August 4, 2018 John chapter 11
Martha had just lost her brother. Here hope had been taken from her. Jesus stands before and asks herto believe that the story isn't over. King Jesus is our living hope. As the apostle Peter would later say, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy, he has given us a new birth into a LIVING HOPE through the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ from the dead!" 1 Pet. 1:3
Is there any area in your life that feels hopeless? Can you hear Jesus asking to the believe in His resurrection power?
There is so much in this chapter that stands out to me! So... Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother was sick. But Jesus stays 2 more days where He's at and doesn't go yet. Why would He wait 2 days? So then He starts traveling to Judea, where the people had tried to stone Him. He tells His disciples that He must wake up Lazarus, but then later tells them that he is dead. See, this is why Jesus waited 2 days! To make sure Lazarus was dead. Why would He want Lazarus to be dead? So that His disciples could believe in Him! Believe in His power and authority to raise the dead to life! So they went. There were many Jews that came to comfort the sisters. This is important, because then many people saw the sign. Then Jesus tests Martha's faith by asking her if she believes in Him. She sent for Mary, and Mary came immediately. She fell at Jesus' feet. She was overwhelmed with sorrow and grief over her brother's death. And Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. What troubled means here is that Jesus was angry! He wasn't angry at the people's lack of faith. But He was angry at death! And the affect it has on people, the pain and sorrow it brings. He was angry at the brokenness of this broken, lost, hurting world! And He wept. Then He prays to the Father, so that those standing there could believe in who He was and who sent Him. And He says to the dead man in the grave, "Lazarus, come out!" He robs death of its victory! His power and authority is too much for the enemy to hold and fight against! Jesus our King is stronger than all of the evil forces! He just RAISED THE DEAD TO LIFE! That's what Jesus came to do! He came to give us life! Life with a purpose and a mission, life filled with the truth, filled with Jesus, filled with joy in who He is and who we are in Him! This is the Good News! Jesus died, taking our sins, so that we could be pure children of God! He gave His life so that we could have life, the life that we were created for! This is incredible!
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