Do You Believe This?

Here, Jesus has been asked to come to the aid of a dying man. And not just any dying man, but one of His dearest friends. If this were a modern American movie, He’d make it just in time to save His friend’s life. There’d be a lot of tense music and shots of people crying to try to fake you out into thinking the guy was gonna die... but things have to end happily ever after, right?

John 11:17-19
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.

Except... maybe not? Jesus travels the day’s journey to Bethany to find that Lazarus has died. Jesus didn’t just miss it, either. Lazarus had been buried for four days.

Bethany was a short clip from Jerusalem, so Lazarus’ extended family and friends in the area were easily able to come and provide help to Mary and Martha, his sisters. Maybe some of the people there were among the crowd who wanted to stone Jesus just a little while earlier. But, for sure, they could and would have made it in time for Lazarus’ death. But Jesus didn’t.

John 11:20-24
So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, "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." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

Maybe Jesus’ presence in Bethany caused a stir. Maybe His reputation was just that big. Or, most likely, maybe He was simply a dear friend of Lazarus and his family. But, for whatever reason, Lazarus’ sister, Martha, comes out to meet Jesus. Mary is grieving so deeply that she remains sitting in the house, as was a custom of the time.

But, Martha reacts to His coming in an astonishing way. She could have been angry at Him for not coming sooner... especially for not coming soon enough. She could have ignored Him completely. She could have tried to brush this seeming offense off as nothing for the sake of politeness. But no... Martha knows that Jesus could have saved her brother from death. And, even so, she expresses faith that Jesus is from God and that God will be faithful to Him in what He wants. Jesus assures her that Lazarus will be raised from death.

Martha takes this as most of us would. “He won’t stay dead forever,” or “By God’s grace, you will see her again someday,” are a common sort of thing to say even now at Christian funerals. And it’s true. Resurrection is something to be looked forward to because, to borrow another oft-used expression, there’s more to life than just this. Without the hope of resurrection, it’s not only useless but foolish to believe anything that Jesus says (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:16-19).

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, "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?"

Jesus then decides to say what at first would seem a like tad insensitive thing to say to a grieving family... but in the end proves key.

At the time, resurrection was a hotly-contested issue. The Pharisees believed in it; the Sadducees didn’t. Overall, it was a rather complicated debate and one that is more than a little difficult to follow. But, by saying that He is the resurrection and the life, Jesus is claiming that resurrection finds its identity in Him. It’s not some vague concept that might or might not be true... it’s real and Jesus has authority over it.

Though people have already died, like Lazarus, “yet shall [they] live” (John 11:25). And, for the people who are still alive, they have the same hope of resurrection and new life (11:26). It’s something bigger and grander than anyone ever would have expected.

Then Jesus drives the issue home. He asks Martha, “Do you believe this?” This is enormous. Her brother’s just died; she probably feels as though part of herself has died with him. Yet Jesus is asking her if she believes that He has the authority over the resurrection... not only of her newly-dead brother, but over herself as well.

That’s a question that everyone must grapple with at some point. Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life... that He has power over your life and death and whether or not you will be made alive again after death? Is your identity in Him as having that power? Do you believe this?

One’s answer to that question determines everything.

John 11:27
She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."

1 Corinthians 15:26-28