During seasons of anticipation such as Advent and Lent in the church, we are tempted to keep our eyes affixed on the end game, either Christmas or Easter. The anticipation mimics the child awaiting the gift under the tree or at their birthday. No matter how grand that finale might be, without dwelling in the waiting time, we will miss the tremendous beauty in the season leading up to Christmas or Easter. Advent and Lent are times of great reflection and anticipation, guiding us in preparation and living in the already, but not yet. Even though it is in our nature to always look toward a goal, and in many ways, setting goals toward which we work benefits us. However, without understanding how to live in the process of meeting the goal, we will deprive ourselves of learning, which may hinder us from reaching the goal. The benefit we have as Christ followers is that the goal is already met (by the death and resurrection of Jesus), so we don’t need to worry about the work. However, Jesus calls us to live as He lived so that we might be co-laborers with Him. Martha did not struggle with the labor aspect, but she did struggle to live in the comfort of what it meant to live in Christ, and rest in the hope of the resurrection. In the passage below, we will see how, when Jesus delayed traveling to Lazarus, and in doing so opened up Mary, Martha, and even Lazarus to an understanding that within Christ Jesus, we see that even when resurrection means hope for the future, Jesus embodies that hope as we live today.
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 11:17–27.
Walking with Jesus in the resurrection, there is a promise that death does not have the final word. The event of raising Lazarus itself serves as a powerful sign pointing to Jesus’ authority over death and the reality of resurrection life. After four days, when the body was thought to begin decomposing, it would generate a stench. This act of raising Lazarus foreshadows Jesus’ death and resurrection and demonstrates his power to bring life even after death has seemingly taken hold. The idea of death as “sleep” used by Jesus indicates a temporary state from which there will be an awakening, diminishing its sense of finality for believers. This is contrasted with one of the primary views of the Sadducees and some mainstream thought, where sleep often connoted a final state. Jesus’ perspective is bound up with God’s relation to his people and his role as the Son of God. The church holds onto this hope that resurrection after death is the source of our hope. We no longer fear death or what the world might do to us through war, pestilence, or disease because Jesus has entered the world to conquer death, and thus we share that hope with the world.
The miracle of Jesus isn’t just about future resurrection; he is life for us right now, calling us to follow him in the present. Faith in Jesus grants access to this life immediately, even before we physically die. Jesus explained this to Martha, stating, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). His words reveal that a present, eternal quality of life begins through faith, making physical death secondary. This life in faith means that the Christian existence in Christ is life before death, and not primarily something awaited, but the principle of life in the present. The raising of Lazarus serves as a key sign validating Jesus’ claims. By conquering death in the present, Jesus demonstrated that he truly is the resurrection and the life. The purpose of recording this event is to show Jesus leading followers in faith to believe. This life offered by Jesus is a profound spiritual reality. It’s described as a heavenly and divine life obtained by being born again through faith in Christ. Rooted in this union, this spiritual life will never be extinguished, but perfected in eternal life. Jesus requires a response of faith and, by implication, a commitment to follow him. Martha’s powerful confession— “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world”—stands as a pattern of the faith Jesus seeks.
Christ’s resurrection power over death and his ability to grant fulfilling life inspire faith within the church. This faith, in turn, emboldens believers to answer Christ’s call fully. Trusting in his power over death and his gift of true life should naturally motivate believers to align their actions with his teachings and purposes. The transformation seen in the disciples after the resurrection demonstrates how such faith strengthens conviction. Martha’s confession (John 11:27) serves as an ideal example. When she declared, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world,” she expressed deep faith in Jesus’s identity and authority. This kind of faith, resulting from encountering Christ’s power and promises, should define the church. Jesus provides the basis for living this way, and the promise of present life through faith allows believers to live with assurance and purpose today. It affirms that, as we live our Christian experience, living within Christ is life before death, not something we wait to come to fruition, but the principle of living now in the present.
In the passage, Jesus instructed Martha about what living in hope was about. Even in her grief, she mimicked what so many of us utter in our mourning, about how we have hope in the raising of a loved one in the resurrection, and while not incorrect in her assertion, Jesus pointed out that she was missing out on what God was about to do right there. Thus, when confronting something hard like grief, God reminds us that we must continue living in the presence of hope. Hope is not just in the resurrection but also in living here in the already but not yet. In the present, we see God’s Glory in part, but the future will tell us a more complete picture; however, that means that we need to strive to live, observe, and dwell in the richness of God’s presence right now. Therefore, we don’t just sit waiting for the finish and end times, but God calls for us to live life to the fullest. When Jesus tells us that He is the resurrection and the life, He is commanding us not just to sit and wait to die, but that He has a plan for us, and it is to live an abundant life right now. Even though we might look at all the goodies under the tree, or the glory that awaits us at the resurrection, Jesus does not dissuade us from looking forward with anticipation, but instead He adds the instruction that we need to live, to work, and to continue to grow in faith as we await the resurrection, and Christ coming again.
Horizon Community Church 