Life and Death Decision
Opening Prayer
Lord, help me to live in the light of Your promises.
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
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Praise God for your confidence in faith; commit to God the areas where you still have questions.
It turns out that even if Jesus leaves immediately, he would still arrive two days after Lazarus’s death. John reminds us of Bethany’s proximity to Jerusalem, the site of the pilgrim festivals that Jesus repeatedly attends, but also the seat of opposition to him. We must pay attention to John’s use of the term “the Jews”: at times he is clearly referring to Jewish leaders; at other times, he means Jews opposed to Jesus; here, he appears to refer to local Judeans—those who live in and around Jerusalem
in the southern half of the country.
We know of the differences between Martha and Mary, Martha being the more direct and practical (Luke 10:38–42). She seems to vocalize her feelings in grief: “if only…” (21, NLT). She expresses perhaps the universal response to such moments: “if only” it had been different; “if only” I hadn’t said that; “if only” we had spent more time… Jesus addresses her regrets from the past and points her to hope for the future, a hope that she, along with most of her contemporaries, understands—resurrection to new life at the end of this age when the Messiah comes to restore all things. The national hope of life from what appeared to be death in Ezekiel 37 had by this time become the individual hope of life from death through texts like Daniel 12:2,3.
Jesus redirects her again, but from “if only…” to “if Jesus…” He is God’s anointed one, and he brings not simply resurrection-in-the-future, but resurrection-in-person. Jesus brings the hope of the future into the reality of the present, transforming life in this age. “The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor. 5:17). Martha seems to realize this, though she does not yet understand its full implications.
Apply
What promises for the future are you holding to? How might life be
transformed as you begin to live in the light of these in the present?
Closing prayer
Lord, we are so grateful to You for Your promise of life after the
grave. We believe the promise because we believe its originator.
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