Martha's encounter with Jesu..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Well brethren, we continue in our meditation in John chapter 11 and as I said earlier, we've been here a few months. But what we find ourselves this afternoon is we find ourselves starting a new section.

There's a new setting that is before us. Now the overarching story is still the same. The whole chapter of John chapter 11 is very much a chapter that is about or is heading towards the miracle, that grand miracle, arguably the greatest miracle of our Lord in His earthly ministry, which is to raise a dead man by the name of Lazarus from the dead. That's to come a little bit later on at this point in time. What we have is we've worked our way through the first 16 verses.

And what we saw there is there's a different setting back there, the first paragraph, 16 verses, as to what begins now from verse 17 onwards. Because Jesus and the disciples, from verse 17 onwards, are no longer on the eastern side of the Jordan River. They're not there anymore. They'd escaped from the fury of the Jews in Jerusalem who had recently wanted to stone our Lord. nation against our Lord Jesus Christ because of his words, because of his teaching, because of naturally who he is had reached fever point.

And so towards the end of chapter 10 they had stones in their hands and they attempted to stone our Lord. They wanted him eliminated. They wanted him gone. And so Jesus and his disciples find their way across the Jordan River to the east. And as you remember a few weeks ago, maybe a couple of months back now, you may remember I said that it is difficult to know exactly where they were.

In fact, the only clue we have is towards the end of chapter 10, when the apostle John tells us that they were in the place where John the Baptist began baptizing. So where John the Baptist began his baptizing ministry is where Jesus is and that doesn't settle things because there's probably two or three locations that that could be according to scripture. And if you remember, there's probably two most likely, I said. One of them is around one to one, they're both across the Jordan, by the way. One, which is about a day or a day and a half journey to Jerusalem, to the temple in Jerusalem.

And the second is a bit further to the north, just a few kilometers down under the Sea of Tiberias or the Sea of Galilee, as you may know it. And that would be a journey of around three to four days to Jerusalem or to Bethany. And as you remember, I lean towards the ladder. And the reason for that is if Jesus decided to take his disciples and to progress back to Judea, upon knowing in his heart that Lazarus had died, because remember, news came and he didn't depart for two full days, then the three to four days journey would be around the timing that when he and the disciples made it there to Bethany, Lazarus would be in the tomb around four days. Now from verse 17, the setting and the narrative is now in Judea.

Jesus and his disciples are on the outskirts of a town called Bethany, we know that much. And by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle John has given us quite a bit of information, if you remember in the first 16 verses of this chapter. And although we're leaving that setting behind, we're not meant to leave the details behind. We're meant to take what we learned and what we heard, what the Apostle John has told us already in the first 16 verses, and we're meant to keep those in the forefront of our minds as we continue throughout the narrative of John chapter 11. Yes, we're on the different side of the Jordan River.

Yes, the narrative is in a different setting. Yes, we've moved on from that location. But if you remember back then, in the first 16 verses, we were told the purpose. We're told the overarching purpose and the intention of God through Christ Jesus for what is about to take place throughout the text of John chapter 11. You remember what the purpose was?

The glory of God. The purpose was that Jesus is saying that whatever takes place moving forward is for the ultimate glory of God the Father. It is for the glory of the Father and it's for the glory of the Son, verse 4. That the Father of God will be glorified and that the Son of God will also be glorified. The Father is glorified in and through the Son.

What we see is we see Jesus making a big point that ultimately everything that is going to take place in this narrative moving forward is overarching through, the overarching principle is the greatest ends and that is the glory, the glory of God. God is going to be glorified through His Son. The power of God is going to be manifested through the Son when Jesus brings back from the dead a man who has been buried, dead and buried, for four days. And God is going to be glorified. God is going to be made known for who He is.

His beauty, His power, His splendor is going to be manifest through His Son. But there is another purpose also. And that is that what Christ is going to do moving forward in the narrative in John chapter 11 is also for the good of His people. It's because of His love for those who are affected or those who are closest to Lazarus. Remember Mary and Martha.

Not in spite of it. In other words, Jesus stays back two extra days and allows everything to take place. Not simply, not simply because this is the thing he needed to do to reaction to everything or because he was delayed in any way, but rather because he had Mary and Martha in his heart. That his love for them would be manifest. That he would strengthen him somehow.

That because he loved them, he stayed back. So as we read through the narrative, we need to keep those things in mind. How is God being glorified? How is God to be glorified? As Jesus does what he does throughout John chapter 11, and also in the forefront of our mind.

As we read the narrative, as we discern, as we meditate and consider what is before us, we need to be asking our questions. How are the ones he loves? How are his sheep recipients of the manifested love? of the Saviour. That's what we need to be thinking.

John the Apostle has given us quite a bit of detail and the detail he's given us is not haphazard, it's not careless in any way and we need to take note and that's why I said earlier I'll be laying some foundations this afternoon for what comes next. Because when we do read details in the Scripture, in the Gospels, any part of God's Word, we need to know this for sure. That the authors of Scripture under inspiration of the Spirit of God are not simply concerned with captivating your attention and mine. They're not adding the details to add color and depth as though you're reading a novel and they don't want you to put the book down. That's not it at all.

God's people who are saved by Christ are attracted to His Word because His Word feeds their soul. There's an innate desire for His Word. And the detail is important and we need to look at that detail. We need to consider that detail. We need to meditate upon that detail.

Why? Because this is the Word of God. And you've heard us say from this pulpit over and again that every word in this book is the Word of God. And it's all breathed out by him for your edification and mine. So now in verse 17, moving onwards, we're told that Jesus makes it with his disciples to the outskirts of Bethany there in Judea.

At this point, we're told that Lazarus has been in the tomb four days. Now according to our modern understanding, we see that Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days and if you're thinking like I think, you think to yourself, okay, most of us have been to funerals, a somber setting, but it's very likely if you went to a funeral that you know that the deceased who is being buried didn't die that same day. It's very likely that he died several days earlier. So when we see here and we're told Lazarus is in the tomb for four days, you may be tempted to think he's been dead for longer. but he's only just buried four days ago.

But you have to remember that this is the first century, they didn't have the luxury that you and I have of refrigeration and preserving the body for the funeral or for the burial. So what we have before us here, in the most part, probably 99% of the time, in the first century among the Jews in particular, when someone died, he or she were generally buried that same day. up to 24 hours later, unlikely, but it's normally within hours of death that they're buried. And that's what we see here. Now we've got two examples, actually several examples in scripture.

There's two examples in the New Testament, both in one chapter. Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you remember what example that we have where Some people die and they're buried on the very same day. In fact, within hours of one another. In Acts chapter 5, let me give you a clue.

A husband and wife. Ananias and Sapphira, you remember. They come into the presence of Peter and the church and they lie about some proceeds from a land that they've been selling. And before you know it, first comes Ananias, the husband, and he lies to God and the Holy Spirit and he falls where he is and Peter commands the young boys to take him out and to wrap him and then to bury him and within a few hours his wife comes in and the very same. But we don't need to go to all the examples, although we're richer for it.

Martha tells us. Because in verse 39 of our text, Martha even says to the Lord, when Jesus says to the men there at the tomb to roll back the stone, Martha says, but Lord, my brother's been dead for four days. So initially in verse 17 we're told that he's been buried for four days. Martha tells us he's been dead for four days and that coincides because normally they bury their dead on the same day. So if Lazarus has been dead for four days, let me ask you a question.

Why did Jesus stay back two days after hearing that Lazarus was deathly ill? What difference does that make? Think about it. The simple mathematics will tell you even if Jesus left on the very day and the very moment that he received news that Lazarus was dead, he would still have been two days too late. Lazarus would have still been dead for two days.

He could have accomplished all that he wanted to accomplish. Lazarus is still dead. And according to the will of the Father, according to the purpose and the agenda of the Father given to the Son, He would still be able to raise Lazarus from the dead. I mean, if you're dead, you're dead whether you've been dead for a few hours or if you've been dead for four days. Why did Jesus wait an extra two days?

If he left immediately, he still would have been able to accomplish the things he wanted to accomplish. The difference is, those poor girls would not have been in agony for that 48 extra hours. Or at least he could have been by their side, consoling them, comforting them, being there with them for that extra two days when they needed him most. But that's not what we see. So if you ask the question, why?

Why did Jesus stay back the extra two days? I'll give you the simple answer and then I'll give you some observations. The simple answer is this, because God decreed that he would. That's it. Because sometimes you've just got to take the scripture for what it is.

Because God decreed that he would. In God's eternal decree, he decreed that Lazarus would be dead for four days. And then Jesus will raise him from the dead after four days. And we as Christians need to be settled with that, but we can still make some observations. You can think about that.

Let me ask you a question. If someone was dead only a few hours and Jesus raised him or her from the dead, he's already done that in the Gospels. We said that a few weeks ago. In the eyes of men, would that be a greater miracle than one who's been in the tomb for four days? What happens after two or three days?

What do we know definitely happens on the fourth or at least four days into one being buried? And Martha gives us a hint in verse 39. in your old King James Version. I love the way it speaks. That was my first Bible growing up, King James Version.

And it says, but my brother, he stinketh. He smells. The odor of death is unmistakable. The body begins to decompose. What a great miracle for Lazarus' body to begin to break down because the life source of blood is no longer running through his body.

And then Jesus decides, according to the eternal decree of the Father, to raise this man from the dead. What a massive miracle. Who can deny it? What critic can come out and say, yes, but these are ancient people who couldn't read a pulse? Or these ancient people who buried someone who was still alive and a few hours later he just woke up.

No, four days in the tomb, he's changed. The body is different. It begins to break down. And this is the stage that Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. He did say that the Father will be glorified.

He did say that the Son of God will be glorified through this. Will this add to his glory? I think so. There is another reason, in this day, it's well documented in Jewish rabbinic literature, in the Talmud in fact, that the Jews did have a particular type of superstition. In fact, I said to this day, it's a little bit later than this day, it's a bit beyond the first century, but it's not a stretch to believe, or at least to think that they believed this in the day of Christ, or in the day of the first century.

And that is that They believe that when someone dies, what happens is the spirit hovers over the body. And the spirit hovers over the body for around three days, with the possibility of re-entering into the body. But after three days, the spirit then departs from the body, because on the third day, according to the literature, the body begins to decompose. In fact, it says that the body changes, that everything starts to change in the body, and the spirit then departs. Now, firstly, let me say this.

If they believed it in this day or not, The fact of the matter is the Bible condemns that sort of thinking. The Bible is very, very clear. To be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. When the heart stops beating and the lungs stop pumping air and one is clinically dead, then the soul returns. to either its maker or to the condemnation and the punishment that is fitting for a rebel against God for all eternity, awaiting the final resurrection and the final judgment.

So the Bible condemns this sort of thinking. However, once again, if that's what the Jews were thinking, then they have no reputation. If that's what their minds were perceiving in the event of someone being dead, then in this case, four days, would eliminate that possibility in their mind. Four days will eliminate the possibility that this Lazarus was just mistakenly buried because his body begins to decay. When he comes out, he's going to stink and it's going to be known that it's unmistakable this man was dead.

But as I said earlier, the main reason may simply be a mystery in the heart of the Lord himself and we need to accept that whatever he does is good and all his ways are perfect. Now, the Apostle John gives us three very important details in this section. The first, as I said, was the narrative expressly communicates that Lazarus was in the tomb for four days. We need to take note of that. The second is this, Bethany was near Jerusalem.

He tells us that. In verse 17 he says, 18, Bethany was near Jerusalem about two miles off, he tells us. That's an important point. We need to take note of this. Your Bible say about two miles off.

Some of our Bible say about 15 furlongs. Another Bible may say 15 stadia. It's basically a measurement. In the original it is stadia. One stadia is about 600 feet, which works out for those who are metrically minded around 185 meters.

You multiply that by 15, it's a little under 3,000 kilometers. Not quite two miles, but a little under 3,000 meters. Three kilometers, not 3,000 kilometers. That will take us halfway around the world. A little under 3,000 meters.

What does that mean? That means it's about a very short stroll away from where? from Jerusalem. A very short stroll from the temple grounds, 20, maybe 25 minutes away by walking. Remember, everything was done walking these days.

So the Apostle John is telling us that Jesus, by Jesus going back to Bethany, he's going at a higher risk to himself. Why? Because his own stones throw away, essentially, from the very men who wanted him dead. The religious leaders of the day were very much in that precinct, in the Jerusalem precinct within walking distance away from the temple. So whatever takes place here in Bethany, whatever takes place is going to be heard back in Jerusalem.

It won't be long, it'll be hours, maybe days, certainly not weeks, before the men in Jerusalem will hear that the one that they hate, the one that they fervently want dead, the one that they would want no more, nothing other than to see his blood shed, has made it down into their reaches, that Jesus has come to town. There's a great risk of Jesus being where he is there in Bethany. And they'll find out. The religious leaders will indeed find out. And why do they find out?

Well, because of the third thing that the Apostle John tells us. Because not only does it tell us four days in the tomb, Lazarus. Not only does it tell us that Bethany was near Jerusalem. Jerusalem is now in the forefront of your mind and mine, I hope. But he also tells us that there were many Jews.

that there were many Jews there in the house of Mary and Martha consoling the family on the deceased, on their loved one just passing away. There are many Jews. Now you know as well as I do, because I've said it many times from this pulpit, That the word or the designation or term, Jews, carries quite a negative overtone in the Gospel according to John. There's a negative connotation. Why?

Because Jews is generally referring to the religious leaders of the day. That is the men who made those very bad decisions on behalf of the people. The Sadducees and the Pharisees. These are the supposed leaders and the shepherds of Israel that Jesus over and over again rebukes. Why?

Because of their harshness to the people. Because their heart is not for the people because they're hypocrites. So when the apostle John uses the term Jews here, is he intending to tell us that there's some religious leaders amongst the many who had made it there to Bethany to console Mary and Martha? Possibly. More often than not, Jews is that designation.

There's nothing distinct in the text that will make me say yes, definitely. Because as we work our way through the text and we discover that Jesus does indeed raise Lazarus from the dead. And then some of these Jews, these many Jews, there's a quantity here. Some of these Jews, we're told, will believe. And we're also told that some of these Jews will go back with sinister intentions.

And they'll go back to Jerusalem. And they'll whisper in the ears of the Pharisees what has taken place. That this Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead. And this will cause a stir. A stir that begins in the life of the religious leaders of the day where they will have a settled conviction from that day forward that they will not rest until Jesus is put to death.

Many Jews were there in the household of Mary and Martha consoling them because their brother had passed away four days earlier. Now it is a custom in this day that if you knew someone who'd lost a loved one, it was the custom, it was right and it was proper to go and to console that person, to take maybe a meal with you, and even just to sit by that person and remain quiet if you had to. Job's friends, seven days of quietness. Or if you had to open your mouth, you would give them words of encouragement, words of hope, you would think. But the fact that there's many Jews, and we mentioned here, tends to lead us to think that this was a family of importance.

They had a strong standing in their community. They were probably most likely, they were people of means. And we know that when we hit chapter 12, we will know that they do have indeed means. But beyond that, The many Jews is for you and I to recognize that what's going to take place as we move forward in chapter 11 is no secret. That when Jesus does what he intends to do, when the Father is glorified through the glorification of the Son, When the manifestation of the love of Christ towards His sheep, towards His people, when that is all taking place, it's not going to be done in a vacuum or in secret.

But there's going to be many eyes watching and there's going to be many ears listening. This is a miracle that is not going to be done discreetly. In this miracle, Jesus is not going to go away like he's done on several occasions where he's healed various diseases or cast out demons or restored the health of someone where he's gone away and said to that person, I want you to remain quiet. Don't tell anyone of what has taken place. That's not going to take place here.

Because it pleased the Lord, according to His decree, that what Jesus is about to do will be manifest before a live audience. Many, in fact, will witness what Jesus is about to do. And that's really important, beloved. Because if there's any miracle that requires an audience to be before the Lord, because you remember, the miracles may be physical attributions of God's power, but there's always a spiritual reality behind them. If there is a message behind any miracle that every human being needs to listen and to hear and to attest, it is this one.

That Jesus is able to raise from the dead. That is, in essence, everything in John chapter 11. If you don't hear anything else I say for the rest of this evening or the rest of this series, I hope that doesn't take place. You need to hear this. Jesus is able.

Jesus is powerful. Jesus is mighty to raise the dead. Remember, the physical is pointing to the spiritual. Remember that. It's going to be taking place in full view of many, and there's many Jews that are there.

And as I said, they will not rest. The religious leaders will know, and they will not rest now, because this miracle, this grand miracle, arguably the greatest miracle that Jesus performs in his earthly ministry, this miracle will act as a catalyst in the hearts of these evil men that will eventually end in the crucifixion of our Lord. And they will think at that point that they've outsmarted our Lord. Because now after Jesus does perform this miracle, they'll go into planning. They'll plan to eliminate Jesus.

You'll come to see they'll also plan to eliminate the evidence, Lazarus himself. And they'll scheme, and they'll plan, and they'll plot, and when they will one day see this Jesus hanging upon that cross, bleeding to death, they'll think, we did it. We outsmarted Him. We did what we needed to do. We outplanned Him.

We outdone Him. All to realize one day, if not in this age, but the next, that they've only done what the hand of God had predestined for them to do. Because God is sovereign even over their filthy evil and their wickedness. He's sovereign over it. Thinking we outsmarted our Lord, when in fact, only doing what the sovereign hand of God intended for you to do before the world was made.

And in all this, God will be glorified. In all of this, the multiple manifold purposes of God will be accomplished for the praise of His glorious grace. The Father will be glorified. The Son will be glorified. And he'll demonstrate his unfathomable love and his tender kindness to his own.

You see, God will be glorified. God will be exalted. But the heart of God will be seen as well in his actions and his attitudes towards those that he loves. His sheep. You see, we never should miss, miss that point, especially when we're going through chapters like John chapter 11.

These are, these are powerful chapters. These are, these are works of our Savior that one just sits back and marvels. And sometimes we see the absolute power and the majesty and the beauty of the Son of God in these miraculous works that we overlook His love and His tender mercies for those who are involved. So much going on. This is Christ on His way, essentially, to the cross.

This is the pivotal point in human history. This is the apex, the very zenith of human history. What's going to take place when Jesus hangs upon the cross all humanity is dependent upon? There's not a single individual on the planet that's not going to be affected by what Jesus does. And yet in that all, his love and his compassion is made known.

Billions and billions of people will be impacted and yet his heart is, as we see in this passage in a few moments, his heart is drawn out to two ladies, Mary and Martha. Jesus knows what He's about to do. He knows where He's headed. And yet, what we see before us is He cares for Mary and Martha. That the Good Shepherd's heart is being exposed, is being manifest in what we see here in John chapter 11.

That although He's working for the glory of God and the renown of His great name, we see Him taking time out of His day. to spend time with Mary and Martha because their faith is his concern. That he strengthens their faith. A faith that is of greater value than gold. Christ is concerned to be there intimately and to relate to them personally in order to strengthen their faith.

And beloved, the only way the Saviour can strengthen your faith and mine is not to, as we know many do, give pep talks or give pats on the backs or speak words of temporal relief. The only way, the only way one's faith can be strengthened is through a deeper a deeper, more profound knowledge of the one who is the object of our faith, Jesus Christ. This is why we see that when Jesus comes alongside these girls, he doesn't point them away from himself. He points them to himself. He doesn't speak just words of consolation, but he says, I'm your consolation.

I love that. I love that about the Lord that he's so intimate with his people and he opens their eyes to see that what they require more than anything in this world. is not that the brother comes back from the dead, although he will do that. But what they require more than anything in this world is the one who stands before them. It's to know him more intimately.

It's to deepen in their faith in him. Because the treasure of the heart is Christ and Christ alone. You see, Martha is the first to meet with our Lord. And her first words toward him are telling. Verse 21, if you put your eyes down, verse 21.

Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you'd been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Can you sense the pain in her words? Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Four days of misery, four days of sorrow, four days of immense pain.

That's not including the days that they experienced the pain and sorrow of seeing their brother deathly ill for how long, we don't know. And then she opens her hurting mouth and says, first words, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. One of the most difficult things, I believe, is being a preacher. It's trying to discern people's motivations. The heart's intention behind the words being spoken You see, what we have before us are words and with the context we can gather a sense, but ultimately only the Lord knows the heart.

Only the Lord knows the heart. Is Martha now just opening her heart to the Lord and just revealing her pain? Is she simply coming to the Lord and saying, Let me just put it out there. Let me tell you what I'm thinking. You know it anyway.

Why hide it in? Is that what she's doing? Is she looking for a shoulder to cry upon? No better shoulder to cry upon than the shoulder of our Lord Jesus Christ. And brethren, you know that.

Because you need shoulders to cry on as I do. And we find that sort of solace in Jesus alone. Or is this an accusation against our Lord? Is this a complaint? Why weren't you here, Jesus?

I know you love us, Lord. I know that. I sent it in my message and I said, the one whom you love, I know you love our brother. But why weren't you here, Jesus? Why didn't you leave immediately upon hearing the news that the one you love is deathly ill?

We needed you, Jesus. If you were here, our brother would not have died. It's interesting that Mary, the sister of Martha, the first words she utters to the Lord are exactly identical to Martha's first words. Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died. Although we're unable to know the motivation of Martha's heart, I will submit this to you.

There are faith, there is faith in these words. There is faith in these words. But she needs to grow in her faith. She needs to mature in her faith. And this is how the love of Christ is manifested.

Because he'll come alongside her, knowing her greatest need. And he'll bring her where she needs to be. Lord if you were here, or if you had been here, my brother would not have died, she says. Martha knew the Lord. We know there was an intimate relationship between our Lord and His family.

She knew His teachings. She knew His claims. She knew His power. She knew that He was a man sent by God with power. That He was able to heal the sick and cast out demons.

She knew of the teachings of our Lord. His claims. She knew. She believed He had power to heal. We see that in the statement, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Think about these words. Slow down and think about these words. Nevermind for a moment if they're a complaint from the mouth of a sheep who's herding. Nevermind for now. Just think about the words that she utters from her mouth.

This Martha is convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt. that Jesus Christ, the man who stands before her, is able and capable of healing her sick brother, who is now dead. That's what she's saying. The reason my brother is dead is because you weren't here to heal him. In other words, if you were here, he wouldn't have died.

Think about those words. She's saying, if you were here, Jesus, you would not have died. That's remarkable faith. This is outstanding faith. She's already experienced the outcome of her brother's illness.

She's walked through the journey with Lazarus, seeing him getting sicker and sicker and sicker. And right now she knows that Lazarus is dead and buried four days ago. This is not her seeing her brother getting iller and iller and in the grips of death. No, she's seen that death has already placed its grip on her brother and taken him out from the realm of the living. She's experienced this sickness that has led to death.

So she knows that death's grip was on Lazarus pulling forth and she knows that Jesus could have broken that grip had he have come on time. That death's grip would have been broken had you have been here, Jesus, is what she's saying. What's Martha attributing to our Lord? What power, what authority is she attributing to our Lord? The course of history has already been written.

My brother got sick. My brother died. And now it's four days later and he's in the tomb. Jesus, had you have been here, you would have broken the grip of death on my brother and you would have changed the course of history. What's she saying?

What power is she attributing to Christ? There's faith in these words. Absolutely, there's faith in these words. But her faith was lacking. And Jesus knows it.

Because although it's true, if Jesus had have been there, he has the power, our power to heal her brother. The fact of the matter is Jesus didn't need to be there to heal her brother. The fact of the matter is Jesus has proven to be One who can heal anyone from anywhere, God in flesh. He doesn't need to be there physically to heal anyone. He speaks a word or wills it in his heart or his mind and it takes place immediately.

Whether he's across the Jordan or where she is or where Lazarus is. The fact of the matter is, Lazarus wasn't healed by the Lord. Not because he was held back in business across the Jordan River. The fact is he wasn't healed by the Lord when he was in the land of living because it was Jesus's desire. It was the Lord's desire, the Father's decree that Lazarus would die.

It wasn't a matter of power. It was a matter of will and decree. And that's another thing altogether. Because it's one thing to say, Jesus, had you have been here, my brother would not have died. Yes, and there's faith in that.

But it's another thing altogether to recognize and to acknowledge and to receive from the Lord that I know you're able to heal. I know that you can heal. But if you don't heal, I accept. Because your ways are better than mine. It's another thing altogether to acknowledge that he's able, and yet sometimes he just says, no, I won't do it.

Because sometimes he will say, no, I won't. How would you receive that breath? How do I receive when the Lord says, I can, but I'm not going to? And this is why it's important to really intimately know the Lord. Because how you know Him all, that's the bad way to say it, the more intimate you are in your heart knowledge of who He really is, will determine how you act in that moment, how you take from his hand, what comes from his hand, whether you take it in joy or whether you take it with a fist waving back at him saying, how dare you, you could have helped me, you could have changed the circumstances, you could have changed my outcomes.

The question is, beloved, do we believe that He is good in all His ways? Do we believe that He acts in love and only for the good of those that He loves? or do we think our ways are better? We heard this evening, the problem of the people of Israel throughout the book of Judges is the same human problem. It is that in those days, there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what is right in their own eyes.

If we do what is right in our own eyes, then this is what is right. I've envisaged what is right, that is good for me, and if his will is to do otherwise, and then I get angry. I get sad. I turned my back on him, I waved my fist at him. That's a lesson I think Martha needs to learn.

That although he is able and if he was there, yes, he could heal Lazarus. But the fact that he didn't heal him and the fact that he wasn't means that according to the sovereign decree of God, it wasn't God's intention for Lazarus to be healed by the Lord. The other thing is the timing that she needs to learn. That God's timing is everything. Sometimes we pray fervently and he says, wait.

We don't want to hear that. We don't like to hear that. But sometimes it's not his time right now. And we've seen the agony of the extra 48 hours. And yet the Lord says, you need to wait.

You just need to trust me with my timing. Because when all is said and done, you will know that everything I have done is for your own good. And the timing was absolutely perfect. Beloved, let me tell you something. The Lord God does not need to do what you think is right or what I think is right for out my life or your life in order to prove his love for you.

He need only do what he knows is right. What he knows is good and he promises to do that good for you and for me and to Mary and to Martha because the lesson he's teaching them now cannot be taught in any other way. Two more days were two days of grief and agony for these girls. But the Lord's will was for them to wait. And they're now learning.

They're learning a lesson in trust. And beloved, it's not the circumstances or the outcome that we trust in, but in the Lord himself. Because our circumstances, they change. Our emotions, they change. But he doesn't.

If you want to be disappointed, trust in self. If you want to be disappointed, trust in your own ways. If you want to be disappointed, envisage what's best for your life, for the life of your family, for the life of your work, for the life of the extended family, for the church. Just envisage what you want and then be disappointed. That always leads to despair.

Setting one's hope, anchoring one's hope in the outcomes will always lead to despair. Our hope, our hearts, ought to be anchored upon the rock of all ages, Jesus Christ. Beloved, I'm a bodee. I know if you're out to sea and there's a strut and grip, you don't throw your anchor on the sand. You need to find rock.

You need to find a reef. You need to anchor your soul on the rock of all ages, the rock that doesn't change. The one who says, I'm with you forever. I will never depart from you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.

The one who says, come unto me, trust in me. The one who says you're in my hands and you're never gonna be taken out of my hands. The one who says I'm the good shepherd, I will take you to green pastures, I will lead you home. But that doesn't mean I will always take you on a smooth primrose path. I will take you in the valleys.

I will take you over the rocks. I may even take you through some thorns. Suffering is necessary. But will you believe me? Will you look to me as the good shepherd of the sheep?

Will you embrace me by faith? Do you trust that I'll lead you home? Martha had faith, no doubt, but it required to be strengthened. And as I said before, our faith is strengthened through a deeper, more intimate knowledge of our Savior. It's when our hearts are stretched and our minds are brought to receive and to understand by the Spirit of God of who our Savior is, how great our God is, in that our faith is strengthened.

Through intimate relationship with the Lord and that comes through His Word. That comes through the words of our Lord and our Saviour. When we open up His Word, it's an exercise of faith. We get to know Him. We encounter God through Christ Jesus when we open His Word and we receive from Him in faith.

He strengthens our faith as a process. The faith of Martha will be strengthened because God the Son is before her and He speaks truth. Martha believed. She believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was able to heal her brother. Even if he was on the very brink of death, he could have done something about it.

And that's remarkable. But did she believe or does she believe? that even now he's able to bring him back from the dead. You see, that's a whole different thing altogether. It's one thing to believe that he can heal a sick person, even a various amount of diseases, but does she believe also that he is able to bring him back from the dead?

We'll see the answer to that question next week, because that's where Jesus is going. Jesus is going to teach Martha, your faith is genuine. It goes thus far, you need to mature, you need to grow and I'm the one to stretch you because your faith is greater worth than all the treasures of this world. and the way I strengthen your faith is for you, is to enlighten your eyes and your heart to receive more of me." She had a good theology, but did her theology work out practically in her everyday life?

Beloved brothers and sisters, we have, I believe, we may have a very good theology. We may be able to articulate well the doctrines of scripture. We may be able in our minds, we're able to properly and with good orthodoxy explain the tenets of our faith really well. But you know if that's actually settled in your heart by the way you live your life. You know if it's settled in your heart.

in how you live and how that's manifested practically in the everyday life through your relationships, through the time that you have on your own. at your work in all of life. That theology that you may have, that I have in my mind, the orthodoxy, has it settled in the heart? Because Martha says something remarkable. She says, even now I know whatever you ask from God, he will give you.

That's just remarkable. That blows me away. See, I stand back and I think, is Martha actually saying what I think she's saying? Is she actually saying, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And there's maybe a hint of complaint in that, but a remarkable faith.

But then is she actually saying, but if you so desire even now to call upon the Father to bring power, His power to be manifest before all people and to resurrect my brother, I believe that you can do it. Is that what she's saying? Remember how I said earlier that it's the most difficult thing for a preacher to know the motivation of the heart, to know the intent, we know the words before us. Is that what she means? Well, in fact, by her response to our Lord in the next few verses, it's not exactly what she means.

Her response in verse 39 when Jesus says, roll the stone away, and she says, but Jesus, the body stinks right now. You really want to do that? My brother's He's dead and gone. His body's begun to decompose. There's a sense of finality in her words.

It's as though she's saying to our Lord, you know, if you'd been here, my brother would have been healed because I know you can heal him. But now that he's, now that he's dead, His body stinks, and although I know that God will listen to you, whatever that means, I'm not sure, whatever that means in her heart, only God knows, but somehow from what I can read in the text and discern from her words, I don't think it allows for us to sit back and think, she also meant that Jesus will be able to raise him from the dead. Because the text seems to suggest that she's at the point now where we've lost our brother. But Jesus won't leave her there. And moving forward in the next week, Lord willing, we'll open up the passage, we'll open up Jesus' response to her.

Because Jesus says to her, He will rise again. He will rise again. You see, her faith was genuine. But let me tell you something, brothers and sisters. As I said earlier, the miracle that Jesus is going to perform If there's ever a miracle that it requires for a large audience to be there because of the message it proclaims, it's this one.

Because when I began this series, I said to you that although all of Scripture applies to all of people, this applies to people in a very special way. Because the last time I checked, The percentage of mortality of death in this world is 100%. And as Jesus is not simply speaking to the physical resurrection, when he says, I am the resurrection and the life, you say that next week, Lord willing, we'll open up that passage. But he's pointing to something more profound than the physical, the spiritual resurrection. That's why he says the life.

He's the resurrection and He is the life. That apart from Him there is only death, Martha. You have faith that Jesus could heal your brother. Do you have faith that He can raise him from the dead? Because it doesn't matter, beloved, how much of the other stuff we believe, even though it's authentic and orthodox.

It doesn't matter how well we know the Bible. It doesn't matter how much theology we know. It doesn't matter how well we can articulate even the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we do not believe that Jesus is able to raise the dead, we've lost everything. The very essence of the Christian faith is this.

You and I and every human being on the planet who has ever existed was born dead, spiritually speaking. Dead in their trespasses and sins. Dead. No spiritual heartbeat. Doesn't matter how much we fill our minds if we don't believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior sent by God.

That through His finished work, the application of God's grace and mercy upon sinful sinners, if we don't believe that He's able to raise the dead, we have nothing. He loves Martha and He can see her faith. But he's concerned. His concern is not that it begins and ends with, I know that you've been sent by God, that you have the power of God, that you're able to heal the sick. He's concerned that she comes to understand that the one who stands before her is able to raise the dead.

And so the question is, have you, beloved, have you come to the realization that Jesus Christ raises the dead? Have you come to the realization that in your own state, and no matter who your family is, no matter your upbringing, no matter how much of the Bible you've read, no matter how much your parents have prayed for you, your children have prayed for you, no matter, no matter, no matter, have you come to the point to recognize that by nature, You and I are dead in our transgressions and our sins. That you and I are dead spiritually. That the default position for humanity is absolute death. No spiritual heartbeat.

And the only one who can change that is the one who stands before Martha, who in a few verses time will declare that he is the resurrection and the life. Because that's what matters. That we believe that Jesus is able to raise the dead. And beyond that, that we've apprehended that truth for our own lives. Let's pray.