Martha, Mary, and a Miracle

Introduction

Have you ever been in a situation where it looks like you’ve only got two options? Feels like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place as they say. But then God does something else entirely! And you didn’t even see it coming. I was in a job with a marketing agency that was going really well, but that didn’t have anything to do with ministry. It felt like I would eventually have to move somewhere else to find an opportunity as an Associate Pastor. But then He dropped this great opportunity in my lap, working with a Christian ministry online! Getting involved in ministry while still in seminary and providing for my family. Humbling. Faith.

Proposition

Let’s pray that God would increase our faith, as we prepare to study His Word.

Turn to John 11:17-46.

As we relive this narrative, remember that John says he wrote this “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” The miracle we will witness in John 11 was the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry prior to His own death and resurrection. Do you believe this really happened? Will you acknowledge the power of the Son of God?

Jesus Speaks to Martha (17-29)

“17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.”

Waited two days (v. 6), yet either way Lazarus would have been dead

“18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother.”

Danger near Jerusalem, “many” Jews, valid concern

15 stadia = 1.7 miles, 30 minute walk

Tradition: week of mourning, minimum two flutists and a wailer, but more since wealthy and Lazarus key loss as earner

Helped individuals to process grief externally

Reduced isolation and increased solidarity

Structured grief and mitigated chaos

Could be exaggerated or costly, but expected

Console = gently encourage, relieve or soften the blow

“20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.”

Martha hears “Jesus is coming!” present tense; of the two sisters, probably the one that wore a smart watch

Mary was sitting, imperfect; probably crowded / stuffy inside

“21 Martha then said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’”

Assigns tremendous responsibility to Jesus, perhaps frustrated by His delay

Not a direct accusation, but the abrupt conditional without welcome does implicate Jesus

Idea: be careful that you don’t try to tell God how things are; He knows what He’s doing!

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

Again abrupt, implying Jesus will ask something from God

Subtle disrespect, faith in God’s provision but not Jesus’ personal ability

“23 Jesus *said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’”

Can barely get a word in edgewise; bold statement catches attention (present tense “says,” first since v. 8, key change)

Intentional double meaning; pattern in John (Nicodemus birth, Samaritan woman water)

Nothing like hiding the truth in plain sight

“24 Martha *said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’”

Martha’s response is as important to the narrative as Jesus’ statement

Hard to fault her for not thinking outside the box, or the tomb so to speak

People followed Pharisees, hoping to participate in Israel’s glorious future

But this is the second time that Martha misses faith in Jesus Himself

John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

“25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?’”

Not redundant: “will live even if he dies” = resurrection, “lives and believes… will never die” = eternal life

John 1:4 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”

Pulls Martha’s attention back down: do you believe I am the One who will raise Lazarus on that day?

“I AM the resurrection and the life!”

“He who believes in Me…”

“Everyone who lives and believes in Me”

“Do you believe this?” i.e. “Do you believe in me?” Gives her a chance to clarify.

GOSPEL. Question for everyone here today. “Do you believe this?” Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Can your belief be observed clearly in the way that you live your life? If you do not believe, why not? You have to deal with reality.

Do you accept the facts of history? Do you believe Jesus was a real man? Do you believe He was raised from the dead?

Rom 10:9–10 “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation.”

If the resurrection is true, then what does that mean for your life? What does it tell you about the power of Jesus?

John 5:28–29 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

“27 She *said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, the One who comes into the world.’”

Martha confesses Jesus’ identity, but she still does not grasp His power. “Have believed” indicates no new action.

Nonetheless, a magnificent declaration. Yet a striking reminder, like the church of Ephesus, that doctrine does not save.

“28 And when she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ 29 And when she heard it, she *got up quickly and was coming to Him.”

While we are waiting for Mary, let’s take a minute to think more carefully about Martha’s faith.

IDEA: We know the sisters had faith because they did seek for Jesus to heal Lazarus’ sickness.

However, that faith had been disappointed when Jesus did not arrive on time. Martha was gun shy after the disappointment of watching Lazarus slip away.

Are you like Martha? Have you tried to exercise faith but only found disappointment?

Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

Martha coped with this grief by limiting her faith. She was willing to believe historical precedent or explicit promise, but her mind was closed off to all other options. She had seen other people healed before death and also had faith that there would be an end times resurrection, but she did not see an immediate physical resurrection in the cards.

Do not put more faith in precedent and promise, in your theology, than you do in the personal abilities of Jesus Christ.

Beware that you do not allow real life disappointments to instill a low view of God in your heart.

Specifically, stop comparing your life to other people. Just because God does or does not do something for someone else, does not mean that the same will be true for you. Sure, God may not have healed your brother, but what if He planned to raise Him from the dead?? Never limit God to the extent of your imagination. Remember, He created the duck-billed platypus!

Matthew 13:58 “And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.”

Jesus could very well have told Martha and Mary, “See, you don’t believe I can do anything now, so I won’t.” But in the kindness and patience of God, He bears with Martha’s unbelief and waits for Mary to come see Him.

Jesus Weeps with Mary (30-37)

“30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.”

Jesus waiting gives some credibility to Martha’s statement that He called for Mary; she may have told Him to wait there.

“31 Then the Jews—who were with her in the house and consoling her—when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to cry there.”

Mary’s quick response inspired some curiosity. So much for Martha calling Mary secretly!

“32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’”

Mary’s words to Jesus are identical to Martha’s (v. 21)

Evidently a key topic of conversation and grief over the last few days

However, Mary’s approach was different, falling at His feet

“33 When Jesus therefore saw her crying, and the Jews who came with her also crying, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34a and said, ‘Where have you laid him?’”

Mary was crying, the Jews were crying… Martha may have rejoined the group, plural object “Where have you all laid him?”

Jesus brings them to the epicenter of their grief. Healing begins only after the root of the matter has been exposed.

“Deeply moved in spirit and was troubled” = “indignant and disturbed” (LSB footnotes, most common view)

Deeply moved = indignant

Matt 9:30, Mark 1:43 - Jesus “sternly warned them” not to talk

Mark 14:5 - disciples scolded Mary for using expensive perfume to anoint Jesus

Troubled = disturbed

When waters are agitated, then they are “troubled” or “disturbed”

When mobs are stirred up, they are “shaken and disturbed”

Dramatically changes the atmosphere, switching from grief to anger, though often related

“34b They *said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ 35 Jesus wept.”

All they expect is that Jesus will look at the tomb. Just another curious mourner. Mary has totally despaired of hope.

This is the final straw, and Jesus quietly burst into tears.

Aorist, background verb. More restrained term than the weeping of Mary and the Jews.

“36 So the Jews were saying, ‘See how He loved him!’”

They missed the point, Jesus was not weeping for the man who would be raised to life in a matter of minutes.

“37 But some of them said, ‘Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?’”

IDEA: As we saw with Mary, their faith was only based on precedent, not power. Healing was not the limit of Jesus’ abilities.

Mark 3:5 “And after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart,”

If you review the gospels, there are only a few occasions where Jesus demonstrates this kind of emotional intensity:

other miracles where people demonstrate stubborn unbelief

cleansing the temple from defiling pagan practices

groaned over the failure of Jerusalem to come to Him

when he announced to the disciples that one would betray Him

wrestled with His death and the disciples’ weakness in Gethsemane

All of them have to do with spiritual realities, especially tied to His Messianic mission and rejection.

In every case, His emotions also set the stage for concrete, tangible action in response.

In this case, we are dealing with Jesus’ last and greatest miracle. Afterward, He did curse the fig tree and fix the ear of the high priest’s servant, but this was the closing chapter of His public ministry, the final act before His arrest and execution.

He was 1.7 miles outside Jerusalem, and once He entered the city, He would not leave the area until raised from the dead.

Despite three years of teaching and working, no one has faith: disciples mock, Martha questions, Mary despairs, Jews reject.

LADIES: the restraint of His expressions. Exasperating children you’d rather berate, but you gently encourage and correct. You are physically or emotionally drained and feel like you have every reason to go off about something. But you maintain your pose. To be sure, Jesus does not stifle His emotions. He both experiences and expresses them, but He also tempers them. Self-control.

MEN: Romans 12:15 says to “weep with those who weep.” You might be good at rejoicing with those who rejoice, but have you ever obeyed this command in the Bible? Perhaps you are uncertain what to do, so you laugh nervously and make jokes when people tell you hard things. Or maybe you don’t want to get stuck dealing with their problems, so you just talk about “Oh yeah, I’ve seen stuff like that before, I’m sure you’ll just learn to trust God and be fine!” Jesus doesn’t try to fix Mary, He just weeps.

EVERYONE: You need to know your audience. Jesus was a master at responding appropriately to individuals.

Martha was a mind over matter kind of gal. Jesus directly engaged her mind, not shy of discussing theology with a woman.

Mary was a more gentle and less efficient type of woman. Jesus offers compassionate affection, grieving with her.

Despite His indignation and inward disturbance, Jesus is gentle and kind outwardly.

Jesus Calls Lazarus Forth (38-46)

“38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39a Jesus *said, ‘Remove the stone.’”

There is another historical present here, Jesus comes to the tomb. Anticipation. Tense situation.

Remember that v. 37 ended with the Jews nearly mocking Jesus: couldn’t he have done something to help?

So what does Jesus say? “I’m sorry Martha, I’m sorry Mary. I wish I could have been here to help. Lazarus was a good man.”

No, “Remove the stone.”

“39b Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, ‘Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead four days.’”

This was no open casket funeral. Martha is quick to interject. Looked it up on AI, and things are getting gruesome. You know what it’s like to leave a chicken packet in your trash for a couple days, now just imagine a whole corpse stuffed in there.

If you felt like I was being hard on Martha, this statement is a key reason. For all her theological accuracy, she looked past the One who stood in front of her. Jesus just said plainly, “Your brother will rise again… Remove the stone.” But she doesn’t get it.

So often we are like Martha: I believe all that, but remember—the tomb stinks! God is good for sure, but hey, my life sucks!

You cannot have it both ways. As Joshua said, “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve.”

“40 Jesus *said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ 41a So they removed the stone.”

Jesus once again exercises great restraint in His response. He puts Martha in her place, reminding her of glory.

John 2:11 “Jesus did this in Cana of Galilee as the beginning of His signs, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.”

Jesus could have condemned Martha for her unbelief, but he gently encourages her with hope.

Martha accepts His word, gives a nonverbal, and the tomb is opened. The moment. Everyone was literally holding their breath.

“41b Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the crowd standing around I said this, so that they may believe that You sent Me.’”

Surely this is one of the most unexpected prayers in the Bible. Could they hold their breath that long? Walk away?

But Jesus begins in such an interesting way. “I thank You that You have heard Me.” How did He know? I think Jesus took a big breath as the tomb was opened, and the air smelled fresh. Jesus had been communicating with His Father from the start.

John 11:4 “This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

Lazarus’ death and resurrection was meant to prefigure that of Jesus Himself. In both cases, God preserved the bodies.

Psalm 16:10 “For You will not forsake my soul to Sheol; You will not give Your Holy One over to see corruption.”

Implicit affirmation of Martha’s statement, “Whatever you ask from God, God will give You” (v. 22)

She had no idea when she spoke those words that Jesus had already asked God for her brother’s resurrection!

Yet He had, and like a preacher running out of time, Jesus snuck that point into his closing prayer.

We don’t have time to get into it, but Jesus demonstrates here that public prayer is different. Public prayer is not meant to be private prayer in front of everyone. When you pray publicly, you are personally and spiritually leading everyone present.

“43 And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’”

Why did Jesus cry out with a loud voice? Was Lazarus actually sleeping? No, “but because of the crowd standing around.”

The wording in Greek is very terse. No real verb. “Lazarus! Here! Outside!” Spoken like Lazarus is already alive.

“44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’”

Notice how John describes Lazarus as “the man who had died.” Point of the story is unmistakeable.

Imagine: Did they hear shuffling in the tomb first, or was he close enough to the front they could see him sit up?

Probably he came out looking like a VeggieTale on Halloween. Hopping along, liable to trip, hit his head, and go right back in.

Jesus immediately tells them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Probably to take a bath from all the oils and spices. The rich smells that had soaked into his skin would have served as a potent reminder of his resurrection for days or weeks to come.

Maybe every time they cooked with cinnamon or cloves, *sniffs*, “It’s good to be alive!”

In effect, this was a double miracle: both resurrection and healing. I don’t think he came out with a fever and bronchitis.

“45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.”

Once again, the crux of this miracle is put on display. Are you among those who believe or those who mock and plot?

Conclusion

There is so much to consider here. Martha’s intellectual theology. Mary’s emotional despair. Jesus gentleness despite frustration. The Jews’ polarizing responses of belief and hatred. And most of all, the proof of our Savior’s power to raise the dead.

If Jesus can raise Lazarus from the dead, if He can raise Himself from the dead, then you can be sure you will be raised from the dead as well. And as we saw, the only question left to answer is this: when you are raised, will it be for eternal life or eternal judgment?