John 11:30-32 - If only you had been here

11:30,31

Martha had met Jesus outside the village, so most of the people did not know that He had arrived. Again, if we listen to the world we will not be wise. The world does not know everything that is happening. Here they did not know that Jesus had arrived, and had no idea of what He was going to do. We need to listen to Jesus, for only He knows what He is going to do in the world. This does not mean we should not listen to the news or to the world’s “wise men and women”, but we should always be aware of the limits of their knowledge and wisdom.

So the Jews assumed that Mary was going to the tomb to weep. Just as the world does not know what God is doing, so there will be times when it does not know what we are doing, or misinterprets what we are doing.

11:32

Mary’s reaction is somewhat similar to that of Martha, though there is no mention of Martha falling at Jesus’ feet. One gets the impression from here and elsewhere that Mary was the more demonstrative of the two. Like Martha, she says to Jesus that if He had been here then Lazarus would not have died. Again, this could be either an implied rebuke for Jesus, or a sign of faith, or perhaps a mixture of both.

Now let’s remember that Jesus did, of course, raise Lazarus from the dead. The feelings and emotions that Mary and Martha experienced prior to this were real. There was sadness, despair, and disappointment that Jesus had not arrived to heal Lazarus. They had faith in Jesus, and devotion to Him, and both these were genuine, but what was the point? When they needed Him most He did not show up! We can all feel like this at times, but just as Mary and Martha did not see the whole picture, nor do we. They assumed that God had nothing else to do, but the king had one more move!