Christ’s Faithfulness to Our Faith

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John 11:17–27 (ESV)

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Opening Prayer

The Scene at the House

The three days after death were called “days of weeping.”

The “days of weeping” were followed by four “days of lamentation.”

So, when someone died there were seven “days of mourning.”

According to rabbinical tradition, the spirit of the dead person wandered around the tomb for three days seeking an opportunity to return into the body.

But, after three days the body would begin to decompose. It was believed that this was when the soul leaves the body to itself.

The friends of the deceased were in the habit of visiting the tomb for three days after death and burial.

Again, because of traditional thought, people felt they would be close to deceased person’s soul.

When the fourth day came, and decomposition took place, and the soul, as they supposed, went away from the tomb, they beat their breast and made loud lamentations.

This explains the allusion to the “four days” in this passage.

The saying that one had been in the grave four days was equivalent to saying that bodily corruption had begun.

This was a time of mourning and sorrow.

This morning, the first thing I want us to see with Martha, is that many times in the face of sorrow and suffering…

—> We can be drawn into…

Temptation by Grief

John 11:21–22 (ESV)

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

There’s grief in her heart.

She has some disappointment in the outcome.

Lord, if you had been here…

—> We say similarly, Lord, where are you?

If you had only been here, we would not be mourning.

—> I don’t understand why you didn’t come sooner.

Martha has doubts because of the sorrow experienced through loosing a loved one.

—> Not because she lost faith in Christ.

The doubts didn’t cause Martha to stop believing in Christ…I’ll speak to that in a bit

But, they did blind her from truths that she already knew.

And, don’t we fall into this very same trap?

Truths that we know dearly.

Truths that we have memorized.

Truths that we have pointed people to.

When grief fills our hearts and doubts flood in we forget the very truths we hold dear.

Sometimes Circumstances Cause Us to Become Forgetful of the Truth

John 11:21 (ESV)

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

It would be easy to pass over this statement.

But, I want us to think about this statement…

Did Jesus need to be there in order for Lazarus to be healed?

We remember the Centurion

Matthew 8:8–13 (ESV)

8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

We remember the Nobleman

John 4:49–53 (ESV)

49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.

The truth is, Jesus did not need to be there.

But, Martha’s disappointment in the outcome is causing her to forget such truth.

These miracles would have been told to her by the disciples, if not Jesus Himself.

But, sometimes grief can cause doubts and we’re tempted to forget the glorious truths of our Savior…

His power.

His love.

His mercy.

His grace.

His faithfulness.

Sometimes Circumstances Cause Us to Impose Our Will Upon God

John 11:21 (ESV)

21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Another truth to see here that is significant for us to understand and to posture our mind against doing the same…

Martha had no promise from God or His Word that Christ would heal Lazarus.

—> This is an attempt to impose her will upon Christ.

Just because God does something for one person does not obligate God to do it for all.

We all know of Christians who have been healed of Cancer.

We all know of Christians who have died of cancer.

God is not obligated to heal anyone of cancer.

God heals according to His will.

Christ healed many, but He did not heal all.

—> How do we know?

Because after the ascension of Christ the Apostles immediately started healing…

—> Some who were lame from birth.

God is not obligated to heal anyone of cancer.

God heals according to His will.

And, as His children, we are to trust Him, trust His answers, trust His goodness towards us in all circumstances.

—> This is the life of faith.

This is what God calls us to:

To believe His Word.

To trust His providence.

To rest in His care for us.

To persist in prayer, as to let Him steer us in our wants and desires.

To long to be in the physical presence of Christ.

He is our good Shepherd.

—> We are His sheep.

He is our Father.

—> We are His beloved children.

But, grief can tempt us to replace God’s will with ours.

And, then doubt causes us to forget His goodness.

Sometimes Circumstances Cause Us to Not Truly Hear What God is Saying to Us in His Word

John 11:23–24 (ESV)

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

TheMartha has probably heard this truth so many times over the last four days that she just gives a rote answer.

She’s hearing it from Christ as she heard it from friends and family.

She’s not truly listening to the Lord.

She’s not truly inquiring of the Lord.

She’s saying to Christ…

I know that my brother will resurrect in the far future…

But, how can that comfort me in this immediate moment?

You ever felt like this when things didn’t go your way?

—> You ever felt this way when tragedy strikes?

How often have we been going through a difficult situation and the Word of God shed off our hearts/minds like water off a duck’s back…

Whether in reading, preaching, or a friend speaking it to us in conversation.

We just are not hearing, because we are not truly listening.

We think we are sealed in by our current knowledge…

—> By our current understanding.

All the while, neglecting the thought that God can shine in our hearts warm clarity from His Word.

Listen, Jesus is saying something much more than what she is hearing…

Because she is not truly listening.

But, He will prove the more of what He is saying in the coming verses…

As He gently leads Martha through this trying circumstance.

Look at how Jesus ministers to Martha…

John 11:25–26 (ESV)

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Here we see Jesus call Martha…

The Call to a Deeper Trust in Christ

This is not a call to believe in the doctrine of the resurrection.

—> Martha already believes in that doctrine. (v.24)

This is a call to believe that Christ is the source of such power and promises…

—> And, is such exclusively.

When Jesus says…

25…I am the resurrection and the life.

Jesus is calling Martha to realize that the resurrection is not some distant reality.

The reality of the resurrection is standing before her very eyes.

The comfort of the resurrection is Christ…

Is the real, physical presence of Christ.

The beauty of the doctrine of the resurrection is Christ.

And, He is standing right in front of her.

As John Flavel stated…

If I get to heaven and Christ is not there, I will leave immediately to find my Savior.

IOW, heaven isn’t heaven without Christ.

The resurrection loses all glory without Christ…

—> Because Christ is the glory of the resurrection.

So, He is the source and goal of the resurrection and eternal life.

Then Jesus adds…

Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

Now Jesus gives us the picture of someone at the moment of their death.

Lazarus would be in the forefront of the mind here…

But this truth is for every believer in Christ.

The death that all people face ushers believers into a different existence than unbelievers.

Those who believe upon Christ…

Are ushered immediately into true life…

Eternal life…

Life with God, the way it should be…

Where righteousness will reign.

Jesus is giving Martha hope for her brother, for herself, and for every other believer in Christ.

To live is Christ…To die is gain!

Because the gain is the eternal, friendly, physical presence of Christ…

Where no enemy of the Christian resides.

Jesus adds a dynamic to this glorious truth…

26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Here, Jesus gives us the picture of the believer still alive.

Paul exegetes this truth with great clarity in Eph. 2…

though we were alive physically, God made us alive spiritually, by grace you have been saved through faith, and that faith is a gift.

Jesus says here…

Everyone who lives, spiritually…

And believes in me shall never die.

They will never taste everlasting death.

They will never be separated from the presence of the God of love…

Or the love of God.

Why? —>because union with Christ…

—> Is union with the very source of such beauty.

Believing = living

Living & believing = never dying

Look at the statement…

26…shall never die.

Literally is written shall never, never die.

An absolute certainty.

In Christ we have life, and we have it eternally, and abundantly.

So, He is the source of the new life of regeneration and is our Savior from condemnation.

Now, what about Martha?

Here’s the Good News

In spite of Martha’s circumstances causing her to be forgetful of key truths of our Lord.

In spite of Martha’s grief causing her to wish her will upon the Lord.

Martha’s faith in Christ is still intact…

John 11:22 (ESV)

22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

This isn’t a denial by Martha of who Christ was or what He could do.

This is just a situation in which Martha wished she got her way.

And, Jesus is going to walk with her through this situation.

—> And, she will be glad that He did in the end.

Martha’s faith is still intact for the same reason Peter’s was after his denial.

Because Christ is the good Shepherd who does not lose a single sheep.

The good Shepherd is watching out for her.

The good Shepherd is leading her gently through His pastures.

—> Never leaving her side.

—> Training her to hear His voice.

And, dear Christian, He does the same for you and me.

Now some have thought that this statement by Martha is a veiled request for Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead.

But, this is proven otherwise in…

John 11:39 (ESV)

39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”

She was not asking Jesus to resurrect Lazarus at this time…

Because when Jesus starts to, Martha starts behaving like it is impossible.

What we are witnessing in v.22 is Martha confessing that although she is saddened by the results…

She is still confident that Jesus is who He says He is…

—> And, she is still trusting in Him.

Look at…

John 11:26–27 (ESV)

26 …Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

What a confession by Martha!

Jesus has brought her in the midst of grief…

To a deeper clarity of who He is…

And, that He is with her and for her.

Martha’s Faith is Exercised & Strengthened

Yes, Lord; I believe

I Believe is in the perfect tense.

It has become a settled conviction with her.

That Jesus is the Christ.

The Messiah.

God’s anointed.

God’s appointed Savior.

The Divine-King-Son-Shepherd that God promised in the OT.

That Jesus is the eternal Son of God.

the Son of God

Which is given an exclamation point by…

who is coming into the world.

This is a title for the One who willingly came from heaven to earth.

Let’s think about this...

This good Shepherd who walks with Martha during this trying time of mourning…

Who reminds her of what she already knows.

Who expands what she knows into deeper, more freeing knowledge.

Who helps her connect doctrine to real life joy and application.

He is our good Shepherd, too.

No matter what you’re going through.

No matter what you’re experiencing at this moment.

If you are in Christ He is with you.

He is teaching you.

He is leading you.

Embrace Him and be glad in Him.

And, avail yourself to the ordinary means of grace.

We have a good Shepherd who will never leave us, nor forsake us.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Closing Prayer