because He had such compassion and love for Mary and Martha, and He was grieved to see them in such sorrow.
Notice verse 33, “When Jesus therefore saw her (Mary) weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.”
As the old hymn of the church says, “O great compassion, O boundless love, O loving kindness, faithful and true.”
But listen, something is about to happen in this story.
Mary and Martha thought Jesus was too late, but Jesus is never late, He is always on time.
You may have cried out to God and seemingly getting no answer.
You may think to yourself, “Why pray now, Jesus is too late anyway.”
But never underestimate what God can do!
What is impossible for man is possible with God.
I am reminded of that old chorus we used to sing:
“Only believe, only believe, all things are possible, only believe.”
Jesus had already said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
Martha replied, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection in the last day.”
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection.”
Jesus said, “Where have you laid him.” They said, “Come and see.”
Now lets go to verses 38-44
Joh 11:38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
No, Jesus was not too late! He could have been there when they first called Him, and He could have healed Lazarus, but Jesus had a miracle in mind.
Where have ye laid him? This question was designed to bring all parties to the tomb; it was not asked for information.
Jesus wanted all to see what was about to take place, that He may be glorified.
No, Jesus was not too late! He was right on time!
Yes He is the healer, but He is also the resurrection!
Have you been praying about something in your life and it seems as though God doesn't even hear you?
Do you ever feel that God is ignoring you?
Do you sometimes feel that God must be on vacation because you can't seem to get an answer from Him?
Well, God doesn't take vacations, and He is definitely not ignoring you.
And listen, God is not too late! He is never too late!
Sometimes you may be asking God for something to happen in your life, but He doesn't answer the way you thought He would.
Sometimes the answer may not come. Could it be that God has something more special for you?
Could it be that God is preparing a way for you to be blessed more than you had asked for?
You know He is able to do what you are asking for, so why doesn't He do it?
Could it be that God is using your situation or circumstance to show His glory in a more powerful way.
Sometimes its hard to wait upon the Lord.
But the Bible says that they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as an eagle......
Mary and Martha was waiting on Jesus to come. If He would just come they knew He would heal their brother.
And that within itself would be wonderful. But did something even more miraculous, and it increased their faith.
Listen, God will be right on time, just wait and see. You have placed your trust in God and He will never let you down.
There is a song that is sung by Karen Wheaton that goes like this:
You may be down and feel like God
Has somehow forgotten
That you are faced with circumstances
You can't get through
But now it seems that there's no way out
And you're going under
God's proven time and time again
He'll take care of you
And He'll do it again
He'll do it again
If you'll just take a look
At where you are now
And where you've been
Well hasn't He always come through for you
He's the same now as then
You may not know how
You may not know when
But He'll do it again
God knows the things you're going through
And He knows how you're hurting
You see he knows just how your heart
Has been broken in two
But He's the God of the stars, of the sun and the sea
And He is your Father
You see He can calm the storm
And He'll find some way to fix it for you.
Don't ever think that God is too late.
If He has ever come through for you, just wait, He will do it again.
