Jesus is resurrection and life.

John 11.17-27.

Lazarus’s sisters Martha and Mary come up elsewhere in the gospels. It’s in a story where Mary sits at Jesus’s feet during a lesson, which was not appropriate for women in their sexist culture, and Martha tells Jesus to shoo her away and make Mary help her. But Jesus tells Martha to leave her be; that’s exactly where Mary belongs. Lk 10.38-42 As a result Christians have preached many a sermon where Martha’s the bad example, and Mary’s the good.

Although they don’t always realize why Mary’s the good. Often these sermons only talk about Mary worshiping at Jesus’s feet—as if Mary was only fangirling over Jesus while he was at the serious business of training apostles. That’s not how rabbinic lessons worked. The rabbi makes a statement; the students challenge the statement based on their bible knowledge; the rabbi defends his statement based on his bible knowledge. Those at the rabbi’s feet actively participated in this. Meaning Mary was challenging Jesus, quoting bible, and showing an intellectual capacity that impressed Jesus so much he wanted her there. Valued her there.

Generally the lessons go: Martha frets about so many things which are ultimately irrelevant, but Mary sits at Jesus’s feet. Let’s all be like Mary. Martha bad, Mary good. But no, Martha wasn’t bad—she just didn’t realize she likewise had the right to sit at the Lord’s feet, same as Mary, and learn from Jesus, instead of doing busywork like her culture expected her to.

Anyway, by the time Lazarus died, Martha apparently had learned from Jesus, ’cause she makes some of the more profound faith statements in the bible. Her faith didn’t go heave-ho after her brother died, like we see in so many people; it was strong as ever. When she met with Jesus, she didn’t scream at him about not being there to save Lazarus, as some of the lousier Jesus movies depict her. She still trusts him. She knows the Father listens to him; she still believes he can do something. She still calls him Christ, God’s son.

John 11.17-27 KWL

17So, on arriving, Jesus finds Lazarus

is already four days in the sepulcher.

18Bethany is near Jerusalem;

like 15 stadia. [2⅓ km]

19Many of the Judeans came to Martha and Mary

so they might comfort them about their brother.

20So Martha, once she hears Jesus arrives, meets him.

Mary is sitting in the house.

21So Martha says to Jesus, “Master, if you were here,

my brother never would have died.

22[But] I now know whatever you¹ ask God,

God will give you.¹”

23Jesus tells her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24Martha tells him, “I know he’ll rise—

in the resurrection, on the last day.”

25Jesus tells her, “I’m the resurrection.

I’m life.

One who trusts in me, if they¹ die, will live.

26And everyone who lives and trusts in me

ought never, ever die in the age to come.

Do you¹ believe this?”

27Martha tells him, “Yes, Master.

I’ve believed you’re¹ the Christ,

God’s son coming into the world.”

Other Christians despair at their great losses, yet Martha still totally trusts Jesus. That’s huge. Let’s all be like Martha.

Finding the situation.

As I wrote previously, when Jesus first heard of Lazarus’s death, he was likely already dead. In verse 17 Jesus arrives to find Lazarus dead and entombed four days. It took the family’s messenger a day to get to Jesus, then Jesus stalled two days, then went to Bethany—so that’s four days. Lazarus likely died while the messenger was enroute.

I also pointed out these events likely happened in winter, which’d be why Jesus delayed. You don’t wanna spend a day walking as the rain’s pouring down.

But now that he’s at Bethany, he finds them in mourning, with many fellow Judeans visiting the family to comfort them. We know nothing about the family’s domestic situation—how old each of them were, their birth order, their marital situation, whether they were wealthy or poor, whether they were a politically connected family or considered noble. Bible doesn’t say any of these things, and Christians regularly speculate, and some of these speculations even make it into sermons, and people believe these speculations. I once had a silly argument with a Christian who insisted Lazarus was the very same guy from the Dives and Lazarus Story, and I kept pointing out if Lazarus died a homeless guy, Lk 16.20-22 how is it Jesus went to Lazarus’s house? And after Lazarus was raised, threw a dinner party for Jesus, Jn 12.1-2 at his house?

I don’t think Lazarus’s family had to be politically connected for the Judeans to be there while the sisters were sitting shiva. If you’ve interacted with a community for any length of time—and you’re not a jerk—they’ll be there for you when you suffer a great loss. They were there for Lazarus’s sisters.

Now, I say “sitting shiva,” even though that’s an oversimplification of Pharisee customs. The day someone died, you tore your clothes in mourning, and often dumped ashes on your head. Then you cleaned the body, wrapped it in linen strips, put it in a cave, put a rock over the mouth of the cave to keep animals out, and left it there to decay. Then you’d mourn a year. Yes, a year. The first seven days—the שִׁבְעָה/šivá, “seven”—would be a weeklong thing where you’d stay at home and receive visitors, who’d bring you food. That month, you wouldn’t marry; you wouldn’t attend religious festivals; men wouldn’t cut their hair. And after a year passed, you’d collect the corpse’s bones from the cave, put them in an ossuary, and put the ossuary in the cemetery.

At this point in the story, it was still the first week, so Mary and Martha were staying at home receiving visitors. Custom was that they came into the house to greet you. Later custom evolved that the mourners didn’t have to say anything to the guests, and the guests weren’t supposed to speak until spoken to. I like this custom; people who intend to comfort you often don’t know what to say, and don’t say anything which really would comfort you. Silence, like you see in Job’s friends, Jb 2.13 is often better.

But when Martha heard Jesus had arrived, she broke custom: She left the house and went outside to greet him. That’s how much she wanted him there.

The dialogue with Martha.

The first thing Martha tells Jesus is, “If you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died; but even now I know God’ll give you whatever you ask.” Jn 11.21-22 Was this a hint Martha knew Jesus might bring Lazarus back to life? He had resuscitated the dead before; he’d raised Jairus’s daughter and raised a widow’s son. Although those kids had just died, so raising Lazarus would be trickier. But Jesus walks on water, you know. He’s done more impossible stuff than this.

Now, maybe Martha believed this, and maybe she didn’t. When Jesus talks about Lazarus living again, Jn 11.23 she doesn’t assume he means later that day; she thinks he’s talking about the End: “I know he’ll rise in the resurrection.” Jn 11.24 When Jesus later has the rock removed from the burial cave, Martha objects: “He stinks by now; it’s been four days.” Jn 11.39 It’s more likely Martha knew Jesus could do something, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up about Jesus raising Lazarus.

But when she brought up the resurrection at the End, Jesus makes one of those statements Christians consider his “I AM” statements which sorta declare his divinity:

John 11.25-26 KWL

25Jesus tells her, “I’m the resurrection.

I’m life.

One who trusts in me, if they¹ die, will live.

26And everyone who lives and trusts in me

ought never, ever die in the age to come.

Do you¹ believe this?”

Those who trust Jesus are getting resurrected. Are gonna live forever in the age to come.

Most bibles translate οὐ ἀποθάνῃ/u mi apotháni in verse 26 as “shall never die,” instead of the subjunctive verb it is, which indicates something can happen or should happen. People ought never die in the age to come. Jesus never says they absolutely will; just that they shouldn’t. Because our salvation, though guaranteed by God, can still be renounced by us. Those who had trusted Jesus, might later choose to reject him and give up eternal life.

Christians traditionally wanna downplay this fact—especially in eternal-life-affirming passages like this one!—but it is fact. If you trust Jesus, he’s absolutely gonna save you. If you don’t, your chances plummet. So don’t resist his salvation! Jesus is resurrection and life.

“Do you believe this?” Jesus concluded, and Martha said she most definitely does: “I’ve believed you’re the Christ, God’s son coming into the world.” Jn 11.27 Again we see another major faith statement from Martha. She didn’t merely believe Jesus is Messiah the way Pharisees understood him—as largely a political savior—but Messiah as Jesus defined Messiah. The Father sent Jesus into the world to tell us what God’s really like, then save the world. It’s far, far more than mere politics; more than driving the oppressive Romans out of their homeland. It’s about abundant life now, and eternal life later.

It seems to me after Jesus’s rebuke about Martha being fixated on the wrong thing, Martha accepted the correction, stopped her busywork, and listened to Jesus. And that’s why she trusted him so profoundly. She knew—better than some of his apostles!—who he was. She’d soon learn what more he could do.