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17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When 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. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” 28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 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.
32 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.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” ~ John 11:17-37
The Lord Jesus knew that Lazarus was dead. He had to die. He was well-aware His friend had been buried in a tomb for four days, and his sisters were mourning every moment. Even though He knew this, hope was soon coming and Lazarus would breathe and live once again. Martha and Mary had to go through the pain. They had to, so that they could learn greater faith and love through what they suffered.
Earlier, Thomas had said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” He didn't then understand what he was saying. But Martha experienced it firsthand. She died with Lazarus, and even before Lazarus was resurrected, she was resurrected because she had gone out to be with the One who is the Resurrection.
Hearing that the Lord Jesus was on His way to her house, Martha goes out to meet Him. Mary, her sister, on the other hand, waits at home. In Luke 10, Martha was preoccupied with work, now she is preoccupied with the Lord. Like Martha, when Lazarus dies in our lives, do we run to find the Lord Jesus, or do we stay at the house, waiting for Him to call for us? Martha has learned to trust the Lord Jesus with the most special things in her life.
Martha greets the Lord Jesus with the phrase, "if you had been here." She realized the message that Lazarus had died did not reach the Lord Jesus until Lazarus was dead. Her response is one of regret.
Then in v.22, Martha said to the Lord Jesus, "But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." And, the very next word of the Lord Jesus is, "Your brother will rise again." Notice how Martha responds in v.24, "“I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Martha is dealing with her pain and looking for comfort, peace and meaning.
Then, in v.25-26, the Lord Jesus responds, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" The first word of v.25 is reiterated. Literally, in the Greek, it reads, "I, I am the resurrection and the life." This is the point of all of life: Christ must be the center of our pursuits, only then does our pain make sense.
The believer in the Lord Jesus will pass from limiting time, and we will be, one day, in the realm of eternity where there will be no darkness, no loneliness, no separation, and no limitations. For those who reject the free gift of salvation, there is no hope. There is nothing ahead but darkness, loneliness, separation, and limitations.
In v.27, Martha responds, “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” Then she goes into the house and tells Mary the Lord Jesus was asking for her. And when Mary learns of this, she goes quickly to the Lord Jesus, followed by her comforters. What a picture! The purpose of our pain is to get us to seek Him, and then that example is to be delivered to those who are watching.
Though Mary greets the Lord Jesus with the same words as Martha, she does so in a totally different way. When the Lord Jesus saw her, she was weeping, and all those who came with her were weeping. When Martha came to Him she was handling her brother's death better. But when Mary comes, she is trying to deal with a broken heart. Our broken hearts are in their best spot when they are seeking the Lord Jesus.
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled." The word for "deeply moved in spirit" is a word that only occurs four times in the New Testament, and in each place it describes anger. The Lord Jesus is not angry at death, He is angry at the effects of sin. What made Him weep was his friend's pain.
The Lord Jesus wept not because he lacked faith, but because he was full of love. In love, He weeps with those who weep. John 11:35 is the shortest verse in all of the Bible, but one of its most powerful, and insightful. Rightly was this tiniest of sentences assigned its own number. In His tears we see that God does not stand aloof to our pain. He has taken on flesh and blood. He has not called us to a humanity that He himself was unwilling to take on. We have not been abandoned to a painful world where He can not be found.
