But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
Martha met Jesus in grief after her brother's death, reproaching Him that Lazarus would not have died had He been there, yet declaring unbroken trust that even now with Lazarus dead God would grant whatever He asked. She did not expect an immediate raising and hoped only for comfort, but His delay was guided by divine wisdom in permitting death so the resurrection might give crowning evidence that He is the Son of God. That raising stands as His crowning miracle and final test to the nation, undeniable testimony to His divinity, authority and Messiahship, with the returned Lazarus as a living witness. Jesus directed her hope beyond present sorrow to the resurrection of the righteous, making Lazarus's raising a pledge that at His return His voice will call the dead in Christ to immortal life. His compassion at the grave shows He is touched by human grief and able to heal the sick, raise the dead and do more than can be asked or imagined, giving grounds for earnest prayer and living faith, though Lazarus himself was restored only to mortal life still subject to death.
Martha's Words and Setting
The words were spoken by Martha at Bethany, where Jesus had often found rest in the house of Lazarus. After her brother died she hastened to meet Jesus at a quiet place by the roadside, away from the confusion of her home. Having just told Him that Lazarus would not have died if He had been there, she added that even now God would give Him whatever He asked.
She spoke out of surging grief that He had not come before to save her dearly loved brother, whom He also loved. Yet she came with conflicting emotions, reading the same tenderness and love in His expressive face. With unbroken confidence in Him she had no inclination to recount the past, but looked into His face of love and declared her trust.
In her disappointment and grief she had not lost confidence in Jesus, but declared that even now, while Lazarus was dead, God would grant whatever Jesus asked. Her words showed faith that He could still act and do whatever He chose, though she did not expect an immediate change. She hoped only that He would do something to comfort the sisters, still trusting Him to do what was best despite His delayed response. Lazarus had then been dead four days when Christ called him out of the tomb by His word.
Christ's Power and Purpose
Mary and Martha trusted Jesus to do what was best even though He did not answer their message at once, and His delay was guided by divine wisdom. In His immediate presence disease was always rebuked, for He could not witness suffering, disease, or death without combating Satan's power to bring relief. Lazarus was therefore permitted to die, so that through his resurrection the last and crowning evidence might be given to the Jews that Jesus is the Son of God.
The raising of Lazarus stands as Christ's crowning miracle and as the final test of the Jewish nation. It was a crowning miracle that powerfully affected people's minds and drew a large, enthusiastic multitude to Jesus. To Nicodemus that raising from the dead was undeniable evidence of Jesus' Messiahship. It was convincing evidence of Christ's divinity, revealing the Father through the works Christ did, and it displayed His authority and His identity as the Son of God.
The returned Lazarus became a living witness and testimony of divine power, declaring Jesus to be the Son of God and challenging the people over what they would gain by putting Him to death. At his grave Christ's character as Saviour and Lifegiver was demonstrated. That breaking of the slumbers of the dead stands with healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, feeding the hungry, comforting the sorrowful, walking upon the billows, silencing the angry sea by a word, casting out devils that confessed Him the Son of God, and holding thousands by words of wisdom, as the work of One ever touched by human woe and laboring to save.
Yet hearts blinded by prejudice and hatred resolutely rejected the light and drove Him away, and the leaders who had seen Lazarus raised after four days still refused to recognize God in Christ. Raising Lazarus meant Jesus must pay the ransom for that life on the cross, with every such rescue bringing Him deeper humiliation as He tasted death for every man. Though strong to save the whole world, He wept at the grave at the thought that He could not save all whom Satan's power had laid low in death, giving Himself a ransom for many, even all who would return to loyalty to God through His sacrifice for sin and transgression. That raising of the dead fulfilled His mission as the Pattern Man as certainly as toiling as a carpenter at Nazareth while hiding His divine mission, walking on the waves of Galilee, and dying to lift the race to new life.
Trust and Future Hope
Jesus has power to heal the sick and raise the dead and to do more than people can ask or imagine, and Martha's confidence was that God would grant whatever He asked even after Lazarus had died. His compassion at the grave of Mary and Martha's buried brother, whom He restored to them, shows that He is touched by grief and helps those who trust in Him. This gives grounds for earnest prayer and living faith.
Though Martha grieved that He had not arrived before Lazarus died, she still trusted He could do whatever He chose even then, although she did not expect an immediate change. Jesus directed her hope beyond Lazarus's present situation to the resurrection of the righteous. Lazarus, who had been dead four days, was then called out of the tomb by Christ's word, and that raising is a pledge that the righteous dead will be raised through the Saviour's power when at His return His voice will call the dead in Christ to immortal life.
That raising restored Lazarus only to mortal life, so that unlike the saints raised at Christ's resurrection he remained subject to death and decay. He had no experience of death to recount, because the dead know nothing, yet his return to life was a living testimony of divine power. Raised to testify, he declared Jesus to be the Son of God and challenged the people over what they would gain by putting Him to death.
Martha met Jesus in grief after her brother's death, reproaching Him that Lazarus would not have died had He been there, yet declaring unbroken trust that even now with Lazarus dead God would grant whatever He asked. She did not expect an immediate raising and hoped only for comfort, but His delay was guided by divine wisdom in permitting death so the resurrection might give crowning evidence that He is the Son of God. That raising stands as His crowning miracle and final test to the nation, undeniable testimony to His divinity, authority and Messiahship, with the returned Lazarus as a living witness. Jesus directed her hope beyond present sorrow to the resurrection of the righteous, making Lazarus's raising a pledge that at His return His voice will call the dead in Christ to immortal life. His compassion at the grave shows He is touched by human grief and able to heal the sick, raise the dead and do more than can be asked or imagined, giving grounds for earnest prayer and living faith, though Lazarus himself was restored only to mortal life still subject to death.
Martha's Words and Setting
The words were spoken by Martha at Bethany, where Jesus had often found rest in the house of Lazarus. After her brother died she hastened to meet Jesus at a quiet place by the roadside, away from the confusion of her home. Having just told Him that Lazarus would not have died if He had been there, she added that even now God would give Him whatever He asked.
She spoke out of surging grief that He had not come before to save her dearly loved brother, whom He also loved. Yet she came with conflicting emotions, reading the same tenderness and love in His expressive face. With unbroken confidence in Him she had no inclination to recount the past, but looked into His face of love and declared her trust.
In her disappointment and grief she had not lost confidence in Jesus, but declared that even now, while Lazarus was dead, God would grant whatever Jesus asked. Her words showed faith that He could still act and do whatever He chose, though she did not expect an immediate change. She hoped only that He would do something to comfort the sisters, still trusting Him to do what was best despite His delayed response. Lazarus had then been dead four days when Christ called him out of the tomb by His word.
Christ's Power and Purpose
Mary and Martha trusted Jesus to do what was best even though He did not answer their message at once, and His delay was guided by divine wisdom. In His immediate presence disease was always rebuked, for He could not witness suffering, disease, or death without combating Satan's power to bring relief. Lazarus was therefore permitted to die, so that through his resurrection the last and crowning evidence might be given to the Jews that Jesus is the Son of God.
The raising of Lazarus stands as Christ's crowning miracle and as the final test of the Jewish nation. It was a crowning miracle that powerfully affected people's minds and drew a large, enthusiastic multitude to Jesus. To Nicodemus that raising from the dead was undeniable evidence of Jesus' Messiahship. It was convincing evidence of Christ's divinity, revealing the Father through the works Christ did, and it displayed His authority and His identity as the Son of God.
The returned Lazarus became a living witness and testimony of divine power, declaring Jesus to be the Son of God and challenging the people over what they would gain by putting Him to death. At his grave Christ's character as Saviour and Lifegiver was demonstrated. That breaking of the slumbers of the dead stands with healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, feeding the hungry, comforting the sorrowful, walking upon the billows, silencing the angry sea by a word, casting out devils that confessed Him the Son of God, and holding thousands by words of wisdom, as the work of One ever touched by human woe and laboring to save.
Yet hearts blinded by prejudice and hatred resolutely rejected the light and drove Him away, and the leaders who had seen Lazarus raised after four days still refused to recognize God in Christ. Raising Lazarus meant Jesus must pay the ransom for that life on the cross, with every such rescue bringing Him deeper humiliation as He tasted death for every man. Though strong to save the whole world, He wept at the grave at the thought that He could not save all whom Satan's power had laid low in death, giving Himself a ransom for many, even all who would return to loyalty to God through His sacrifice for sin and transgression. That raising of the dead fulfilled His mission as the Pattern Man as certainly as toiling as a carpenter at Nazareth while hiding His divine mission, walking on the waves of Galilee, and dying to lift the race to new life.
Trust and Future Hope
Jesus has power to heal the sick and raise the dead and to do more than people can ask or imagine, and Martha's confidence was that God would grant whatever He asked even after Lazarus had died. His compassion at the grave of Mary and Martha's buried brother, whom He restored to them, shows that He is touched by grief and helps those who trust in Him. This gives grounds for earnest prayer and living faith.
Though Martha grieved that He had not arrived before Lazarus died, she still trusted He could do whatever He chose even then, although she did not expect an immediate change. Jesus directed her hope beyond Lazarus's present situation to the resurrection of the righteous. Lazarus, who had been dead four days, was then called out of the tomb by Christ's word, and that raising is a pledge that the righteous dead will be raised through the Saviour's power when at His return His voice will call the dead in Christ to immortal life.
That raising restored Lazarus only to mortal life, so that unlike the saints raised at Christ's resurrection he remained subject to death and decay. He had no experience of death to recount, because the dead know nothing, yet his return to life was a living testimony of divine power. Raised to testify, he declared Jesus to be the Son of God and challenged the people over what they would gain by putting Him to death.