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March 25 -- John 11:17-44

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” –John 11:25-26 (NIV)

“Jesus wept.” –John 11:35 (NIV)

Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus resurrected him. This miracle proved to those who witnessed it that Jesus is the Messiah. He had been sent from heaven and granted power over death. He had told His disciples before they all left for Bethany that He was going to “wake [Lazarus] up” so that they might believe (John 11:11-15). Yet this passage shows us not only that Jesus is the Messiah but also the kind of Messiah He is.

Notice how Jesus responded to Lazarus’s sisters, Mary and Martha. Both greeted Him with the same words: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21, 32). Jesus, however, responded differently to each sister based upon her personality.

We know a little about Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42 and from the accounts of Mary anointing Jesus with expensive perfume at Simon the leper’s home in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:1-8 (note that she is not the sinful woman who anoints Jesus in Simon the Pharisee’s home in Luke 7:36-50). We know from these accounts that Martha is a practical, direct woman, and Mary is more sensitive and contemplative. Martha is a “thinker” while Mary is a “feeler.” Jesus responded to them accordingly.

When Martha confronted Jesus, He said plainly, “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23), which led into a theological discussion about the resurrection of the body. Martha showed her faith in Jesus, but she believed there were limits to His power in her present situation (i.e., she believed that her brother would be resurrected someday in the future but that Jesus had missed the opportunity to heal at the present time). Jesus asked her to have faith in Him in the present moment, too, because He is “the resurrection and the life” and “the one who believes in [Him] will live, even though they die” (v. 25). He has power to give physical and spiritual life.

Now, notice how Jesus responded to Mary. When she confronted Him with the same statement, she wept, and He was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (v. 33). There was no theological discussion. He simply asked, “Where have you laid him?” and then He wept as well (vv. 34-35)—with Mary and for her.

Martha needed answers. Mary needed someone to come alongside her in her grief. Jesus gave each exactly what she needed. Then, He raised their brother.

God created you uniquely. He knows you inside and out, and He comes alongside you in a relationship that is just between you and Him. He has never had another relationship with any other human being that is exactly like the relationship He has with you. As a community of believers, we can share in a corporate experience of God, and we can share what God does in each of our lives to encourage each other. However, our individual experiences of God are personal, unique, sacred relationships.

Spend some time with Him today, thinking about the ways He speaks to you. Consider how He has ministered to you in times of grief and of joy, and thank Him for the relationship you share.

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My name is Melissa Anderson. I'm a spiritual director and ordained pastor who loves God, people, and words. You can read more about me by clicking the button below.

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