Hope For the Weary

He Is Risen: More Than A Moment

Scripture: John 11:1-44 // (consider 2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Write Up: Sometimes we pray and wait, and nothing seems to change. Like Mary and Martha grieving Lazarus, we wonder if God has shown up too late. But Jesus reveals a truth that reshapes our entire understanding of waiting: His timing is perfect, and His power is real. Even when the situation seems sealed like a tomb, Jesus calls dead things to life. In this week’s message, we are reminded that resurrection isn’t just a one-day celebration; it is the foundation of our everyday faith. When we feel tired, discouraged, or convinced our story is over, God is often just beginning to write a resurrection story that will strengthen our trust and renew our hope.

Tagline: “Resurrection isn’t just for Easter; it’s for everyday faith.”

Think: Consider the areas in your life where you feel stuck or where hope seems delayed. How might God be working in ways you cannot yet see?

Feel: Allow yourself to feel both the frustration of waiting and the reassurance of Jesus’ presence with you in your weariness.

Do: Invite God into one area of your life that feels “dead” or hopeless today, trusting Him to bring resurrection and new life.

(All Scripture taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted.)

Introduction

Good morning, church! I am so excited to dive into week two of our sermon series called He Is Risen: More Than a Moment. As we continue, remember that the Lenten season we are in the middle of is about reflection, repentance, and spiritual renewal. It is a time to make room for what God wants to do in us. Over the coming weeks, we won’t just be counting down to Easter Sunday; we’ll be exploring what the resurrection truly means for everyday life. The resurrection of Jesus wasn’t simply a remarkable moment in history; it was a divine interruption that changed the course of humanity forever!

When the stone was rolled away, the empty tomb declared that sin had been defeated, death had been disarmed, and hope had been unleashed. And as we discovered last week, resurrection hope doesn’t wait for life to get cleaned up. Jesus doesn’t step in after the mess is resolved; He meets us right in the middle of it. New life begins not when everything is fixed, but when we invite Him into the broken places. Today, we will look at another Gospel story that shows us that God is always right on time.

STORY: Have you ever waited on something you needed… not wanted, but needed… and the waiting itself became exhausting? Not dramatic waiting, not impatient waiting, but the kind of waiting that wears you down slowly. The kind where days turn into weeks, prayers turn into disappointments, and hope starts to feel fragile. Think about sitting in a hospital waiting room. The chairs are uncomfortable. The clock is too loud. Every time the doors open, your heart jumps, wondering if this is the moment someone finally has news. Minutes feel like hours. And the hardest part is the uncertainty. You don’t know what’s happening behind those doors, but whatever it is, it matters deeply to you. That’s the kind of weariness many of us carry into life and into our faith. We pray. We believe. We wait. And when God doesn’t move on our timeline, we begin asking the same quiet question: “Lord, where were You?”

If you have ever felt this way, you are not alone. That’s exactly where today’s story begins in the Gospel of John. Two sisters, named Mary and Martha, are desperate. They are worried because their brother, Lazarus, is deathly ill. The only thing they can think to do is call for Jesus, the miracle worker and healer, to come quickly. They are weary, and Jesus is their only hope.

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

–John 11:1-7

As we read this text, there is one aspect that sticks out like a sore thumb. We are told that Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. This fact matters more than we often realize because what comes next feels like a contradiction. Verse 6 says, “So, when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.” Wait, what? Jesus loved them… so He stayed? That’s not how we expect that sentence to end. We expect, “Jesus loved them, so He rushed” or “Jesus loved them, so He dropped everything.” But instead, love leads to waiting.

I. What Looks Like Delay May Be Divine

This is where weariness sets in for many of us, because we tend to interpret delay as disinterest. Silence as absence. Waiting as rejection. But John is careful with his words. Jesus’ delay is not a lack of love; it is an expression of a deeper intention. There’s a powerful Greek word at work here in verse 6. The word translated “stayed” or “remained” is meno. It means to remain, to abide, to stay put intentionally. This isn’t hesitation. This isn’t confusion. This is a deliberate decision. Jesus isn’t stuck. He’s not unsure. He’s not running behind schedule. He is abiding in the Father’s will. Sometimes Jesus waits, not because He can’t act, but because He is unfolding something greater than we can think or imagine. Mary and Martha wanted a healing. Jesus was planning a resurrection. And those are not the same thing.

STORY: A few years ago, I read about how professional photographers develop film in a darkroom. Once the photo is taken, the image exists, but you can’t see it yet. The film is placed into complete darkness and submerged in chemicals. If you were watching from the outside, it would look like nothing is happening. In fact, it would look like the image is being ruined. But the photographer knows something the observer doesn’t: the darkness is not destroying the image; it’s actually developing it. Pull the film out too early, and the picture is incomplete. Leave it in too long, and it’s ruined. Timing matters. For someone standing in the darkroom without understanding the process, it feels like a delayed process. But for the photographer, it’s designed to work that way.

That’s often how God’s work feels in our lives. We’re in the dark. We’re waiting. We don’t see progress. And we assume God has delayed or stepped away. But in heaven’s darkroom, there is never wasted time. God is developing something we can’t yet see. Maybe today you have felt like you are in a waiting place for God to hear your prayers and to step in. You are waiting for healing, restoration, reconciliation, and provision. All you feel like you receive is more questions and a painful quiet. What if God is working behind the scenes and, in His timing, He will bring about something that you never could have fathomed?

Mary and Martha were living in that darkroom. From their perspective, Jesus’ delay felt painful and confusing. But from God’s perspective, something greater was going on, something that would not only restore their brother but reveal Jesus as the resurrection and the life.

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she replied, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

–John 11:17-27

By the time Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. The mention of four days is crucial. In Jewish culture, there was a belief that the spirit lingered near the body for three days. Day four meant all hope was gone because his body would begin to break down. This wasn’t a close call. Lazarus was really dead. Martha goes out to meet Jesus, and what she says is honest and raw: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” That sentence carries both faith and disappointment. She believes Jesus could have done something, but she’s also convinced the moment has passed. Isn’t that how weariness sounds? We still believe in God… we just don’t believe He’s going to move now.

II. When We Get Weary, Our Faith Can Fade

Martha’s words reveal something important about weariness. Weariness doesn’t usually erase our faith; it shrinks it. She still believes Jesus is powerful, but she limits His power to the past. “If You had been here…” Weariness often makes us say: “I know God can… I just don’t know if He will.” Or “I believe in miracles… just not for this situation.” Or “I trust God… but this feels too far gone.” Martha’s theology is correct, but her expectation is exhausted. She believes in resurrection eventually, but not personally. Not now. And many of us live right there. We believe in God’s power in theory, but weariness convinces us it won’t show up in our story.

I love the way Jesus restores Martha’s faith. He tells her that he is the resurrection and the life. Not that he will be one day in the future or he was one day in the past, he says, “I am.” Jesus shifts the focus from when resurrection happens to who resurrection is. Martha thought hope was on a timeline. Jesus says hope is standing right in front of you. Jesus simply asks her if she believes this. The question is not just about understanding, it is about trust. Sometimes, the most healing thing for the weary is the belief that they are not alone and that Jesus’ presence is all that is needed for miracles to happen.

STORY: It is like a nightlight in a child’s room. It doesn’t eliminate the darkness. It doesn’t explain the shadows. It doesn’t suddenly make everything safe. But it’s enough light to remind the child they are not alone and that soon enough the sun will come up again. That’s what Jesus offers the weary, not all the answers, but His presence. Enough light to keep us trusting that He is with us always.

As Jesus arrives, he encounters Mary, who has a very similar response. She questions where Jesus has been and why he did not come sooner.

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

–John 11:32-44

When Mary reaches Jesus, she says the same words Martha said: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Same sentence. Same pain. But notice how Jesus responds differently. With Martha, Jesus engages her mind. He teaches. He challenges her faith. With Mary, Jesus doesn’t explain anything. He weeps. The shortest passage in the Bible, but one of the most profound. This tells us something powerful about the heart of God: Jesus doesn’t just fix problems; He feels pain. He doesn’t shame Mary for her tears or correct her theology. He joins her in her sorrow. Weariness often makes us feel like we have to be strong or faithful enough to earn God’s help. But here we see that tears don’t push Jesus away; they draw Him closer.

III. Jesus Responds To Our Weariness With Intention

Some of you walked in today more like Martha, trying to reason, explain, and hold it together. Others came in like Mary, overwhelmed, emotional, and exhausted. The good news is Jesus meets both. He speaks truth to our minds and compassion to our hearts.

Then Jesus goes to the tomb. The stone is rolled in front of it. Death looks final. The smell of decay is real. Martha even protests, “Lord, by this time there is a bad odor.” In other words, Jesus, it’s too late. But Jesus responds with authority and compassion. He calls Lazarus by name, and a dead man walks out alive.

This is the climax of the story, but it’s not just about Lazarus. Jesus is showing us that nothing is too far gone for Him. Not your marriage. Not your faith. Not your child. Not your future. Not even death itself. What we bury, Jesus can resurrect. What we assume is over, Jesus can redeem. And don’t miss this: Jesus tells the people around Lazarus, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Resurrection happened by Jesus’ power, but freedom happened in community. Sometimes Jesus raises us up, and then He uses others to help remove the grave clothes. That’s why church matters. That’s why community matters. We help one another walk in the new life Jesus gives.

STORY: Anyone who has walked through addiction recovery knows there’s a profound difference between getting sober and truly being free. The moment someone chooses sobriety is powerful, a turning point, a life-altering decision, but it’s not the end of the journey. Old habits, shame, guilt, and triggers still cling. Memories of past failures whisper that change isn’t possible. That’s why recovery rarely happens alone. It happens in groups, with sponsors, mentors, and friends who have been where you are.

Jesus invites others into the process of freedom. Resurrection is His work; walking in new life is something we often do together. God can bring life in situations that feel hopeless. But sometimes, He also uses the people around us, the mentors, friends, family, church community, to help remove the grave clothes that keep us from fully stepping into the freedom He provides.

Hope for the weary is not found in perfect timing, quick answers, or easy fixes. Hope is found in the presence of a Savior who is never late, never distant, and never powerless. Resurrection isn’t just something we celebrate on Easter—it’s something we live in every day.

PRAY

Discussion Questions:

Provide these questions to your Sunday School classes or small groups, or send them home with families to discuss during the week. They are also a great way to engage with your online audience before, during, or after each service.

How does understanding Jesus’ intentional waiting (John 11:6) change the way you view times when God seems silent in your life?

In what ways have you experienced your faith shrinking under weariness, like Martha? How can Jesus’ “I am the resurrection and the life” speak to that today?

Mary’s response was raw emotion and grief, and Jesus wept with her. How does knowing Jesus feel your pain help you approach Him honestly in your struggles?

What “grave clothes” in your life (habits, shame, past failures, relationships) need to be unbound by Jesus and by the support of your community?

How can you participate in helping others experience resurrection life, like the friends and family who helped remove Lazarus’s grave clothes?