John 11:28

John 11:28 says, And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.  It says she went to Mary secretly and told her the Master was come and was calling for her.  We don't need to go in secret, but we need to into the lost world with that message the message that the Master has come and calls for them.   Verse twenty-nine adds, As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.  Mary, when she heard that Jesus was come, arose quickly and came to Him.  When we witness, that should be the desired outcome, that whoever we are witnessing to will arise and come to Jesus quickly.    Verse thirty continues, Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The rest of the people did not know that Jesus was there.  Verse thirty-one states, The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. When Mary left to go to Jesus, the Jews there followed her. They thought she was going to the grave. Sometimes, as Christians, people around us may follow us for the wrong reason, but if they end up in the presence of Christ, then it is a good thing. They had gone to mourn for him, but they were in for a miracle. Verse thirty-two adds, Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Mary got to Jesus she fell at His feet and said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."  She was once again at the feet of Jesus, but this time more in accusation than adoration.  She didn't care who saw her or how it looked to others. Even in her faith, she fell short of believing in the complete power of Jesus.  If we find ourselves in distress today, we need to fall at the feet of Jesus and put our trust in Him.  No matter how bleak the situation may be, there should always be hope and peace when we come to Him.  We also need to put our coming to Christ above everything else.  Both Martha and Mary, in their own way, went to meet Jesus.  We, as His followers, do not have to hunt the Holy Spirit, but we do need to seek His guidance and comfort in all that we do, and we need to let the world know that we look to Him for strength. 

John 11:25

John 11:25 says, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  Jesus said to Martha that He was the resurrection, and the life: and that anyone who believed on Him, even though he were dead, would yet live.  Though the soul will never die, if we want to live with Jesus forever instead of being in the torment of hell, we must put our faith in Him. Verse twenty-six adds, And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?  Jesus asked Martha if she believed this.  Notice that once again Jesus did not say that He was a way but the way to the resurrection and the life.  Resurrection and life are through Him alone.  Also, He did not say that one day He would be the resurrection and the life.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, everlasting life with Him begins.  We, as His follower, are not promised, as the saying goes, pie in the sky by and by.  We have the gift of everlasting life with God as soon as we accept Christ as our Savior.  We, like Martha, sometimes try to focus on the physical, instead of the everlasting aspects of life.  If we truly believe that when we leave this world that death has no victory over us, we will begin to focus on the important things of God. Then, the key to Jesus' statement to Martha, and to all since, is the question, "Believest thou this?"  Until we believe that no matter what happens in this world that we can trust God to see us through, we do not believe as we should. Our profession of faith, though made in the world to those around us, must first be directed to Christ. Verse twenty-seven continues, She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which cometh into the world.  Our profession of faith, though made in the world to those around us, must first be directed to Christ. We should tell others, but first we should say to Jesus, "Yea, Lord.  I believe you are the Savior of the world, and my Savior personally. 

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.

John 11:16

John 11:16 says, Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.  Thomas, called Didymus, said to the other disciples that they should go and see Lazarus. Some interpret this as meaning die with Lazarus if he were dead, but there would have been no reason for them to die.  Others, including me, see Thomas as saying that even if Jesus were to die returning to Judea, that they should accompany Him and die with Him if necessary.  That is the faith that we need today.  We must be willing to follow Jesus anywhere He leads us, even if it looks dangerous. Until we are willing to do as Thomas told the disciples to do, and that is to ollow Christ no matter what, we can never expect to see the miracle.  Too often, we are like many who became Jesus's followers then- we want to see a miracle before we follow Him.  When we turn away every time we encounter trouble or opposition in our walk with Christ, we display a lack of faith in Him.  Too often, we are like the disciples, questioning if we should go where we know there is possible danger.  Verse seventeen adds, Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. When Jesus came, Lazarus had been in the grave four days.  To everyone around, including the disciples, it looked like a trip for nothing.  When we look around as we are doing God's work, at times the situation may look hopeless, but if we are certain of what He is calling us to do, then nothing is ever hopeless.  We may often fail to see a great work from God because we are simply going without faith in the reason we are going.  Though they were going with Jesus, they were not going expecting a miracle.  If we pray for a miracle today, we need to ask that God's will be done and believe and accept the outcome. Verse eighteen adds, Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:  Since Bethany was not far from Jerusalem, this may be why people were hearing about Lazarus.   

John 11:11

John 11:11 says. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. He said to the disciples that their friend Lazarus was sleeping, but He was going to wake him out of sleep.  Verse twelve adds, Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.  The disciples said if Lazarus was asleep that he was doing well.  Verse thirteen continues, Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.   Jesus called the death of Lazarus sleep, because for His followers, death has no dominion. The physical body may perish, but the spirit does not.  Lazarus was a friend of Jesus and the disciples.  As His followers today, we should certainly be His friends and friends of other believers.  We are united through Christ as family. The disciples thought Jesus was talking of Lazarus being physically asleep and if he were very sick, they thought this would be a good thing.  Also, if he was sleeping, there would be no need for them to go to Judaea and be confronted by the Jews again.  We must not let the fear of confrontation with the world stop us from doing the work of God.  We today may think we are only resting or sleeping when we may be dead in our work for Christ.  If so, we need to allow Him to raise us up to spiritual life again.  Verse thirteen continues, Howbeit, Jesus spake of his death, but they thought He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. We are told that the disciples indeed thought that Lazarus was simply asleep, but then this will be explained better in verse fourteen.  Verse fourteen states, Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.  Jesus clarified things.  Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Jesus did not have to go to where Lazarus was to raise him from the dead. Jesus will never leave us confused if we look to Him in faith for the answers. Verse fifteen adds, And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.  Even when things look hopeless or unnecessary, if God tells us to go, we must go, so that our faith may be established in Him.