A Cemetery Conversation

The shortest of the seven personal conversations of Jesus in John’s gospel was with Martha, at the tomb of her brother, Lazarus, found in John 11. Jesus loved Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. He and His disciples had visited their home in Bethany many times. The eleventh chapter begins by saying that Lazarus was ill and that Mary and Martha had sent word to Jesus to come and help them. But Jesus waited two days. The delays of God are mysterious to us, but you can know that God knows what He is doing, and His timing, like everything about Him, is perfect.

Four days after Lazarus died, Jesus finally made it to Bethany. Funerals lasted for at least eight days or longer in the Bible lands. Many of the mourners were actually hired by the family to participate in the funeral and honor the deceased by going back and forth from the tomb to the home with loud wailing and mournful cries. Jesus had not yet arrived in Bethany when Martha heard that He was near, and she went out to meet Him, 11:17 – 27.

Martha began the conversation with Jesus by saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Martha’s faith is all too familiar to us, a conditional faith, conditioned upon her understanding. The condition in this scene was based upon Jesus and His ability to heal, if only He had gotten there in time. But He didn’t, and so now all she could hope for was to ask for prayer. The expression, “But even now,” is a desperate plea for help from God, now that their brother was gone. Martha was the practical sister, and no doubt, had already seen the difficulty that lay ahead for herself and Mary. They needed prayer and would need God’s help in the days to come.

Jesus said to Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” And again, Martha’s faith rested upon her understanding and what she had learned at the synagogue concerning the resurrection of the dead on judgment day. She recited from her catechism, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

What Jesus said next was one of the most powerful statements from His lips when He said, “I AM the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” This went way beyond Martha’s understanding. Jesus was redirecting her faith from her understanding onto Himself. She took His lead and said, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” She did not know what was about to happen, and it didn’t matter. Her faith was in Christ, and whatever was about to happen, would be right because it would be God’s will done by God’s Son.

When they got to the tomb, Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha objected, being the practical one, once again relying on personal knowledge and experience rather than on what Jesus wanted to do. His next statement is sometimes overlooked, but once again, is one of the most powerful and instructive statements to refocus faith in Him. He said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” The Lord Jesus wants you to keep your faith on Him so that you will see the glory of God. This is the outcome of faith. This is the destination. This is the reward. There is nothing greater and anything less would be to miss the whole purpose of Christ’s coming.

You know what happened next. Jesus called Lazarus’ name and he was raised from the dead, and came out of the tomb still wrapped in grave clothes. Jesus told the mourners to unbind him and to let him go! And the mourners became evangelists as they ran into Jerusalem with the good news.

Today, ask the Lord to show you where your faith has shifted from Him to your understanding about Him. Keep your spiritual eyes and your ears riveted on Jesus by keeping your physical eyes and ears in God’s word in order to know Him more and more. This is what it means to worship the Father in spirit and truth.