Daily Bread John 11
Daily Bread John 11
Jesus Comforts the Sisters
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
Observation:
John continues his wonderful narratives, which show the humanity and relationships Jesus has with various people. In this story, we see his relationship with Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus. You probably remember the story in Luke when Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha, and Martha got upset because Mary sat at his feet, while she was busy making all the preparations. Jesus gently rebukes Martha and tells her that Mary has, “done the one thing that was needful”, which was to worship Jesus.
In this story the tables seem to be turned as Martha greets Jesus with an assertive, “If you would have been here my brother would not have died.” Martha then proclaims that she will see him again at the resurrection at the last day. This shows us that even before Jesus’ resurrection there were Jews who believed in a resurrection from the dead. And then Martha boldly says that Jesus is the Son of God.
Martha quickly goes and gets her sister Mary, who seemed to be a little bit more overwhelmed with grief. Mary, when she sees Jesus, says the same thing, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary is overcome with sadness and begins to weep. At which we see the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”
We see Jesus’ humanness even before He raised Lazarus from the dead.
Application:
This is one of the richest stories in the bible, suitable for any funeral or memorial service. At heart of it is a resurrection from the dead, the greatest sign Jesus ever did. In John’s gospel this would be the sign that would begin the events that led to his own death and resurrection from the dead.
Despite the greatest sign ever given, the people still are worried about losing their power from the Romans because of the following Jesus would receive after performing this miraculous sign. Talk about not being able to see, “the forest through the trees”.
This story reaffirms one of the central tenets of our faith that we affirm every Sunday when we recite the Apostle’s Creed, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead”. This belief in Jesus and his promise that we too will rise from the dead, is the great hope we have as Christians. Some would want to dismiss this as just a story and not literally true. But to step to this conclusion takes out the central fact that because Jesus was raised from the dead. And we too who believe and confess that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, like Martha did, will rise like Lazarus some day!
Prayer: Jesus thank you for the power you have shown us in overcoming death. Because you live, we will live even though some day we will die. Thank for this great hope you give us and you assured us when you rose from the dead on Easter Morn!! Amen.
Jesus Comforts the Sisters
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
Observation:
John continues his wonderful narratives, which show the humanity and relationships Jesus has with various people. In this story, we see his relationship with Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus. You probably remember the story in Luke when Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha, and Martha got upset because Mary sat at his feet, while she was busy making all the preparations. Jesus gently rebukes Martha and tells her that Mary has, “done the one thing that was needful”, which was to worship Jesus.
In this story the tables seem to be turned as Martha greets Jesus with an assertive, “If you would have been here my brother would not have died.” Martha then proclaims that she will see him again at the resurrection at the last day. This shows us that even before Jesus’ resurrection there were Jews who believed in a resurrection from the dead. And then Martha boldly says that Jesus is the Son of God.
Martha quickly goes and gets her sister Mary, who seemed to be a little bit more overwhelmed with grief. Mary, when she sees Jesus, says the same thing, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary is overcome with sadness and begins to weep. At which we see the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”
We see Jesus’ humanness even before He raised Lazarus from the dead.
Application:
This is one of the richest stories in the bible, suitable for any funeral or memorial service. At heart of it is a resurrection from the dead, the greatest sign Jesus ever did. In John’s gospel this would be the sign that would begin the events that led to his own death and resurrection from the dead.
Despite the greatest sign ever given, the people still are worried about losing their power from the Romans because of the following Jesus would receive after performing this miraculous sign. Talk about not being able to see, “the forest through the trees”.
This story reaffirms one of the central tenets of our faith that we affirm every Sunday when we recite the Apostle’s Creed, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead”. This belief in Jesus and his promise that we too will rise from the dead, is the great hope we have as Christians. Some would want to dismiss this as just a story and not literally true. But to step to this conclusion takes out the central fact that because Jesus was raised from the dead. And we too who believe and confess that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, like Martha did, will rise like Lazarus some day!
Prayer: Jesus thank you for the power you have shown us in overcoming death. Because you live, we will live even though some day we will die. Thank for this great hope you give us and you assured us when you rose from the dead on Easter Morn!! Amen.
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