Reading… and Thinking

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.” 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?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”…

When Jesus saw her [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

– John 11:21-27, 33-36 (ESV)

A remarkable confession of faith is given here by Martha, the sister of Lazarus and Mary. By this time many would have believed that Jesus could have healed Lazarus. Not that many would have thought he could raise him from death. Martha clearly does, though.

Jesus probes her understanding of the resurrection. And she clearly has a grasp of the truth. Nothing about Lazarus being in bliss in the bosom of Abraham (a Greek idea with the language changed to suit Jewish tastes, which was gaining credence at this time.) Imagine this conversation if it were true that Lazarus’ soul was alive in heaven. The words they spoke would make no sense at all! Martha and Jesus are talking about resurrection being the only hope of life beyond the grave.

But there is still more to Martha’s confession. She recognizes Jesus as the Messiah (the Christ, the Anointed). To the Jewish mind this primarily means the King. But in her mind, it is linked to him being “the resurrection and the life”. She is looking at salvation, not just at a political solution to Roman occupation, as so many Jews were.

Martha’s confession tells us much about the fundamentals of true faith in Jesus.

After the conversation with Martha, and a shorter one with Mary, Jesus wanted to go to the grave. There, Jesus wept. Such a simple statement, but so much is conveyed. The surrounding verses emphasize how moved he was. We see him struggling to keep his composure, asking to be taken to the tomb, but breaking down before he even gets there. After a time he recovers, and goes on to the tomb. When he gets there he nearly breaks down again.

But why? He’s about to raise Lazarus! He’s about to turn all this mourning into unbelievable joy! He deliberately delayed coming, specifically so that this sign could be performed. And he knew he would be raising Lazarus – he had told the disciples before they left the other side of the Jordan River.

The reaction of Jesus to the death of his friend teaches us something very important: Death is a tragedy. Always. To suggest that it’s a release of the soul from the prison of the mortal body, to enjoy heavenly bliss, twists the Word of God beyond recognition. It makes evil good, and good evil. And it makes a complete mockery of the grief Jesus felt.

Death is the enemy, the last enemy, which will finally be destroyed at the end of the millennial reign of Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:24-26) To make death into anything other than our greatest enemy, is to call God a liar. Death rends the hearts of the survivors, and ends all the thoughts and aspirations of the victims. That is why Jesus wept; he could see in the faces around him, and feel in his own body, the crushing weight of mortality upon human existence. Even though he was about to give temporary relief to one of death’s victims, even though he would very soon open the door to eternal life for himself and all of us, and even though he would ultimately defeat death forever, death remained (and remains now) a devastating tragedy.

There are times when we say that it’s a blessing when someone finally falls asleep after a long illness. And it truly is a blessing to put an end to suffering, particularly when a child of God falls asleep in hope of life. But this does not mean that death in general is a blessing! It is only a less awful state than ongoing suffering.
But we have the true blessing of a high priest who was touched with our infirmity, who knows the anguish of death (both his own and those he loved), who understands how desperately we need to be saved! (Hebrews 2:14-18, 4:14-16) With such a savior as our advocate, we surely have hope!

Martha got it. Her confession is an example to us all!