As Jesus had said, Lazarus was dead, and had been so for four days (see notes on 11:1-6 for the significance of this). Jewish custom allowed for three days of very heavy mourning, fours days of heavy mourning, and then less intense mourning for the remainder of thirty days. Friends and relatives would come to help with the mourning.
Martha ran out to meet Jesus when she heard that Jesus had arrived, but Mary remained behind. In Luke it seems to be Mary who is the more devoted one, but here it is Martha who rushes to be with Him. Martha has a high level of faith. She knows that Jesus would have healed Lazarus if He had been there, but even though this did not happen she still has faith in the Lord.
In response Jesus announces that her brother will rise again. Now Martha held the fairly orthodox Pharisee view that there would be a resurrection on the Last Day, and thought that Jesus was referring to this. Jesus had something more immediate in mind. "I am the resurrection and the life".
Martha was about to learn what Jesus really had in mind. Now we too can be like Martha or the Pharisees. We truly believe in the resurrection, but consign it totally to the Last Day. Now it is absolutely true that the complete fulfilment of the resurrection will occur only at the Last Day, but resurrection power also has a relevance for now. New life in Christ starts the day we are born again, and it starts to have an effect from that day on. When we are born again we become a new creation. Earth is not a waiting room for heaven, the transformation of our lives starts now.
Martha ran out to meet Jesus when she heard that Jesus had arrived, but Mary remained behind. In Luke it seems to be Mary who is the more devoted one, but here it is Martha who rushes to be with Him. Martha has a high level of faith. She knows that Jesus would have healed Lazarus if He had been there, but even though this did not happen she still has faith in the Lord.
In response Jesus announces that her brother will rise again. Now Martha held the fairly orthodox Pharisee view that there would be a resurrection on the Last Day, and thought that Jesus was referring to this. Jesus had something more immediate in mind. "I am the resurrection and the life".
Martha was about to learn what Jesus really had in mind. Now we too can be like Martha or the Pharisees. We truly believe in the resurrection, but consign it totally to the Last Day. Now it is absolutely true that the complete fulfilment of the resurrection will occur only at the Last Day, but resurrection power also has a relevance for now. New life in Christ starts the day we are born again, and it starts to have an effect from that day on. When we are born again we become a new creation. Earth is not a waiting room for heaven, the transformation of our lives starts now.
No comments:
Post a Comment