John 11:17-27

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."

When Jesus finally came to Bethany, the house was filled with many friends (likely from Jerusalem, as John relates the proximity of the suburb) who were comforting Mary and Martha. There may have even been professional mourners, but more likely, this family was highly respected by a multitude of people. Their intentions were to comfort the sisters, but God had another motive in amassing this crowd; a large audience for Jesus’ great miracle was present. However, being so close to Jerusalem, where the Jews were trying to kill Jesus, such a crowd put Him in danger from the Pharisees as well. Even though Jesus did not then die, the series of events that ultimately led to His death were put into play right here. And so Thomas’ prediction that Jesus was going to His death was, in a sense, true.

Martha seems to be somewhat more active than her sister, as we learn from Luke 10:38-42; so it is not surprising that she runs to the outskirts to meet Jesus alone. Her faith in Jesus is commendable, for she believes that He could have prevented this death. But she also mixes in her emotions here, as it seems she would have expected Jesus to prevent Lazarus’ death, when Jesus owed her no such thing. The purest faith seeks first the glory of God over selfish pursuits. Even though Lazarus died, she is not bitter or angry with Him, but she recognizes that He is still able to perform any miracle, simply by asking the Father. However, the miracle of raising her brother from the dead seems completely out of her thoughts (v39). In fact, even when Jesus tells her that her brother will rise again, which is a gracious and unrequested promise, she thinks that He is talking about the final resurrection in the end times. It is commendable that she believed in this resurrection; but she does not give any evidence that she has realized that this end-time resurrection is possible only through Jesus. But that is exactly what Jesus is going to tell her.

Jesus tells her: “I am the resurrection and the life.” In other words, the final resurrection, and the eternal life of fellowship with God that follows it, is to be found in Him alone. Resurrection must occur before life. Similarly, regeneration must occur before faith. These chronologically occur at the same time, but there is a logical priority that we discussed when walking through John 3. Jesus shows that He is the commencement of life, and He afterwards adds, that the continuance of life is also a work of His grace. That Jesus speaks of spiritual life is clear from the context as well as numerous other places (John 5:21-25; Ephesians 2:1-10; 1 Peter 1:23).

When Jesus asks her if she believes this, she responds with a claim as staggering as Peter’s famous confession – Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world. This knowledge equals every blessing. She believes in Him, as the One the prophets spoke of, and therefore, as Jesus has just told her, she will never die, neither will her brother Lazarus. To the one who believes in Jesus, death is not death, but simply a passing into eternal life. Although Martha believes these things, she does not yet realize how Jesus will illustrate their truth, by raising her brother from the grave. But soon she would see; and her faith would be vindicated, and the faith of others would be brought to life, just as Lazarus was brought to life – by the authoritative word of Jesus!