God, Why Don’t You Do Something?
Fortifying the Foundations # 25
John 11:1-37[1]
12-28-03
There were obviously a lot of people who wondered why Jesus hadn’t done something to help his friend, Lazarus. Verse 37 “But some of them said, ‘could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’”
Have you ever had a problem and wondered why God didn’t intervene?
Has there ever come the cry from your soul, “God, why don’t you do something?”
The questions that were going on in these people’s minds were honest questions.
They were about to get an answer to their question. We know the end of the story.
We know that Jesus is about to resurrect Lazarus and all their mourning is about to be turned to joy.
But go back with me to the beginning of this story.[2] The younger brother of Martha and Mary has become ill. At first it didn’t seem too serious. They had him lie down and get some rest. Martha made him some warm chicken soup. Mary read some scriptures to build his faith. The three of them agreed in prayer and asked God to touch Brother Lazarus[3].
But as the night wore on the sickness became worse—and then even worse.
Mary and Martha decided to send news to Jesus concerning Lazarus’ condition.
They knew how tenderly Jesus loved young Lazarus. They knew Jesus would want to know. And they knew Jesus could do something about the problem, which by now had them very, very worried.
It was a day’s journey from their home to where Jesus was ministering.
When the messenger told Jesus about Lazarus’ condition, Jesus sent a reassuring word back. John 11:4 “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
I think maybe the disciples took that to mean Lazarus is recovering as we speak.
But that was not at all what was happening back at Bethany.
In fact, by the time that messenger got to Jesus, Lazarus was probably already dead. It took the messenger a day to get to Jesus. Jesus waits two days to go to Bethany. And it takes Jesus a day to get there[4]. When he gets there they tell him Lazarus has been dead four days.[5]
So Jesus gives this word of assurance to the messenger. A day later the messenger gets back to Bethany and tells Martha and Mary Jesus’ words. But to his surprise Lazarus is dead. Now I think at that point somebody had to wander about Jesus’ message.
Could it be that Jesus missed this one? Could it be that Jesus thought everything was going to be all right—but obviously it’s not?
Have you ever prayed and prayed about something and the word God seemed to drop in your heart was something like this, “It’s going to be OK. Just trust me and I’ll take care of it”? How do you respond to a general word of assurance like that? There have been times when I just assumed that meant that God was going to solve the problem the way I had expected Him to solve it—so the word made me feel pretty good. Then, on the other hand, there have been times that I was not too happy with a word like that. “Well what does that mean? I know someday in heaven it’s going to be fine, but right now this doesn’t feel like heaven; and God, I want more than a general word of encouragement. I need some help and I need it now!” Of course, the right response is neither of those.
The right response is to realize that God is watching over me, He loves me, and He will take care of it in the best possible way. The right response is to trust Him—not some specific solution—certainly not my proposed solution—but knowing Who He is and just trusting Him. Has anybody but me found that to be easier said than done?
I don’t know exactly how Martha and Mary responded to the message they got from Jesus. But we do know that they were suffering deep sorrow over the loss of their kid brother.
In verse 5 and 6 John makes an interesting connection. He tells us how Jesus loved this family. We would then expect that love to be demonstrated by Jesus immediately heading to their house. But instead we are told that Jesus stayed where he was for two more days. Why in the world wouldn’t Jesus drop whatever he was doing and go pray for his friend? That would have certainly been the natural thing to do. But Jesus didn’t just follow his emotions. He followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. He saw God’s will (which in this case was not popular at all) and he did what the Father told him to do.[6]
Here is a delay that is not easily understood by Martha and Mary. Here is God’s response to their need that humanly speaking (from their vantage point at that time) makes no sense.
I don’t think it was easy for Jesus to wait those two days. In his humanity I think his emotional side wanted to run to their aid immediately. He certainly did not wait because of indifference to their pain. We know that because when he gets there we see him feeling their pain very much. He waited in obedience to God’s plan.
Then he told the disciples who were with (and there is good cause to think they were not all with him at this time[7]) that they were going toward Jerusalem. (Bethany was only a couple of miles from Jerusalem—so it was in the metropolitan area.) That was an alarming proposition because they knew the leaders in Jerusalem were waiting for an opportunity to kill him. Without even thinking they blurted out, “But Rabbi these Jews have just tried to stone you down there. Don’t you realize they’re waiting for you?”
The answer Jesus gives them in verses 9 and 10 sounds like some kind of riddle. But he was assuring them that he knew what he was doing. He was walking in the full light of God’s leading and there would be no stumbling; there would be no accidents.[8]
His purpose for going: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” They didn’t understand that terminology so he told them plainly that Lazarus was dead.
Verse 14, “...and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.”
But didn’t they already believe? These were Jesus’ disciples. Yes, they believed. But their faith needed to be stretched and developed. They needed experience with God to mature their faith. Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” NIV
Do not miss all the glorious benefits that came out of this ordeal. The disciples entered into a higher level of faith. Martha and Mary got a greater revelation of the Lord as “the resurrection and the life.” Lazarus became a living testimony of Jesus’ love and power.
Many believed on the Lord who witnessed Lazarus’ resurrection.
Do you hear an exceptional faith in the words Jesus speaks to his disciples at the end of verse 14, “Let us go to him.” Who is the “him”? Let us go to Lazarus—not Martha and Mary, not the crowd at their house—but Lazarus. Jesus had business to do with Lazarus. The Father had already shown him the work that would be done there. “Let us go to him.”
I like old Thomas’s[9] response. “Ok, guys, if Jesus wants to do this we’re with him all the way. Let us go also that we may die with him.” What a statement of courage and commitment. I have no doubt that Thomas meant every word he said. I think he figured that’s the way it’s all going to end. And so be it. Humanly speaking he was a brave man and he was a committed disciple.
But how many know what the disciples actually did a month or so later when they were actually faced with that possibility? They scattered. They did not stand with Jesus. They fled for their lives.[10]
The lesson here is this. We don’t know how we will respond in a given situation.
We need to be committed followers of Jesus. But we also need to realize fully our dependence upon his grace to strengthen us in the hour of temptation. I have every intention of holding true to my precious Lord and Savior. But still I pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Years ago a man who had lived through the communist take-over in China shared his personal experience. He talked about the terrible persecution that his fellow believers endured—horrific, terrorizing experiences. He talked about the faithful witnesses like Watchman Nee and others. But then with a look in his eyes I will never forget he said, “But most of the church renounced their faith. Yes, a few stood strong. But many betrayed their brothers and sisters in Christ. Many openly denied the faith.” Then he looked at us and said, “They never thought they would do that. They were far more committed than most of you. May God help you if you ever have your faith tested in that way.”[11]
The trial of our faith usually does not come when were feelin’ fine and fearless. It usually comes when we’re discouraged and would rather not have to face the challenge.
The disciples faced the persecution of the Jews in Jerusalem when they were spiritually oppressed and confused about everything that was going on.[12]
I want you to sit back for a few minutes and enjoy this clip from “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. You may notice that it is not true to all the specific details in the text. But it is an excellent dramatization of our text. It begins with the messenger bringing news of Lazarus’ illness to Jesus.
(Show Scene 19 (1:44) to 21(1:50) on The Greatest Story Ever Told.)[13]
Can you empathize with Martha and Mary in their struggle of faith? What lessons can we learn from their experience?
In verse 17, when Jesus arrived just outside Bethany, Martha broke cultural protocol and went out to meet him.[14] I hear in her words to Jesus a mixture of disappointment and faith.
It is so true to our own experiences. On the one hand, we do believe; there is in us a foundational trust in the Lord. But in the heat of the trial, in the time of testing, our faith is stretched. Life proves to be messier than we thought it would be. The experiences of life harder to explain than we thought they would be when we first began this journey of faith. And we feel like saying, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”[15]
Verse 21, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died...” I think that’s more of a question than an accusation. I don’t think Martha is speaking in anger.
But somewhere under the surface of her statement is that three- letter word, “why”. Why did this happen? Why did it happen to me and my family? Why didn’t you do something to help us? Later in verse 32, Mary makes almost exactly the same statement. Obviously they had been discussing the matter with each other before Jesus arrived.
Remember who these people are. They have served Jesus faithfully. They had opened their home to the Lord and taken care of his needs. There are plenty of indications that this was a relatively wealthy, prominent family in Bethany.[16] Their home had been a place where Jesus felt at home.
They know Jesus has done many marvelous miracles. They don’t doubt those miracles.
Many of those miracles were granted to people who had done nothing for the Lord. In fact, some were known sinners.[17]
Have you ever prayed and prayed for a saint of God thinking surely if God would intervene for anybody He would heal saintly Sister So and So? I confess to you I have at times been baffled by God’s actions. I think Martha is a little baffled. She has not lost her faith. But there are hard questions that seem to be unanswered. How do I know she hasn’t lost her faith? Listen to her follow up statement in verse 22, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
In your hour of trial, in your hour of disappointment and confusion, can you say with Martha, “But I know that even now...” Even after all my human resources are depleted. Even now when things look worse than they did before. Even now when my son or daughter is in deeper sin that ever before—You can bring him or her back. Even now when the doctor’s prognosis is worse than it was, “But I know that even now...You, my Great High Priest can bring a solution to the problem.”[18]
I wish I could communicate the precious interaction of Jesus and Martha on this occasion. Watch how Jesus draws out her declaration of faith. “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’”
I don’t think Martha’s answer in verse 24 is a statement of unbelief. She is declaring a faith in what God will do for her someday. Have you noticed how much easier it is to have faith for what God will do “someday” in contrast to believing God for a miracle right now! “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” That’s a comforting thought. It’s a true thought. It’s a good thought. But Jesus wants to stir her faith for right now.
How does he do that? He does it by moving her focus off the problem and even off the doctrine onto himself. Jesus said to her, (Egoo Eimi[19]-here is one of the great I am declarations of Jesus), “I, I am the resurrection and the life.” “Life is not found in some future event per say. Life is found in Me, the author and source of life.[20] Martha, you are looking at the answer! Wherever I am there is resurrection power and there is life.”
Faith in Christ connects a soul with the flow of life that is greater than death. “...Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” The Christian’s spirit and body may be separated for a time but the Christian will never taste death. Jesus has already done that for him. Jesus is saying to Martha, “To be connected to me in faith is life. To be disconnected from me is death.” That is reality now and forever.
Jesus looks directly into Martha’s eyes and asks her the question, Verse 26, “Do you believe this?”
Martha’s response is one of the greatest declarations of faith ever uttered. There in her darkest hour she makes a confession of faith comparable to the one Peter made when he said to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”[21]
I am amazed at how little recognition Martha gets in Christian circles. When you think of Martha, what do you think of? Most people can only remember the correction Jesus spoke to her in Luke 10 when she complained about Mary’s failure to help her serve.
Martha was a hard working, take-charge type of person. It is Martha, not Mary, who first goes to meet Jesus when he arrives here. Everybody is consoling poor little Mary. But Martha is perceived to be strong. So she doesn’t get the attention Mary gets.
Without Martha both Mary and phlegmatic Lazarus wouldn’t have faired too well. I think this passage in John tells us a whole lot more about Martha than the more familiar story in Luke.
Here she stands before Jesus making a confession of faith just as solid and profound as Peter’s great confession. Here Jesus reveals himself as the resurrection and the life and then asks her if she believes him. Here in her finest hour, this great woman of faith says to Jesus, “Yes”. What a word to say to Jesus in a time of testing. Can you say that word in your hour of trial, “Yes”?
Her response is not just “yes” but “Yes, Lord.” “I believe that you are: (1) the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Now remember, Jesus has not yet met her immediate need. He has not yet raised Lazarus from the dead. Many will believe after that happens. But before that Martha says, “I believe”[22]. Her belief is a model of saving faith. Her faith is not superficial. The trial is exposing it as the real thing. The tense here indicates a settled ongoing belief. “I believe that you are the Christ (2) the Son of God who was to come into the world.”
Her faith is not perfect. She does not know that Jesus is about to raise her brother from the dead. When Jesus commands the stone to be removed, Martha reminds him in verse 40 that Lazarus has been dead four days and is decomposing. At that point Jesus has to remind her of his promise concerning the glory of God.
But Martha is a grand example of a believer whose faith is severely tried. Her experience brings difficult disappointments and questions but her faith does not fail. What gets her through the trial? her underlying trust in a person. And that person is Jesus.
Martha and Mary come to a greater revelation of Jesus through this hard, but profitable experience. As a result of Lazarus’ resurrection many believe on Jesus. In the midst of your current circumstances, are there unanswered questions? Martha had unanswered questions. Have there been disappointments. Martha experienced disappointment.
But through it all she chose to trust the Lord for who he is—the Christ, the Son of God.
This morning, I encourage you to follow her example and fully stand by your faith in the One Who loved you and gave Himself for you. You may not have an answer to all your questions but you have a Lord that you can trust with the outcome!
Pray
Lord, there are those this morning whose faith is being tried even as Martha’s was. We ask that you would give each of us the kind of faith that tenaciously insists on your all-sufficiency in our lives. For those who need a miracle today, may a renewed faith arise in their hearts to count you faithful and true. Amen
Outline & Discussion Questions:
God, Why Don’t You Do Something?
John 11:1-37
12-28-03
Intro
I. Jesus’ Response to Lazarus’ sickness
A. In verse 4 Jesus’ word of assurance was that the end result of this sickness would not be __________ but God’s_____________.
B. Jesus waited ______ days before going to Lazarus’ house. (Verse 5)
C. Jesus’ one day Journey to Bethany (2 miles outside Jerusalem).
1. The disciple’s fear that they would be killed (verse 8)
2. Jesus’ assurance that he was walking in the light (knowledge) of God’s will. (Verse 9-10)
3. Thomas brave statement
“Let us also go that we may ________ with Him. (Verse 15)
II. Jesus’ Encounter with Martha
A. Dramatized in “The Greatest Story Ever Told”
B. Martha’s pain expressed “Lord, if you had been here ____ ________ would not have____________.”
Martha’s faith expressed “But I _______ that even _______ God will give you whatever you ask.”
C. Jesus revelation of himself (verse 25), “I am the ________ and the ________.”
D. Martha’s great confession of faith (verse 27), “I ___________ that you are the ____________, the ___________ _____ _________ who was to come into the world.”
Text
John 11:1-37
1:1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now laid sick was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
4When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it." 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
7Then he said to his disciples "Let us go back to Judea."
8"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"
9Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. 10It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."
11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
16Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" NIV
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
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[1] Text was read during service and is included at the end of this message for reference.
[2] Our familiarity with the end of the story can rob us of an emotional connection with those in scripture in the midst of the trial who do not at that time know what will transpire. It is helpful to discipline ourselves and enter into the story as it occurs so that we can better apply the events to our own life experiences.
[3] John 11:1-16 Lazarus; his Hebrew name probably was Eleazar, which being contracted, and a Greek termination put to it, is made Lazarus. (from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
[4] John 11:17-19 (from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)
[5] Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John (p. 409) confirms the Jewish belief that when anyone died the soul of the dead person lingered in the vicinity of the body for three days. But by the fourth day the soul had left, which meant that there was no longer any possibility that the soul would reenter the body.
[6] John 5:19
[7] Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, p. 402 suggests the absence of Peter is likely the reason this miracle is not included in the Synoptic gospels.
[8] Morris (p. 406) calls attention to the fact that the Greek construction in verse 10 does not say that a person stumbles because he is not in the light but says, “Because the light is not in him.”
[9] Thomas’ nickname, Didymus, means Twin.
[10] Mark 14:50; John 16:32
[11] This experience occurred at Trinity Church in Lubbock, Texas as I recall in the late ‘70’s or early “80’s but I can not remember the man’s name.
[12] For example Luke 22:49-51 illustrates their confusion about what to do.
[13] The George Stevens production of “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. Metro Goldwyn Mayer 1965.
[14] G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel According to John (Los Angeles: Revell) p. 192
[15] Mark 9:24
[16] LAZARUS (from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)
[17] John 5:14; 8:11
[18] Charles Spurgeon, A Treasury of Spurgeon on the Life and Work of our Lord, Vol. IV (Grand Rapids: Baker Book, 1979) p. 357-368
[19] The two Greek words here emphasize the I.
[20] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Vol. II (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984) p.322
[21] Matthew 16:16
[22] Morris (p. 413) has pointed out that the use of the perfect tense here indicates a firm and continuing commitment. At some unspecified time in the past she had put her trust in Jesus and that is where it remained. The kind of faith one has in Christ is a major theme running through this gospel.
