But Even Now
Notes
Transcript
Handout
We are going to start 2026 off with making sure Jesus is first.
This morning we are going to kick off a week of fasting.
For some of us they may be fasting the week, it may be fasting a day.
Maybe to a certain time every day or maybe just a meal.
Fasting does not help us get God’s attention. it helps give him ours.
5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?
6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?
God isn’t impressed with religious activity.
He’s moved by surrendered hearts.
We will start the fast following service this morning and end it together with communion next week as we kick off our new series “First things First”
We will be walking through the book of 1 Corinthians.
Don’t worry it won’t be 65 weeks…..
It will be 66 weeks….
I’m going to be honest this morning.
I wasn’t supposed to preach.
This morning was originally going to be just a worship service similar to a worship night.
But Tuesday I got a burden that I was supposed to preach.
And I believe God gave me a word for us today.
Turn with me to John 11
Jesus was with his disciples and receives news that his friend Lazarus is sick.
1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.
3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
and then jump down to verse 17
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.
I’ve titled the message this morning:
But Even Now
Pray
I want you, for a moment, to think about 2025.
What was 2025 for you?
What word would you use to describe it?
I’ve heard a lot of people talk about last year.
For some, it was a great year.
For others, it was fun — full of growth or new beginnings.
But for some of us… 2025 felt like an unanswered prayer.
Some of us sent word — because we believed.
We waited.
And nothing changed.
For some of us, this was supposed to be the year —Until it wasn’t.
In John 11 we possible find the single most relatable moment in all of the bible for humanity in relation to God.
a moment that captures what it feels like to be human in relationship with God.
A moment where someone believed…
Prayed…
Waited…And still ended up disappointed.
Honestly put yourself in Martha’s shoes for a moment.
Some of us don’t even have to imagine it because it feels like we are already wearing her shoes.
You believed.
You sent word.
You trusted that He would show up.
And He didn’t.
And here’s what makes it even harder:
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
At first, that feels like good news.
Jesus loves me — so He’s going to show up for me.
Jesus loves me — so of course He’ll come through.
but then you get to verse 6….
6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Wait…Jesus loves me so… He stays where He is?
He doesn’t come?
He doesn’t rush in?
But I asked Him to show up.
I need a miracle.
I need the breakthrough.
I need the healing.
I need the answer.
I need… something.
But this? This doesn’t make sense….
By the time we get to verse 20, Martha is angry.
She’s frustrated.
She’s grieving — but she’s also confused.
And when she sees Jesus coming, she doesn’t hold back.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
Translation?
God, where were you?
You’re supposed to love us.
We called for you.
We believed in you.
We waited on you.
And you didn’t come.
Martha here is being honest.
You can almost see her anger in the text — her frustration, her heartache, her disappointment.
But let’s be clear: Martha isn’t just disappointed.
She feels let down by Jesus — personally.
She feels let down by Jesus — personally.
This wasn’t just a delay.
This was a deep disappointment in the One she trusted most.
And for a lot of us… that’s where we lose heart.
Because we assume that if He really loved us, He would’ve moved by now.
We assume that love always equals urgency.
That love always rushes in, always answers fast, always prevents the pain.
But here’s the truth we don’t always like:
God’s love does not act according to our urgency.
I wish it did.
I really do.
But it doesn’t.
And that’s what makes this moment in John 11 so hard — and so human.
Jesus loved them…
And still, He waited.
But Martha is hurting.
She’s standing in front of the One she trusted — and she’s grieving.
Jesus, if you would’ve come when we called you…
Maybe for you it sounds like this:
God, you knew how bad I wanted this.
God, you knew how much I prayed.
You knew how long I waited.
You knew how desperate I was.
God, if you would’ve just…
If you’re carrying grief into 2026 from 2025 — I’m not asking you to suppress it.
I’m not asking you to ignore it.
I’m telling you: lament it.
Tell God.
Let it out.
He can handle your frustration.
He can carry your disappointment.
He can hold your heartbreak.
Martha didn’t hold back.
And neither should you.
Martha let Jesus have it….
But then there is verse 22….
22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Jesus, You could’ve prevented this.
If You would’ve shown up, everything would be different.
But…
Even now.
Even after all of it.
Even in the pain.
Even through the tears.
I still believe.
This is the turning point in the heart of Martha.
She never let her frustration, her disappointment, her grief, or her pain get in the way of her “But even now.”
She didn’t deny what she felt — she just didn’t let it silence what she believed.
Her pain was real, but so was her faith.
Her questions were loud, but so was her confidence in Jesus.
It’s the kind of faith that doesn’t let pain label what God can do.
It doesn’t let grief define the limits of grace.
It doesn’t let delay be mistaken for denial.
It doesn’t let what didn’t happen rob hope for what will happen.
I don’t know about you —but I’m going into 2026 with a But Even Now faith.
I’m not going in just hoping the pain stops.
I’m not going in pretending the past didn’t hurt.
I’m going in with But Even Now.
Even after the disappointment.
Even after the delay.
Even after the door that didn’t open…
Even after the heartache…
Even after the loss…
I still believe.
I still believe He is good.
I still believe He is more than enough.
I still believe He will do greater things.
I still believe He is in control.
I still trust Him over my pain.
Martha had a “But Even Now” faith.
She believed — even in the middle of grief — that God would give Jesus whatever He asked.
But Jesus is about to take her faith to a different level.
Because it’s one thing to believe Jesus is able…
It’s another to believe Jesus is enough.
It’s one thing to believe in what He can do…
It’s another to believe in who He is.
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?”
See — Martha believed in the promise.
She believed resurrection would happen — one day.
But Jesus is revealing something deeper:
Hey, I’m not only the promise… I’m the person.
You’re waiting on an event — but resurrection is standing right in front of you.
You’re hoping for a future breakthrough — but the breakthrough has a name.
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Jesus doesn’t bring breakthrough. He is Breakthrough
He doesn’t just offer life — He is Life.
He doesn’t just point to hope — He is Hope.
Martha’s theology was correct, but her hope was delayed.
Our hope is not in what could be it’s in who is.
Martha replies in verse 27
27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
After this, she goes to get Mary. And when Mary sees Jesus, she says the exact same words her sister did:
32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
Same grief. Same question. Same pain.
But this time — Jesus doesn’t respond with a theological explanation.
He doesn’t offer a truth to hold.
He offers Himself.
He sees Mary’s tears…
And something happens in Him.
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
There it is.
The shortest verse in the Bible — and one of the most profound:
Jesus wept.
He didn’t just observe their grief — He entered it.
He didn’t just acknowledge their tears — He joined them with His own.
Because even though Martha and Mary said the same words…Their hearts were in different places.
And Jesus knew that.
Jesus is a relational God, not a robotic God.
He doesn’t respond with copy-paste answers.
He doesn’t offer generic comfort.
He doesn’t treat your pain like it’s part of a formula.
He’s not robotic — He’s relational.
He sees your heart.
He knows what you need.
And He meets you there — personally, intentionally, and compassionately.
Martha needed truth to anchor her faith.
So He gave her a promise to hold:
“I am the resurrection and the life…”
Mary needed presence to carry her pain.
So He gave her His tears:
“Jesus wept.”
Same grief. Same question. Same pain.
Same Jesus.
But different response — because His love is always personal.
He’s grieved with two sisters.
He’s wept with a broken community.
He’s felt the full weight of loss and pain.
And now…Jesus is standing in front of the tomb of a dead man.
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.”
Because death stinks.
The odor is proof that it’s over.
The smell confirms what everyone else already believes: It’s too late.
And maybe that’s where some of us are standing right now — in front of something that stinks.
The relationship that didn’t heal.
The dream that feels dead.
The desire that died.
You know it’s dead…And you’re afraid to roll back the stone — because what’s behind it might be too painful to face.
But here’s what I need you to hear:
Jesus is not afraid of the stench.
He’s not overwhelmed by how long it’s been.
He still says, “Take away the stone.”
He looks at Martha and reminds her
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
Jesus said, “Martha… we just talked about this.”
You said, “But Even now…”
You said I’m the Christ….
You said you believed….
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
He just spoke — and life responded.
Because when Jesus speaks, even what was dead doesn’t get to stay dead.
But the story of Lazarus was just a sign.
A glimpse.
A preview.
This miracle was the final straw for the pharisees.
This miracle — this moment — was the turning point.
After Lazarus walked out, the Pharisees began to plot how to kill Jesus.
Because raising the dead was too dangerous.
Hope was too threatening.
Resurrection had too much power.
And from that moment on, Jesus no longer walked openly.
He withdrew… and now two weeks later Jesus was sitting at a table with His disciples.
But this time, it wasn’t a table of celebration.
It was a table of surrender.
Not a stone being rolled away — but a body about to be broken.
Not linen strips unbinding the living — but grave clothes waiting for Him.
At that table, Jesus knew what was coming.
He wasn’t just going to speak to death — He was going to walk into it.
On purpose. For us.
He was preparing to be the resurrection — not just in word, but through the cross.
The man who stood outside the tomb just two short weeks ago…
Calling life out of death…
Unbinding what was buried…
Restoring what was lost…
That same man — Jesus — Is now about to be laid inside a tomb Himself.
But this was always the plan.
This wasn’t reaction — it was redemption.
This wasn’t tragedy — it was timing.
Because before Lazarus was ever sick…
Before Martha ever cried out…
Before Mary ever fell at His feet…
The bible tells us in Revelation 13 verse 8 that before the foundations of the earth Christ was crucified.
Before there was sin… there was a Savior.
Before there was death… there was a plan for resurrection.
Before there was a tomb… there was a Lamb.
This wasn’t Plan B.
This was always the plan.
Not because we were good — but because He is.
And on the night before He fulfilled that plan — Jesus didn’t flinch.
He didn’t run.
He sat at a table with the very people He came to save.
And He gave them something…
14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
This is one of the most debated and dividing moments in all of Scripture.
It’s what we’ve come to call Communion — or the Lord’s Supper.
Some say, “This is literally the body and blood of Jesus.”
Others argue, “It’s only symbolic — just a metaphor.”
But here’s the truth:
Both are missing the weight of what’s actually happening here.
Because this isn’t literal… but it’s also not just symbolic.
It’s sacramental.
That’s a fancy theological word that means it’s something holy and sacred.
It’s not magic — but it is mystery.
This bread and this cup aren’t just reminders of something Jesus did.
They’re invitations into something Jesus is still doing.
When we take Communion — We are participating in the gospel.
We are receiving grace afresh.
We are remembering the cross, proclaiming His death, and anchoring our hope in His return.
And the Bible is clear: Communion is sacred.
It’s not routine.
It’s not religious habit.
It’s not something casual — it’s covenant.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 that we should examine ourselves before we take it — not out of fear, but out of honor.
Because to take it without Christ — to go through the motions without surrender — is dangerous.
This is not a ritual to blend in with the crowd.
It’s a table set for those who’ve placed their faith in Jesus.
So if you haven’t yet trusted Him — don’t run from this moment.
Let it invite you.
You can put your faith in Jesus right now.
You don’t need to clean yourself up first.
You just need to come honestly and say, “Jesus, I trust You. I believe You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Because this table is a “But Even Now” table.
This is not for the people who got every prayer answered.
Not for the ones who’ve never doubted.
Not for the ones who feel perfectly put together.
This table is for the Martha’s — who grieved, who questioned, and yet still said:
“But even now… I believe.”
It’s for the Mary’s — whose tears were too heavy for words, but who still fell at Jesus’ feet.
It’s for those who still trust — even through the pain.
Who still believe — even after the delay.
Communion isn’t for perfect people.
It’s for the surrendered ones.
The hopeful ones.
The “Even now, I still believe” ones.
