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Lessons from Lazarus (3)
'Now a certain man was sick ... Lazarus of Bethany...' John 11:1
It must have been so difficult for Martha and Mary. They had to watch their brother die because Jesus didn't get to them in time. You wouldn't blame Martha and Mary if they felt a double dose of mourning: they'd lost their brother, and maybe they had lost hope in who Jesus was too. But it didn't seem to rock Martha's faith! When Martha first saw Jesus after her brother had died she said to him, 'Lord... if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask' (John 11:21-22 NIV).
Martha not only believed Jesus would have saved Lazarus from sickness, she still believed he could save him 'even now' in death.
Mary's initial reaction to Jesus' arrival in Bethany was very different to Martha's. Mary stayed at home whereas Martha was up and out of the house straight away to find him. Perhaps Mary stayed because she thought Jesus would be coming to the house anyway, so there wasn't any need.
But there's a sense that Martha had so much hope in Jesus that she couldn't just wait for him to just turn up, she had to seek him out and declare to him the massive faith she had in him. Martha was right to have that kind of hope in Jesus. He was who he said he was. He is the same for you!
written by Bob Gass
'Now a certain man was sick ... Lazarus of Bethany...' John 11:1
It must have been so difficult for Martha and Mary. They had to watch their brother die because Jesus didn't get to them in time. You wouldn't blame Martha and Mary if they felt a double dose of mourning: they'd lost their brother, and maybe they had lost hope in who Jesus was too. But it didn't seem to rock Martha's faith! When Martha first saw Jesus after her brother had died she said to him, 'Lord... if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask' (John 11:21-22 NIV).
Martha not only believed Jesus would have saved Lazarus from sickness, she still believed he could save him 'even now' in death.
Mary's initial reaction to Jesus' arrival in Bethany was very different to Martha's. Mary stayed at home whereas Martha was up and out of the house straight away to find him. Perhaps Mary stayed because she thought Jesus would be coming to the house anyway, so there wasn't any need.
But there's a sense that Martha had so much hope in Jesus that she couldn't just wait for him to just turn up, she had to seek him out and declare to him the massive faith she had in him. Martha was right to have that kind of hope in Jesus. He was who he said he was. He is the same for you!
written by Bob Gass
