Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-44; John 12:2
By Patsy Norwood © 2024 All Rights
Reserved!
Lesson 7
In lesson 6, we learned the reason Jesus delayed coming to
Lazarus and in today’s lesson, we’re going to meet back up with Martha and
began to see the reason Jesus delayed, unfold.
Let’s pick back up in John 11 …
Verse 17 … So when Jesus came, He found that he had already
been in the tomb four days.
I found the wording ‘He found’ … to be interesting. It’s almost as if this was unexpected, but we
know that’s not the case as Jesus knew before leaving to come to Bethany, that
Lazarus was dead. So, what does this
phrase mean?
Because of the climate, burial followed death as quickly as
possible. Deep mourning lasted seven
days, of which the first three were days of weeping. This is when Jesus arrived, on day four of
the week of deep mourning, and this is what 'He found' as it should be … a
household crowded with sympathizers for Lazarus’ family.
The four days of Lazarus being in the tomb before Jesus
arrived are significant and we’ll find out why later in the study.
18 - 19 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;
and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning
their brother.
Bethany being near Jerusalem would explain why many of the
Jews came to comfort Martha and Mary, that along with the fact that visits to
the sick, and to the sorrowing, were a central part of Jewish religion. We already know from previous lessons on
these two sisters, that this family was likely wealthy and held a place of
prominence in society. Hence, there
would be several distinguished Jewish ‘mourners’ there. It would indeed be the perfect place for
Jesus to perform a miracle that would confirm His deity, one that couldn’t
possibly have any other explanation since Lazarus had been dead and in the
grave for four days, his body having started decomposing … but first there was
Martha …
20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming,
went to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house.
This time it wasn’t Mary who ‘sat at Jesus’ feet,’ it was
Martha, the doer, only she didn’t sit, she sought Him out, she went to where He
was.
Do we seek Jesus out?
Do we know where to find Him?
21 - 22 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been
here, my brother would not have died. Even
now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
Can’t you just hear and feel the heartbreak, the brokenness
of sorrow resonating in Martha’s voice?
‘If’ … such a little word, with such big
consequences. ‘If’ Jesus had been there,
Lazarus would not have died. I don’t
look at Martha’s proclamation as a complaint, but instead as one of great faith
that if He had been there Lazarus would not have died. Martha understood that Jesus could have and
would have made Lazarus well … if He had been there.
The humanness in us has to wonder, was Martha seeking an
answer to an unasked question: ‘When You got our message, why didn’t You come?’
Hold on Martha, you’re about to find out just how powerful
Jesus is and that His way is always the best way. You’re about to experience firsthand a lesson
that will mightily proclaim Jesus’ power and remove doubt that He is the
promised Messiah that they’ve all been waiting for! You’re also about to find out that Jesus’
delays are not always denials!
Martha is also about to find out that she and her family
are the tools through which this great lesson and proclamation is going to come. In the midst of deep brokenness, it’s hard,
in fact it’s almost impossible sometimes, to see how God can use our pain. Martha couldn’t see it, and often we can’t
either. But like Martha, we must stand
on our faith and let God use our brokenness to further His Kingdom.
“Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will
give You.” Is Martha subtly asking Jesus to ask God to
raise Lazarus from the dead? Her faith
is there, but is it God’s will, is the timing right? Surrendering to God’s will and timing isn’t always
easy!
23 - 24 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Martha is going on what she knows and believes and that is
that Lazarus will rise again on the day of resurrection on the last day, but in
no way seems to be relating it to her ‘here and now.’
25 - 26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the
life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives
and believes in Me will never die. Do
you believe this?”
Jesus is not saying that anyone who believes in Him will
never die physically. We all know that
it’s appointed once for man to die (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus was instead referring to the eternal life
that will come to each of us after death.
Jesus, possibly sensing that Martha was not grasping what
He was saying to her, goes on further with His explanation ending it with a
most important question for Martha … ‘Do you believe this?’
To believe in Jesus means to accept everything that He said,
did and commanded as absolute truth and then to live our lives based on that truth.
The word ‘believe’ here means to trust, to have confidence,
to be bold, according to the Greek Lexicon.
Jesus was asking Martha, if she had confidence in Him, if she trusted
Him? Jesus is asking Martha to search her heart …
it’s as if He’s saying, ‘Martha, do you believe, really believe or is your
belief just lip service?’
Do we believe, really believe that Jesus is God’s Son? What does our ‘belief’ look like? James 2:19 tells us that even the demons
believe and tremble.
While we watch Jesus probe Martha’s heart for genuine
belief, let’s do a private probe of our own as well!
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You
are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”
Well, there you go … Martha is no longer in the kitchen
banging pots and pans fuming because her sister wasn’t helping her prepare
their meal. Her weak faith is no more
and in its place is a more mature and stronger one. Martha has got her spiritual priorities right!
After Martha’s monumental confession, is it smooth sailing for
her from here on out or does she falter in her faith? Join me next week and we’ll find out!
I hope you enjoyed today's lesson. Don't forget
to leave a comment and if you're enjoying this study, please share the link
with other ladies who you think might enjoy it as well.
Until the next class …
patsy @ From This Heart of
Mine
Sources used for this study:
Various
translations of the Holy Bible
Various
commentaries
Dictionary
of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter
Archaeological
Study Bible
All the
Women of the Bible by Edith Deen
Daughters
of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs
Halley’s
Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley
