Grief to Faith to Hope
Opening Prayer
Thank You, Jesus, for being the resurrection and the life!
Read John 11:17–27
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.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“If prayer was so indispensable to Jesus, how much more is it so in our case?” (Andrew Murray, 1828–1917).Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived (17), which had significance to the Jews at that time. There was an idea in Rabbinic teaching that when someone died their spirit remained close to the body for three days. After that time, there could be no hope of the person being resuscitated. Jesus had delayed his arrival (6), and the reason was about to be made clear.
What a model Martha is for us. Still raw from the loss of her brother, she goes out to meet Jesus, a shaken mixture of grief and faith (21,22). And what a response she gets from Jesus: “I am the resurrection and the life” (25). This is one of the seven “I AM” statements of Jesus found throughout John’s Gospel. Each one reveals to us something about Jesus’ incarnate identity and his deity.
Reading these, no one can claim that Jesus was, say, a great teacher who didn’t believe that he was God’s Son. Jesus didn’t just teach the resurrection, he is the resurrection! Those who put their trust in him can know resurrection life and need not fear death anymore (1 Cor. 15:55).
Apply
Are you facing an impossible situation? Write the situation on a slip of paper, fold it and throw it away as a sign of trust.
Closing prayer
Follow Martha’s example today in bringing your unedited thoughts and feelings to Jesus about what’s going on in your life.
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