of my life, and is he concerned?
Well, today we're gonna meet a couple ladies,
two ladies who were very dear friends of Jesus,
and yet we're going to see how they experienced
a situation that brought similar feelings
that I've just described into their lives.
You see, their brother Lazarus,
who was also a dear friend of Jesus,
he was very sick.
He was so sick he was at the point of death,
and Mary and Martha, they knew that Jesus
had already healed many and was well capable of healing,
so they sent a message to him,
and they said, come now.
It's urgent, it's necessary right now.
You've got to come or Lazarus, the one you love,
is going to die.
But Jesus did the very unthinkable.
Now, if you received a message that this was urgent,
we need you right now,
most of us would drop everything and take off,
especially if it's dealing with a loved one,
a family member, and they need us instantly.
We're going to drop everything and take off.
But Jesus did the very unthinkable.
He waited two days.
He waited two days before even starting the trip to Bethany
where Lazarus was to get there,
and when he arrived,
he finds that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
And both Mary and Martha, separately, different times,
but both of them approached Jesus,
and they say, Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
If you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
Now, we can't read the tone or the reflection in their voices
or really know their attitudes,
but we can read this,
and we can put ourselves in that situation
and maybe imagine the feelings and the emotions
and the thoughts that both Mary and Martha were going through.
Maybe they experienced frustration with Jesus.
Jesus, you could have healed.
You've healed so many before.
Why did you not come sooner?
Maybe they were disappointed
that they thought Jesus loved them more.
Maybe they thought Jesus loved Lazarus.
So why?
Maybe they were confused.
Or do we dare say maybe they had a hint of anger towards Jesus
as to why he didn't respond to their message
and come instantly and prevent their brother Lazarus from dying.
So let's look at our scriptures together.
We're going to look at John 11.
And for starters, we're going to read verses 17 through 27.
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
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 that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day,
but Jesus said to her,
I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will live even though he dies.
And whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?
Yes, Lord, she said to him.
I believe that you are the Christ,
the Son of God,
who has come into the world.
Let's call the Lord in prayer for a moment.
Father, we thank you for your word and your truth.
And I pray, Lord, that it is your word
that is speaking to us today.
Open our eyes that we might see.
Open our ears that we might hear.
And Father, I pray that you soften our hearts,
that we would receive what you say to each one of us,
what you reveal to each one of us.
May we receive it.
May we believe it.
May we live it.
We thank you for this.
Lord, I pray that you forgive me of all of my sin.
Cleanse and purify me, Lord, today.
And use me as your mouth to speak your word and your truth.
In Jesus' name, amen.
After Lazarus had been in the grave for four days,
Jesus arrives at Bethany.
Now Mary, the one that we know that sat at his feet
and listened to him teach,
the one who later would anoint his head
with expensive perfume,
she stayed seated in her house.
But Martha, Martha couldn't contain herself.
Martha, upon hearing that Jesus had arrived,
she went running out to him.
She greeted him before he actually got into town.
And she said to him what she must have been thinking for days.
And maybe Mary and Martha had even said this to one another.
Lord, if you had been here,
if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
Do you feel Martha's pain here?
Do you feel her emotions?
Do you feel her grief?
Let me add something to that.
If Mary and Martha were living with their brother,
this meant they weren't married.
That meant Lazarus was their provider
and took care of them financially.
And with Lazarus gone,
here's two women in that day and time
who didn't have much of a way
to take care of themselves and provide for them.
And now Lazarus is dead.
Can you feel the emotion
that they're experiencing here?
Maybe just confusion, frustration.
Why did Jesus not come sooner?
Why did he allow this to happen?
Martha understood by her own words
that Jesus was the Son of God.
She said she believed that God the Father
would do anything that Jesus had asked.
She said she understood these things.
She says that she believes these things.
But did she really believe?
Did she really have faith?
Did she really have understanding?
You know, how many times do we make statements
within the Christian community
of things that we say
because we hear others say them,
but we may not really believe them
or we don't trust in them
and we struggle there.
Martha said she believed Jesus was the Son of God.
She said that she knew that he could do anything,
but her actions act a little bit differently here
as if she doesn't have complete understanding.
See, in that day and time,
there was a high messianic expectancy,
but there was also a confusion
as to what the Messiah was coming for.
It wasn't to die on a cross, I'll tell you that.
It was more to overthrow Rome.
And so maybe Mary and Martha,
even though they said they believed he was the Son of God,
maybe they were buying into some other understanding
of who the Son of God really was.
We don't know that.
But I'm just imagining here
because Martha clearly didn't have
the depth of understanding that we have today
from we have the Bible,
but she also didn't have the depth of understanding
of the Roman centurion in Matthew chapter 8.
Do you remember the Roman centurion
sent word to Jesus to heal his servant?
And Jesus said, I'll go with you to his home.
And they're like, no, no, no, no, no.
The Roman centurion said he's not worthy
for Jesus to come into his house.
He said, all you have to do is speak the word.
All you have to do is say it and it'll be done.
And this is one of the few moments in scripture
where it said Jesus was amazed.
Here's a Roman that's believing
and having faith in Christ like no one else.
He understood that all Jesus had to do
was speak the word from a distance
and his servant would be healed.
And indeed it was.
You know, if Jesus had desired to heal Lazarus,
he didn't have to go to Bethany.
He didn't have to go lay hands on him.
All he had to do is say the word
and it would have been done.
He didn't have to be there physically.
But Mary and Martha,
neither one had the understanding
and the knowledge maybe of exactly who Jesus is
and the authority that he commanded
even over life and death, sickness and disease.
They didn't have the faith or the understanding
that the Roman centurion had
because this was very difficult for them to imagine.
But do we ever fall into that category ourselves?
You know, maybe God seems distant.
God has remained silent to your prayers,
to your pleas, to your cries,
and God's silent.
Do we ever think that because we don't feel God's presence,
we don't have that warm, fuzzy feeling that God is with us
or God has remained silent and hasn't answered our prayer.
Do we ever think that he doesn't really care?
He doesn't really love me.
Or maybe we think he's not even aware
of the situations or the concerns in our lives.
Do we ever feel that?
Ever experience that?
David did.
You know, David went through many hardships in life
from King Saul pursuing him to killing
to his own son trying to kill him.
And one thing after another,
David went through a whole lot.
And at one point, David felt abandoned by God.
David felt like God had turned his back on him
and was nowhere to be seen.
And yet, at the end of that psalm,
David said, but I know you are there.
I don't feel you.
I don't sense you.
I don't know what's going on in these situations.
But David said, but Lord, I know you're there.
I know you're there.
I know you will never leave me.
But you are there.
Martha was lacking a complete understanding of the authority
that Jesus had been given.
Even though he said to her,
you know, your brother will rise again.
And of course, she got confused
and thought he was just talking about the afterlife.
And then Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the resurrection.
You see, Martha didn't have full understanding of who Jesus was
and the authority that he had.
But he was teaching a valuable lesson here,
not only to Mary and Martha,
to us today,
to those who might have heard,
that he was the resurrection.
And anyone who is in Christ,
even though they die,
they will live.
If Christ has the authority and the power
to raise Lazarus from the dead,
if Jesus Christ was raised from the dead
by God the Father,
then we can have hope,
we can have faith,
we can have trust
that even though we die,
God will raise us to life as well.
That we will spend eternity with him in heaven.
But Martha and Mary were struggling
to put all this together
and to really understand it.
Wouldn't it be great
if we could pull it all together too?
All the things that we say we know about God,
all the things,
all the scriptures,
all the truths and promises
we read in the Bible,
wouldn't it be good
if we could pull all those together
in our own lives
and not just have a head knowledge of it,
but to have a faith,
a trust,
a belief in God
and learn to trust God
even when he's silent.
Even in the pain,
even in the struggles,
even in the worries,
that we learn to trust
that God is at work in our lives.
He's at work in the world around us.
He's at work in our children's lives.
He's at work in our grandchildren's lives.
Even though we don't sense him,
we may not feel him.
Maybe he hasn't answered our prayer
at least the way we want him to
and we think he's silent and distant
and we question.
Don't get confused.
God is still at work.
God is still at work
perfecting his perfect will
and his perfect plan.
His will and his plan,
but his will and his plan
in our lives as well.
Well,
when Martha had this encounter
with Jesus,
she left
and she went to get Mary.
So let's go to verse 28.
And we're going to read
from verse 28 to 32.
And after she had said this,
she went back
and called her sister Mary aside.
The teacher's here,
she said,
and is asking for you.
When Mary heard this,
she got up quickly
and went to him.
Now Jesus had not yet
entered the village,
but was still at the place
where Martha had met him.
When the Jews,
who had been with Mary
in the house comforting her,
noticed how quickly
she got up and went out,
they followed her,
supposing she was going
to the tomb to mourn there.
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.
I think I went beyond
what I was supposed to read,
but I won't charge any for that.
When Mary heard that Jesus
was calling for her,
she got up
and she went out to Jesus.
He was still outside the village
where Martha had spoken to him
and she got out
and she went out there
and we see
a recurring conversation
with Jesus
that Martha had just had.
This time though,
Mary bows at his feet
and says,
Lord,
you know,
this is more of a brokenness,
deep grief here
that Lord,
if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
You know,
she had an element of faith.
She recognized that,
just like Martha,
that Jesus was Lord,
that he was the Messiah,
the Son of God.
But she too,
like Martha,
failed to fully understand
the authority
that Jesus had been given
over life and death.
her understanding
wasn't complete
in really
who Jesus was.
And so,
we see this brokenness
within her.
There'll be times
in our lives
when we
may not feel
God's presence.
We may be going through
some rough periods
of time,
some hardships,
physical illness,
maybe a loss
of a loved one
or ourself.
and we wonder,
where is God?
Where is God?
Why did he allow
this to happen?
Why has he not
answered my prayers?
But we must never
draw the wrong conclusion
in the midst of those.
And we need to make up
our minds ahead of time
or when we find ourselves
in the middle
of the struggles,
we'll slip.
But we need to decide
ahead of time
that despite
the feelings,
despite God's silence,
despite the struggles
or the pain,
never,
ever,
ever conclude
that God is not
at work around you.
Never assume
that God does not love you,
that God is not
concerned about you
because he is.
You know,
Hebrews 13,
5,
it says,
never will I leave you,
never will I forsake you.
Memorize that.
That's a short one,
easy to do.
Hebrews 13, 5,
never will I leave you,
never will I forsake you.
And when we feel
in the darkness,
we feel in the pain,
we feel God's silence
and his distance,
recite that verse
over and over
and over again
that never will I leave you,
never will I forsake you.
And understand
that whatever
we're going through,
God is working
about his perfect will
and his perfect plan.
We see individuals
throughout the Old Testament
that experience
moments of
long silence
from God
and they wondered
what is God
doing?
Where is God?
Why has he abandoned me?
Why has he forsaken me?
Jesus himself
even said that,
didn't he?
My God,
my God,
why have you forsaken me?
But God was working
in every one
of those instances,
in every situation,
every circumstance,
God was on his throne
and God was working
about his perfect will
and his perfect plan
for each one
of those individuals
as well as his overall
arching plan.
we have to learn
that we can trust God.
We trust him
in all situations,
in all circumstances,
even when we don't understand.
Or here's another one,
even when God answers
our prayer
in a way we didn't want him to.
And he puts us
through things
that we would never
want to go through.
So,
why
did Jesus wait
until Lazarus
had been in the tomb
for four days
before he would get
to Bethany?
Well,
let's look.
Passage I have not read.
Look back at
verse four
of this same chapter.
When Jesus received
the message,
you know,
from,
that Mary and Martha
had sinned,
he said,
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.
Do you see that?
God is using
this situation
and this circumstance
to bring glory to God
and to bring glory
to himself.
Now,
jump down
to verse 38.
We're going to read
verse 38 through 44.
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 believed
you would 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.
And the dead man
came out,
his hands and his feet
wrapped with strips
of linen
and a cloth
around his face.
And Jesus said to them,
take off
the grave clothes
and let him go.
Jesus delayed
his coming
in order to bring
glory to the Father
but also to bring
glory to himself.
He delayed
his coming
so that he could
demonstrate
his authority
over life
and death.
That is not
to be skipped over
and understand
the authority.
If Jesus doesn't
have authority
over life
and death,
then we can't
put faith
and trust
that he will
raise us
to new life
either.
So we can't
skip over
that statement
of Jesus
saying,
I am the
resurrection
and the life
and that whoever
is in him
even though he dies,
he will live.
It was this
experience,
this raising,
well,
Lazarus dying,
being in the tomb
for four days
and Jesus arriving
and raising him
from the dead.
This experience
allowed others
to come to know
Christ and understand
the authority
and the power
and who else
could raise someone
from the dead
other than
Jesus Christ.
Back in that day
when individuals
had a death,
they would pay
mourners.
That might have been
some of the frustration
that Jesus had
in this passage.
They paid people
that would come
and cry
and weep
and wail
during that time
and so we don't know
there were a lot
of people.
It said people
came from Jerusalem
out,
the two mile walk
out.
There were a lot
of people around
and so this experience
allowed many others
to see the authority
and the power
of Jesus Christ
and to believe
in him.
But thirdly,
Jesus took Mary
and Martha's faith
to a whole new level.
They said,
Martha did,
that I believe
that God will give you
anything you ask.
She said she believed
that her brother
would live in the afterlife,
that Jesus would raise
him from the dead.
She believed
he was the Messiah
but I believe
that this experience
of Lazarus
being raised
from the dead
took Mary and Martha's
relationship with Christ
but faith in Christ
to a whole new level.
A whole new level
of understanding
Jesus and the authority
that he has.
So many times
in our lives
we go through experiences
don't we?
Where once we get
on the other side of them
we look back
and we realize
what God had been doing
in those situations
in those circumstances
we can never see it
in the middle of it
can we?
Usually we have to get
beyond that experience
to be able to look back
and see how God
was with us
and the things
he accomplished
in the midst of that.
And that strengthens
our faith
and it takes us
to a whole new level
and we have to remember
those moments
and those times.
We have to remember them
because we will go
through them again
and we can't question
or doubt God
in the instances
we'll have
in the future.
Have you ever questioned
why you had to go
through a situation?
Have you ever questioned
why God was allowing
something to happen
in your life
and you just cry out
why God?
And he's silent.
Have you ever gotten
frustrated?
Disillusioned?
Confused?
Maybe even angry
at God?
Have you ever wondered
if God really cares
about you?
Well I hope
this passage
this morning
in seeing
this is a blatant
delay
by God
Jesus Christ
to come
and respond
to Mary
and Martha
but it was
for a point.
It was for a purpose.
It was to take them
to a whole new level
in their faith
and their understanding
of who Christ was
and the authority
and the power
that he had been given.
So as we go
through those moments
and those times
just rest
in Christ.
Just rest
in him
knowing
that it's painful
it's difficult
it's hard
but I'm just
going to learn
to trust
that God
is working
in a way
that I don't
understand
and I may not
agree with
until I can look
back maybe
years later.
Maybe today
you're sitting here
and you're in
one of those moments
right now.
Maybe today
you're frustrated.
Today you're
disappointed.
Today you're
confused
or maybe
you're even
angry at God.
I'd love
to pray
with you
this morning.
I won't have
all the answers
for you
but I'd love
to pray
with you
and help
you to restore
your understanding
of God
is working
in that situation
in those circumstances.
God
is fulfilling
and bringing
about his
perfect will
and his plan.
Let's pray.
Father we
just thank you
for this message
and your word.
We thank you
that it's evident
and clear
in the scripture
that you loved
Mary and Martha
and you loved
Lazarus
and yet you
delayed
not to hurt
them
but to bring
glory to your
name and to
take them to a
whole new level
of understanding
that you are
the resurrection
and the life.
And I pray
Lord today
if there's anyone
sitting here today
who is struggling
with feelings
of abandonment
anger
disappointment
I pray Lord
that you would
touch their hearts
today
and help them
to know
that you love
them
you care for
them
and you are
working
in their
situation
and their
circumstances
despite the
fact of what
we feel.
We thank you
and praise you
for that
in Jesus name.
Amen.
If I can pray
with you