John 11:18

John 11:18 says, Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:  We find that many of the Jews had gathered to comfort Mary and Martha.  Even though Mary and Martha were followers of Jesus, the Jews came to comfort them.  The Jews may have been attempting to kill Jesus, but they still showed respect for these two women who were His followers. Today, people may show respect for Jesus followers, even when they have no respect for or belief in Him.  Verse nineteen adds. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then, they heard that Jesus was almost there.  Friends may comfort us in times of trouble and distress, but the real comfort comes through the Holy Spirit being with us.  Verse twenty continues, Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. When Martha heard Jesus was close, she left everyone else and went to Him.  Even if we have the comfort of friends with us, we should always leave everything and look to Christ first through the Holy Spirit.  Even though she thought He was too late, Martha in her grief still came to Jesus.  When we are grieving, the best place to be is in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-one states, Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.  Martha told Jesus that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died.  She admonishes Jesus for not being there sooner.  Her faith was weakened, but she still came to Him.  If our faith grows weak and we think God has not answered our prayers in time, then we need to go to Him.  He will give us strength.  Verse twenty-two adds, But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.  Martha tells Jesus that she knows that anything He asks of God, God will give to Him.  Though weakened by the events, her faith was not totally dead.  We need a faith today that is not controlled by events but by an unshakable faith in God.  This is the faith that moves mountains.  Verse twenty-three continues, Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.  Jesus told Martha her brother would rise.  This is our promise from God today if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-four concludes, Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.  She replied that she knew he would rise again in the resurrection at the last day.  She misinterpreted what Jesus was saying, and often today we can do the same if we aren't careful.  We never need to get so caught up in what is one day going to happen in our relationship to Christ that we lose sight of what He is telling us today.  Lazarus was not just going to live some day in the resurrection, but he was going to live again in this world.  We need to be living life now, and not waiting for someday.