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.” [john 11:21-27]
belief, in the midst of grief
martha’s first line in this text is powerful: 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. martha doesn’t quite blame Jesus for her brother’s death, but she makes it clear that she is disappointed that he wasn’t there. instead of this grief moving her to despair and anger towards Jesus, she remains in her belief that Jesus could bring lazarus back if he wants to.
what would it look like for us to grieve like this? perhaps a little like Jesus’ prayer in gethsemane: he brought his anxiety over his coming crucifixion to the Father in prayer, even asking for the cup of God’s wrath to be removed from him, if it was in the Father’s will. (luke 22:39-46)
what we see here with martha, and part of what we see with Jesus in gethsemane is people 1) in trusting personal relationship with God 2) dealing with tremendous grief and sorrow and 3) bringing that sorrow to God. in martha’s case, lazarus is shortly brought back to life, and in Jesus’ case, he is brought back to life, but only after a horrible death and remaining in the grave three days. out of both circumstances, however, we see God’s great love and faithfulness as the result.
Lord, grow our trust in you through our personal relationship with you. help us to trust you enough to go to you with our sorrow, and help us to see your faithfulness through it all. we love you; grow our love and trust in you!
~ stephen hall