Martha and Mary could not confine themselves in the disbelief any longer, after seeing their brother Lazarus who returned to life. The weeping of the Jews ended at that very moment. The mind of everyone who was there was changed by the faith of Jesus Christ, namely the work of life. Our beloved Jesus Christ saved Lazarus from the tomb, and drove out disbelief of everyone who was there. Finally He planted the faith in God into their mind. Today Jesus Christ wants to perform the same work in our mind. He is knocking the door of our heart, telling us to take away the stone blocking our heart. Ock Soo Park, Pastor
IF THE LORD HAD BEEN HERE
In John, chapter 11:25-26, Jesus said to Martha, "...I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" The Lord headed toward the tomb of Lazarus to bring him back to life. The tomb was in the town Bethany of Judea. Martha went out to meet Jesus when Jesus was coming near to Bethany. In the place where Jesus Christ was received by Martha, He spoke to her. After then, Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus that was a cave in Bethany. And He ordered to move away the stone laid across the entrance of the cave. Jesus had to go through the many processes one by one before He brought Lazarus back to life. Likewise, whether it is the stone door or the long distance, every obstacle that blocks us from Jesus Christ has to be overcome. Including not only the stone door, but the long distance that is the material obstacles in time and space, the Bible tells us that there are also the obstacles in our hearts barring the work of Jesus Christ. That is to say, the hearts of the people which is fully occupied with the disbelief obstruct the heart of Christ which is fully occupied with the faith to bring Lazarus back to life. Therefore, just like opening and entering through the door step by step, Jesus had to solve the confronting problems one by one to bring Lazarus back to life. The very first thing that He had to face was the disbelief of Martha.
Martha's first word to Jesus when she met Him was, "If You had been here, my brother would not have died." Martha had seen several times before that Jesus had healed the many sicknesses. Accordingly, she believed that her brother would not have died, if Jesus had come to see him while he was sick. Of course, Martha believed that Jesus Christ was competent to heal the sickness of Lazarus. And yet it didn't mean that the faith of Martha was complete. Martha believed only that Jesus could heal the sickness, but she did not believe that Jesus could bring stinking Lazarus back to life who had been dead four days. That was the distrust that exactly Jesus wanted to change in the heart of Martha. Jesus had the faith that God would bring dead Lazarus back to life. However, He was disturbed because of the disbelief of Martha. Thereupon, Jesus said to Martha, "Your brother shall rise again." Martha heard what Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." though she did not have faith that Jesus could bring Lazarus back to life.
As a result, she did not receive the word of Christ with the faith. Instead, she did disclose disbelief of herself with saying, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to Martha again, "I am the resurrection and the life. he who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" If Martha had believed what Jesus Christ said to her, it means that Martha would have believed as well that Lazarus could be alive again, even though he had been dead four days. Nevertheless Martha said, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." Martha believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. As well as she believed that Jesus Christ could heal the sickness of Lazarus if He had come before Lazarus died. Unfortunately she could not believe at that very moment that Jesus Christ was able to bring Lazarus back to life too, even after he had died.
DO YOU BELIEVE THE LORD WHO CAN SOLVE YOUR CONFRONTING PROBLEMS?
I think our faithful life of these days is very much same as Martha's. Without any doubt, we all believe the fact that Jesus walked on the sea, brought Lazarus back to life, fed five thousand people with five barley loaves, and healed the man who had been sick for 38 years. However, not many of us believe that Jesus can solve our confronting problems, too. Of course, the reason why Martha cried in sadness was that her brother had been dead. But the actual reason why Martha cried in agony was that she did not have faith that Jesus could bring her dead brother back to life. Jesus was not able to do anything on the basis of distrust. If we do not have the individual faith that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sin of ourselves, what we believe in Christ does not mean anything, even if we know that He, as the Son of God, died on the cross to forgive the sin of everyone. If we do not believe the Lord as the one who can solve our confronting problems, what we believe in God is the same as the disbelief that we do not believe the Lord at all. Although the Lord has a power to solve all our problems and wants to take care of them for us, our disbelief is the main obstacle blocking the work of God. Just as it was the problem that Martha could not trust the Lord who could bring her dead brother back to life, even though she believed all other miracles that the Lord had performed, our distrust of God who can solve all our confronting problems is the problem in these days.
Not long ago, I have been to America. Usually, I have many thankful things after the trip to America. At the same time, I always have to face the difference in time between America and Korea. My wife and I could not go to bed even till the middle of the night after the trip to America. Sometimes when we woke up, it was only 3 or 4 o'clock in the early morning, but we could not go back to bed, so we used to eat instant noodle. On the contrary, every early in the evening, we had to sniffer from sleeping after the dinner I felt drowsy while I was even preaching, praying, or reading the Bible. Therefore, for a few days before I came back to Korea, I had to try not to go to bed when I should be in America. While I was flying to Korea, I set my watch by the time in Korea beforehand. Even though I felt so sleepy, I tried to stay up until I arrived in Korea. For a few days after I came back to Korea, every night, I visited churches in places and preached to keep up myself. Even it was not so, I usually preached in a loud voice, but during that time, intentionally I preached at the top of my voice to fight against the sleepiness.
After I preached like that for one week, I was able to overcome the difference in time, but I became hoarse. After two weeks, I was scheduled to preach before few thousand audience in the gymnasium of Taegu city. So, I decided not to preach for at least one week to protect my vocal cords. And yet I really had a difficulty to preach throughout the assembly in Taegu. I had a very poor voice.
After then, I had to preach in Taejeon Gymnasium for another week and I was quite uneasy about it. 'How can I preach in Taejeon for another week with this poor voice?'So I slept little more than I used to and tried to take care of my voice as much as I could. But still, I felt that something struck in my throat and it was very painful. I planned to stand on the platform and preach in the good state of health through more sleeping and good rest. Still worse, I even caught a cold. 'After few days the assembly will be opened. How am I going to preach with this voice?'I could not get sleep because of the blocked nose, and kept being disturbed by the achy feeling inside throat.
One morning before the assembly, I saw myself not believing in God, I began to think. 'Why did I not bring this problem before the Lord?'Then God told me that He wanted me to use the means of faith in Him, rather than the human means like taking medicines. Usually I took a shower with cold water every early in the morning. I stopped it since I caught a cold. Once I decided to commit this problem to the Lord, I began to take a shower with cold water again and stopped taking medicine also. Then I just did what I had to do as usual, while I was seeking for the mercy of God in my heart, 'Father, please cure my sick throat and get rid of cold.'At that night, I was taken with a fit of cough in the bed, and brought up phlegm. In my sleep, I received it with the tissue, threw it into the trash can, and fell asleep again. When I woke up in the morning, my throat was completely cured.
When the Lord wanted to take care of all my problems, I did not believe in Him, instead I tried with my way. I thought that I would be fine if I slept more and relaxed for a while. Moreover, I believed what I considered impossible was impossible for God, too. God really wants to work in us. However, we do not have faith in Him. Hereupon, we do not deal with our confronting problems with faith. Most of people believe Jesus Christ who restored Lazarus to life, healed the man who had been sick for 38 years, and performed many other miracles. Though they do not believe Jesus Christ as one who can solve their confronting problems.Even though Jesus Christ wants to take care of our problems, He cannot work in our life because of our disbelief. That was the reason why Jesus Christ asked Martha, before He recalled Lazarus to life, "I am the resurrection and the life. he who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Jesus Christ wanted Martha to believe that fact first. Martha answered the question of Jesus, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God." Martha believed that Jesus was the Christ and the Son of living God, but she did not believe that Jesus could bring dead Lazarus back to life. Then, she felt uncomfortable to stay there, so she called Mary, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you." Martha placed Mary before Jesus Christ, and avoided the presence of Jesus quickly.
WHY DID JESUS GROAN IN HIS SPIRIT?
On His way to the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus Christ groaned in the spirit when He saw that Mary and the Jews who came with her were weeping. Why did Jesus groan in His spirit? The meaning of the weeping of Martha, Mary and the Jews was that they admitted the death of Lazarus. Furthermore, the reason of their weeping was the disbelief of Jesus Christ who could bring Lazarus round. After all the situation turned out that Martha, Mary and the Jews stood against the faith of Jesus Christ, as a result of their disbelief. Their disbelief blocked the work of Jesus Christ. The reason why Jesus Christ is troubled and groans in His spirit is not that He has no power to take care of our confronting problems, like death, sickness, or failure in business. The true reason is that we limit Him with the thought like this "Of course, He is able to take care of this and that kind of problems, but not the one I am facing."Martha and Mary knew that Jesus Christ was able to heal the sickness. That was why they sent a message to Jesus Christ. They did believe that Jesus Christ could heal their brother, if He came before he died. And yet Jesus Christ wanted them to have the great faith that was more than what they had. That is to say, Jesus Christ wanted them to believe that the power of Himself can not only heal the sickness, but also bring the dead back to life. Pitifully, Martha and Mary could not believe that Jesus Christ was able to restore stinking Lazarus who had been dead four days, even though they believed that Jesus Christ could heal their sick brother. That caused Jesus Christ to be sad and weep. Our Lord Jesus Christ never sighed in His spirit, nor was troubled because of those who fought against Him, or nailed Him on the cross. But Jesus Christ was very sad and sighed deeply, when He saw those who were discouraged after they used human methods to solve their problem as a result of the disbelief of the power of Jesus Christ. Closing our heart highly to Jesus Christ, placing no faith in God, and leaving problem as it is; all these aspects are same as covering the entrance of tomb of Lazarus with the stone. Until Jesus Christ came to the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus Christ had to fight against the disbelief of the people. That caused Him to shed tears.
"Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone." (John 11:38,39).
If Jesus did not come to the Bethany of Judea from the far place, nor come in the tomb of Lazarus, nor order them to move away the stone that closed the entrance of the tomb tightly, Lazarus might have to decompose in the dismal tomb. Jesus came to see dead Lazarus. When Lazarus was alive, people did not mind seeing Lazarus but no one wanted to meet dead stinking Lazarus. So they put him in the tomb, and covered the entrance of the tomb with the stone tightly. That inferred no one wanted to meet Lazarus any longer. Nonetheless, Jesus Christ came to tomb and said, "Take away the stone." the word of Jesus Christ is the power itself. No one can obstruct the word of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless Martha said, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.
"Hallelujah! I cannot help myself but praise and worship our Lord when I see these scriptures. In this world, how many souls are there who are struggling with their sin and dying in spirit, just like Lazarus who was decomposing in the cold and dismal tomb? How many people are there who were abandoned by everyone? "He is such a terrible person. There is no hope for him. It is better to forget about him." Probably, there are some people who gave up themselves, thinking,'I don't think I can. There is no future for me.'But there is a hope even for the people like them. In sight of Jesus Christ, there is a hope even for the person who was told by everyone, "I will never see you ugly face again nor talk to you. I hate you." Because Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life, He has a power to give life.
TAKE AWAY THE STONE!
In the light, there is no darkness at all. When light shines in darkness, all darkness will disappear, no matter how dark it is. Therefore, there is no darkness where light shines. The place that the light of Jesus shines is the light of land where there is no darkness. There is darkness for the people who turn against light. But there is no darkness in the heart of the people who walk toward light. Likewise, there is no destruction or death to the people who meet Jesus, look upon Jesus, place hope in Jesus and depend on Jesus because He is the resurrection and the life. Lazarus was not able to do anything for himself. Therefore Jesus Christ wanted to see him and shone His light to him. To Lazarus who was sunk in the deep darkness of dead, Jesus Christ shone His light. Then he was resurrected.
"Take away the stone," is the word of Jesus Christ. As if God had said, "Let there be light," "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself on the earth," and just like He had said unto the sea, "Please be still" , Jesus Christ said, "Take away the stone." There is nothing that can be opposite or fight against the word of Jesus Christ in this universe. However, Satan put disbelief into our mind, and made us go against the word of God. By the penetration of Satan, Martha said "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he hath been dead four days." What she was meaning through saying this was that she did not want to take away the stone. After all she became the one who stood against the word of Jesus Christ.
That is the exact aspect of our faithful life, too. We say frequently, "We love the Lord." But most of the time, we are deceived by Satan. As a result, we do not receive the word of the Lord with faith. After all we stand against the word of God with our thoughts or will. In the end, Martha and Mary changed their minds through the word of Jesus Christ. Just then, Jesus Christ began to pray to God. Whatever Martha and Mary had said simply proved their disbelief that Jesus cannot restore Lazarus to life. Before the people whose minds were fully occupied with the distrust, Jesus Christ demonstrated the faith in God.
"Father, I thank You that You have heard me. And I know that You always hear Me ..." Jesus Christ always believed that God would listen to and answer Him, regardless of the situation he was facing. When He had spoken and cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" that wonderful word of Jesus Christ brought the powerful word of God to give a life to Lazarus who was decomposing in the darkness of the tomb and cast out the disbelief out of the mind of Martha, Mary and the fews who were there. Martha and Mary could not confine themselves in the disbelief any longer, after seeing their brother Lazarus who returned to life. The weeping of the Jews ended at that very moment. The mind of everyone who was there was changed by the faith of Jesus Christ, namely the work of life. Our beloved Jesus Christ saved Lazarus from the tomb, and drove out disbelief of everyone who was there. Finally He planted the faith in God into their mind.
Today Jesus Christ wants to perform the same work in our mind. He is knocking the door of our heart, telling us to take away the stone blocking our heart, and He is fighting against the Satan who always wants to lead us to disbelief in God. He keeps enlarging our mind so that He can work in us. I have no doubt that Jesus Christ will work in brethren and many souls continuously.
