Beyond Our Faith (I)
This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.
I know that you will join me this morning in saying that I am thankful as a child of God, very thankful, that God has not worked in my life only to the degree that I've believed in or only to the degree that I've understood in. There are times when God does that, true. There are times because of His training work in our life, growing us, His training work in our life, that He doesn't go beyond our faith, that He teaches us that we must believe Him, trust Him. And so there's a sense in which He teaches us by waiting until we believe Him, until we learn to trust Him. But there have been many other times when God works in our lives in a gracious way despite our lack of faith and despite our small understanding, our limited understanding, our fluttering hearts.
We look back and we're able to see how weak our faith was, how small. We're able to see how small our perspective was and yet God was at work doing great things. And I can't help but think about that when I look at these verses because it's obvious that Christ was working here in a way that went beyond the understanding of His disciples and that went beyond the faith of His disciples as well. When Jesus announced that they were going back to Judea, to Bethany in Judea, His disciples were afraid. They couldn't understand it. They thought it was an unwise decision. They thought it was a bad decision.
At first they misunderstood Him. You remember He said Lazarus was sleeping, and by that He meant that Lazarus was dead. Well, they thought that He meant that Lazarus was literally sleeping. And so they thought he's going to get better. While he's sleeping he's going to get better and recover. This is a good thing he's sleeping. We don't need to go and disturb him, let him rest. And after all, Lord, have You forgotten that they were trying to stone You there in Judea? We don't need to go there, do we? It's not a good idea.
And then He said to them plainly, "No, no, you don't understand. Lazarus has died, and I must go to awaken him." Lazarus has died. And even after they understood that Lazarus had died, even then, you remember Thomas' response, which was a response of faith. Nevertheless, Thomas says, "Well, let's go with Him so that we may also die." "Let's go and die with Him." So their perspective is, this is very dangerous. It's a dangerous decision. And they don't have any idea, even though Christ has taught them this right here in this text, they still don't understand that He's walking in the light as He's doing His Father's will.
He's exactly where the Father wants Him to be and that there's no reason for fear, there's no reason for trepidation, there's no stumbling as long as you're walking in the light. And they don't understand that. And so He's working in a way that goes beyond their faith, that goes beyond their understanding. They have no idea that He's going to raise Lazarus from the dead. They have no idea about how the power of God is going to be put on display to the glory of God. The glory of God, the power of Christ over death, the ability of Christ to give resurrection life. They don't have any understanding of this.
So He's not working according to their understanding. He's not working according to the limits of their faith. He's working according to the eternal purpose of God, what God had ordained to do. But not only do we see Him doing this work beyond their understanding and their faith, you also see the Lord doing this work. He's working beyond the understanding and the faith of Martha and Mary as well when He arrives on the outskirts of Bethany in Judea.
And that's what we're going to see this morning as we look at this text. Just to give you the overall picture to have it in mind before we delve into it this morning and next Lord's Day, Lord willing, and we'll see how we do with that. But if you were to look at the scene, we can break it up in this way. You see Jesus coming to Bethany. You see Martha coming to Jesus. That's the second scene. And then you see Mary coming to Jesus. That's the third scene. And finally, you see Jesus' interaction with the Jews. So that's pretty much what we have here in our text.
So this morning we're going to look at Jesus coming to Bethany, and then we're going to look at Martha coming to Jesus, by God's grace. And as we do this, I want you to recognize with me how they don't understand. And in fact, even after He explains, they don't fully grasp. They don't fully get it. Their faith is still uninformed. It is not fully informed. We could say it this way: they don't really believe in the fullness of what He's saying to them. They don't grasp it. They don't grasp it. Yet He's at work doing what He's determined to do.
Notice first of all with me in verse 17, Jesus coming to Bethany. We read, "So when Jesus came, He found that He had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother." Now let's stop here, and really it is striking, and there's so much richness in the Word of God, and sometimes we just really overlook it. We glance over it, and we miss certain things, and many things at times.
But notice the first thing that I want us to see together. It says, and there's a note here about the timing of the death of Lazarus, and we'll get to it. It says that when Jesus came, He found that He had already been in the tomb four days. Now look at this verse. A couple of things stand out here. One, there's a note here, at least in my mind, that expresses the marvelous mystery of the Incarnation. You see it? It's right here in the text, because it says that Jesus found. Wow! Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days.
Now He already, and we know this, don't we? He already supernaturally knew that Lazarus had died. Nobody had informed Him, but He's able to tell His disciples, when it's time to go back to Judea, two days after He was given the message that Lazarus was sick, He's able to tell His disciples He's died. And He's able to do this because He is God omniscient. He's God the Son. So He knows this, yet the Bible says that when He came to Bethany, He found. He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
And I pause here, and I marvel at the mystery of the Incarnation. There are places in the Word of God where you recognize that something unique and amazing happened when God came to earth in the person of Jesus. He still possessed all of His divine attributes, all of them. It's a huge mistake if you think that He had laid aside any of His divine attributes. He did not. Absolutely not. He was as much God on earth in the flesh as He was when He was in Heaven. But what He did do when He was on earth is He voluntarily submitted the exercise of some of those attributes to His Father. And so it could be truly said of Him in His humanity that there were times that He learned things, that He learned things through a normal means of information.
For example, Luke chapter 2 and verse 52, speaking of the growth of Jesus as a man, it says, "And Jesus was advancing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men." How does God incarnate advance in wisdom? How does He increase in wisdom? I mean, that's a mystery, isn't it? It goes beyond our puny ability to really wrap our brains around it, to fully grasp it.
And then also, what you have in Mark 13 and verse 28 and following, it says, "Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." This is Christ speaking. Verse 32, Mark 13: "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
How could Christ say that only the Father knew this, that the Son doesn't know this? And again, beloved, He's speaking of Himself in His state of humility, voluntary humility, when He was on this earth. Oh, the mystery of the incarnation. He still possessed the attribute of omniscience. Had He wanted to, had He willed to, He could have called to mind anything He wanted to, to call to mind in His humanity. And yet, in some way, He voluntarily limited Himself in order that at certain times He may not know in His humanity, as here in this case.
And I confess to you, beloved, I don't fully grasp all of that, but we do see it in the Word of God. Fully God, fully man, and in His humanness, you find Him really setting aside the use of His of certain attributes. And here it is, it says, He found that He, Lazarus, had already been in the tomb four days. In fact, notice something else that is interesting in verse 34 in our text. He said, "Where have you laid Him?" “Where have you laid Him?” Where is He? Where is His grave? Where is the tomb? "Where have you laid Him?"
And so you see the mystery of the incarnation. Something so high that's beyond us to fully grasp. And I will also add this. It is critically important, very important, and we need to underscore this, that we keep this in mind. Christ Jesus, the God-man, in His humanity, was never, ever, ever, ever in error. Ever. If someone wants to extend this to the point that they say that there were things that He was misinformed about, that He was wrong about—unequivocally, it's a no. Absolutely not.
He is God incarnate, and the only way that He selectively limited the independent use of His divine prerogatives were ways that were meant to glorify God the Father in His mission as God incarnate, as the God-sent God. He was in no way in error. His knowledge in all was perfect, but somehow in His humanity, His humanness, there was a place for learning and growth in a way that we don't fully grasp.
Well, there's a second thing, a second reason why this note about the timing of Lazarus' death is important, and it is this. It explains some things for us. It really explains some things for us. Some things that we might not understand if we just came to this passage, and we didn't know when he died, when Lazarus died. So this is important.
Remember I told you that Bethany, Judea, was a day's journey from where Jesus was, from Perea, and this is when He got the news—that's the place where He got the news that Lazarus was sick. And so they sent the messenger. If you were to go back to the account—so follow closely—they sent the messenger, that's day one. Day number one, Jesus receives the news. Jesus waits for two more days, then He travels back—that's day four. Day four. So when He arrives on the outskirts of Bethany, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days.
Now what does that tell you, as you read this account? Well, it tells you that Lazarus died the day that the messenger was sent, right? In fact, Lazarus may have been dead before the message ever got to Jesus, but perhaps while the messenger was en route. It's very possible. Now why is this significant? Well, one thing it tells us is that Jesus wasn't waiting in Perea until Lazarus dies. The extra two days that He spent there, He was not waiting for Lazarus to die—Lazarus had already died. So that's not the explanation for why He waits.
Well, there are reasons that aren't told to us in God's Word. No doubt there are things that we don't know about. But one thing is certain: knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing how He viewed His mission and His time on the earth, one thing for certain we could say—whatever He was doing for those two days, He was walking in the center of His Father's will. He was doing what His Father gave Him to do. It was purposeful, and there were things accomplished in those two days that were meant to be accomplished in those two days. He was here to fulfill His Father's will.
Remember John 4:34, He said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work." John 6:38, "I've come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me." We know that. But another reason this is important is to explain also the attitude of the sisters—the two sisters—when they come to Jesus. Notice what Martha says to Jesus in verse 21: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
Now, if you don't know the timing of Lazarus' death, right, so how could you take those words if you don't have that in mind—the context? Well, you could understand her to be saying, "Why weren't You here?" Right? "It's Your fault. Why weren't You here?” I mean, if You had come when we sent the messenger, if You hadn't waited two more days, our brother would still be alive." You see what I'm saying, beloved? You could understand the words that way unless you recognize that Lazarus already died. So this is not what they're saying. This is not in any way accusing Him.
Notice that Mary says the same thing. Mary comes and falls down at the feet of Jesus in verse 32, right? When she came where Jesus was, she saw Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." This is in no way an accusation against the Lord Jesus. It is not an accusation. This is in no way questioning His decisions. The reason we know that is because the sisters knew that their brother had died the day the messenger was sent. So this is very important to note for us really to grasp what's going on here in this account.
Something else is given to us here in the text, and it is the location of Bethany of Judea. Look at what it says in verse 18: "Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away." That's about three and a half kilometers, about two miles off. That's important for a couple of reasons. One, it tells us that Jesus was really in a dangerous zone. He's in a dangerous area, dangerous region. It's only three and a half kilometers away from where? Jerusalem. The hub of troubles, right? It's only three and a half kilometers away from where they were ready to do what? To stone Him last time He was there. So His disciples were not wrong when they thought that this decision, humanly speaking, was a dangerous decision. It wasn't wise at all. He's in a dangerous region.
But also this note tells us that this situation presents a strategic set of circumstances as well. This is now going to be a very public miracle. When He raises Lazarus from the dead, it tells us it's going to be a very public miracle. It's going to be a miracle that the enemies of Jesus will not be able to deny and they will not be able to ignore. In fact, because it's close to Jerusalem, when Lazarus died, many of the Jews had come out from Jerusalem to comfort the sisters. This is what you see in verses 18 and 19: "Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother."
So you have present here not only some believers in Jesus, but you would also even have present there some of the enemies of Jesus as well. Some of the Jews who were not believers, no doubt, were gathered there as well. And you see this after the miracle. The response was what? They believed, some of them. The response of others was what? Well, they went back and they informed the leaders of their nation in a way that would endanger Jesus.
So this is in the providence of God, in the sovereignty of God. This is all orchestrated in such a way that this miracle, the crescendo of the acts recorded by John in this Gospel—this is the seventh sign recorded, and the greatest one yet—this is going to be done in such a way that is absolutely undeniable, unable to be ignored by the enemies of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. In fact, you see this as they gather together for counsel after He performed the miracle. Go down just for a minute to verse 47, where we read, "Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together and were saying, 'What are we doing? What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs.'" You see this? They cannot deny that something supernatural had occurred. They can't ignore the miracle. That is beyond dispute.
Verse 48: "If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." So, the timing of Lazarus' death is given to us. It's very important that we recognize that. But also the location of Bethany in Judea, only three and a half kilometers from Jerusalem, is also important as well. It is a dangerous region. It's also a strategic place where this miracle will be really forced and thrust upon the enemies of Jesus in terms of their consciousness. They cannot ignore it. They cannot deny it.
Now there's something else that we need to be aware of as we look at these verses this morning and next Lord's Day, Lord willing. We need to know why is it that all of these people are still gathered with Mary and Martha four days after their brother died. Have you ever thought about that? Why are they still there? I mean, he's buried. He's in the tomb. Four days later, they're still there. I mean, you know what it's like, right? In our culture, usually, you have a funeral and after the funeral, there'll be some sort of a get-together, perhaps a meal, a time to be together, and after the funeral and the meal, they'll comfort one another, but then everybody goes home. So you have the service, you have the internment, you come back, usually, for a meal together. The people comfort the grieving family, and then everyone goes home.
In fact, very often, the most difficult time for people is after the funeral because now they're left to themselves and by themselves, really, to deal with the grief, to deal with the mourning and the emptiness and the loss and all of that.
Well, that wasn't the case in the culture of Judaism. It was different, and we need to understand that because it really gives us more understanding of the context. Like everything else in Judaism, there were very specific customs for how to deal with death and funerals and sorrow and grief. It was spelled out like everything else in their lives, even down to how they ate. It's unbelievable. There were traditions and customs about how you handle death and how you handle comforting people who are in mourning, and it helps us to understand the passage. Now, I'm not going to go on forever with the Jewish customs regarding funerals, but there are a couple of things that we need to know that are helpful for us. The first thing you need to know is that mourning had an official time period in Judaism. It had an official time period. People were supposed to mourn for a certain amount of time.
The traditional mourning period was 30 days. Thirty days. And those 30 days were even broken down. I mean, the entire period was known as days of sorrow, days of sorrows. So you had 30 days of sorrow, and you had the first three days called days of weeping, and then you had the seven days called days of lamentation. So they had 30 days broken down. You're going to mourn—three days of weeping, seven days of lamentation, and then the rest, all days, days of sorrow. A funeral was a very public matter in Jewish life. In fact, it was more than a public matter. It was a community matter. The entire community really was involved. Of all the things that were important in Jewish life, how you dealt with someone who's grieving and mourning was very high on the list in terms of you expressing piety.
If you're a godly person and wanted to be a godly person, you were a person who wanted to keep the law and be a righteous person, then you were obligated to take care of those who were mourning. Alfred Ersheim, who was really an expert on these sort of things, had this to write in a book entitled, Sketches of Jewish Life in the Days of Christ. Listen to what he writes, and this is really helpful: "As the funeral procession passed, everyone was expected, if possible, to join the convoy. Similarly, all reverence was shown toward the remains of the dead, and burying places were kept free from every kind of profanation and even from light conversation. It was held that the law of God only prescribed mourning for the first day, which was that of death and burial, while the other and longer period of mourning that followed was enjoined by the elders. So long as the dead body was actually in the house, it was forbidden to eat meat or drink wine, to put on phylacteries, or to engage in study. All necessary food had to be prepared outside the house, and was, if possible, not to be eaten in the presence of the dead. The first duty was to rend the clothes, which might be done in one or more of the inner garments, but not in the outer dress. The rent is made standing and in front, and it is generally about a hand breadth in length. In the case of parents, it is never closed up again, but in that of others, it is mended after the 30th day."
Let me just pause here. Let me just insert a thought here, and we're going to see this later in the text, and we'll see it next Sunday as well, that Christ was literally indignant over the hypocrisy that was present in the mourning. Indignant. Think about it. Can you imagine living in a culture where you were even told how to rend your garments when it came to mourning a loved one? How to tear your garment, and how some, in the case of parents, it wasn't to be mended, period. And in the case of others, it was to be mended after 30 days.
It's a really sad picture when you look at the Judaism in the day that Christ arrived on the earth—dead, decadent Judaism. Let me go on reading what Edersheim said: “Immediately after the body's carried out of the house, all chairs and couches are reversed, and the mourners sit on the ground or on a low stool except on the Sabbath. A threefold distinction was here made. Deep mourning was to last seven days, of which the first three were weeping. During these seven days, it was, among other things, forbidden to wash, to anoint oneself, to put on shoes, to study, or to engage in any business. After that followed a lighter mourning of 30 days.” End of quote. So mourning had an official time period.
It was the obligation of those who are mourning with these sisters to remain around, especially during the first seven days of lamentation, those first three days of weeping, and the seven days of lamentation. So now you can imagine, now you understand, right? So here we are, they have a full house, four days later. But not only did the mourning have an official time period, what you also need to know is that mourning had a prescribed form. It had a prescribed form.
Let me explain. That is, along with the natural mourning, the genuine mourning of family members and friends, it was expected—it was expected, according to Jewish custom—that even the poorest family was to hire at least two flute players and a professional wailing woman. This is if you're, like, really poor. But if you're really wealthy and a family of means, then you had many more professional mourners. So present here were not just friends of the family; they were also professional mourners who were present as well.
And we can surmise from the gospel accounts that Lazarus, Martha, and Mary may have had wealth, and so we don't know how many professional mourners were present, but it may have been a significant number as well. Now, we don't know for sure, but it is true that Martha and Mary were believers, and Lazarus was a believer. But nonetheless, you can see here they were Jewish, and the way that they were going through the mourning was very, very Jewish as well.
Something else, a side note really here for us that's interesting, is that they did not, in Judaism, allow you to mourn apostates. They didn't allow you to mourn apostates. And in fact, in the case of an apostate from Judaism, people would wear white at times to convey just the opposite of mourning. Now, what that says to us is that even though Lazarus, and Martha, and Mary were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, they were not at this point at least treated as apostates because they were still going through this mourning ritual just like the rest who live in that culture.
So here we are, three and a half kilometers away from Jerusalem, a dangerous region, but a strategic location. Christ is at work. He's working in a way that His disciples don't understand, working in a way, as we're going to see in a moment, that Martha and Mary don't fully understand. But He's nevertheless at work. He's doing the work of the Father, and the stage is set as in the midst of their mourning. The house is full, for many have come from Jerusalem, and they're going through this grieving. They're grieving the way the culture grieves.
So the stage is set now that leads us to Jesus and Martha, that encounter in verses 20 through 27. We'll begin to look at it this morning very briefly. When Martha hears that Jesus has arrived—look at verse 20—"Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary was sitting in the house." Now here we come to these two sisters again, Martha and Mary. Martha and Mary. And they act really according to their personality, and you see them here acting according to their temperament.
You know, one of the things you see in the Gospel of Luke is the difference in the personalities of these two sisters. Remember—well, we talked about that already—when Jesus taught Martha a lesson about what's really important when He was visiting in their home in Luke 10. There's Martha, you remember, she's rushing around, busy, she's serving, cooking, doing all sorts of things to be hospitable. And where's Mary? She's at the feet of Jesus. And how does Martha feel about that? Well, she's not happy about it, you remember. "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the preparations alone? Then tell her, tell her to help me" (Luke 10:40). And Jesus said to Martha, "Your sister has chosen the better part." She's chosen the better part. She's doing the right thing. She's fine. She's chosen the right thing.
And what you see in that picture is, here you have one sister who is what we would hear in our culture described as a type A personality. She's busy. She's a doer. She's out front. And then you have the other sister who's very contemplative. She's very pensive. She sits at the feet of Jesus. And she listens to the Word of God. In fact, you even see a difference in this passage here. You can see it carried out here. Because Martha comes to Jesus, and there's nothing in the account close to what you see really of Mary when she comes.
When Mary comes to Jesus, what does she do? Well, she does what she always does. She falls at His feet, right? She's at His feet. But she falls down at His feet. She falls down at His feet, broken in this case. She may have been the more emotional of the two sisters. This certainly appears to be the case. So here's the point. Martha may have gotten—it looks like she's gotten—the news first as the older sister. And she would be the mistress of the household. She would have gotten news that Jesus was on the outskirts of Bethany. And it looks like she didn't even tell her sister at this point. She just went out on her own. She took the lead. She went out to meet Jesus.
And that seems to be a correct explanation in light of verse 28, which seems to indicate that Mary doesn't even know Jesus is there. She doesn't find out until Martha comes back and tells her. She's just caught up in the loss of her brother, agonizing loss of this brother that she loved dearly. So Martha gets the news that Jesus is coming. She doesn't wait. She runs to meet Him. And here's what she does. Look at verse 21: "Martha then said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.'"
And there are two things I see in her words. One, I see a regret mingled with grief. Regret mingled with grief. The regret of Martha. We must look upon Martha's words as the expression of really poignant grief, regret. So one, I see regret—the regret of Martha. And when Mary comes in and says the exact same thing, what that says to me is that they were talking about this in these four days. They were in conversation about this, the two sisters. These two sisters had talked about this. What would it have been like if the Master had been here and not had been in Perea?
What would it have been like if You had been here, Lord? And she expresses here the confidence that if Christ had been present with them, their brother would not have died. That Jesus would have healed him. That confidence in Him. Now that speaks both of her confidence that Jesus Christ was willing to help them, her confidence that Christ had the ability to help them. And so she expresses not only regret, but also I want us to see that she also expresses faith. She expresses faith. She expresses faith not only in what He could have done had He been there in Bethany, but notice when she goes on to say in verse 22, "But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You." Even though we are where we are, I know, Lord, You can offer us help from God for the situation.
Now, here's what's interesting about this. Even though, beloved, that she expresses faith, even though she expresses faith—and here's what I meant earlier in the message when I said not only our lack of understanding, but the weakness, the smallness of our faith—Christ works beyond our faith. Christ works beyond our weak faith and the smallness of our trust. Because even though this sounds like a great statement of faith—I mean it sounds like literally she's saying whatever You would ask for, I know God will give it to You. Your Father will hear You, Lord, and He will give it to You.
Even though that sounds like this great expression of faith, it becomes very obvious as you go on to read the verses that she did not consider that Christ would raise her brother from the dead on the spot. That was not part of her consideration. And not only did she not consider it, but there has to be some weakness in her faith here. Because even when Christ tells them—we're going to see later in the passage—to roll away the stone so that He might call her brother out of the tomb, what does Mary say? What does she say? She says, hold on, wait, wait. In a sense, that's what—hold on there, Lord. He's been dead for what? Four days. By this time there'll be an odor, right? In other words, she doesn't get it, does she? She doesn't understand what He's about to do.
Pastor MacArthur on Martha, he said this, and I quote, "Although obviously heartbroken, she was not rebuking the Lord for failing to prevent Lazarus' death. The sister's message had arrived too late, humanly speaking, for Jesus to have returned to Bethany in time to heal him. Martha's words,” he goes on to say, "were simply a poignant expression of grief mingled with the faith she expressed in her statement, 'Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.' That confidence, however, evidently did not extend to Jesus' ability to resurrect her brother, as her later hesitation when the tomb was opened makes clear (John 11:39). She seems to have had faith in the Lord's power to heal, but not in His power to raise the dead. Perhaps the possibility had not even crossed her mind," end of quote.
So even though she says, "Lord, anything You ask, whatever You ask from the Father, God will give You," there's still a limitation in her mind. And that's what I want to mention here for a moment. I want to pause here and ask the question, what do you see here in her words? What do you see here in her words? You see regret, you see grief, you see respect, but also notice you see a lack of understanding and a smallness of faith. Beloved, she has limited Christ at least in three ways. Three ways.
One, she has limited Christ in terms of time. She's limited Christ in terms of time. "Lord, if You had been here," but guess what? Guess what? He's here now, isn't He? He's here now. He's standing there in front of her now. She's living in regret. She's thinking about what might have been. In her mind, there was something He could have done back there, but He can't do right now. Back then, but He can't do right now. So she has limited Him in terms of time.
Not only has she limited Him in terms of time, but secondly, she has limited Him in terms of location. In terms of location. "Lord, if You had been where? Here. Here." Isn't it interesting? I don't know for certain that they had been informed of this, but honestly, I'd be quite shocked if they hadn't been informed already about this. Do you remember when Christ healed someone on His word, right? The Roman centurion said to Jesus in Matthew 8, "Lord, I am not good enough for You to come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to this man, 'Go,' and he goes, to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." And Christ marveled at that man's faith, that he understood that, and said, "Truly, I say to you, I've not found such great faith with anyone in Israel." Do Martha and Mary not understand that, that Christ didn't have to be present? All He had to do was to be informed. And with a word, their brother would have been healed. "If You had been here," what might have been? So they limit Him in terms of location.
But thirdly, she limits Him in terms of power. In terms of power. Because she doesn't understand or consider that He's able. Christ is able, that He has the ability right now to raise her brother from the dead. Though she says, "Whatever You ask," she doesn't think in those terms. In her own mind, there are certain things, certain ways He's able to minister to them right now. But one thing she didn't consider that He was able to do—to bring her brother out of the tomb. It's not in her mind.
How do we know this? In fact, notice another indication it's not in her mind. Verse 23—we're going to see this next week, Lord willing—Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." And where does her mind immediately go, right? Does she say, "Oh, oh, I'm so thrilled, Lord. I'm so thankful. I can't wait. I know whatever You ask from God, God will give it to You. So let's go to the tomb, Lord. Let's do it." Is that what she says? Well, what did she say? "Oh, I know that he will rise again." When? When? "In the resurrection on the last day." So she doesn't think in terms of a miracle right then. She's thinking about His words as being comfort concerning what? The future.
By way of application, I wonder, beloved, I wonder. I wonder, do we ever do this? Do we ever do this? Do we ever limit in our minds the Lord in that way? Do we? Do we think, you know what? There was a time when if I had done this or done that or been more responsive to the Lord than I was, there was a time when God might have done a great work in my life. But now the time has passed. You want to know what is a wonderful thing to realize? And as I say this, I'm not dismissing at all the fact that there are missed opportunities. There are things that we look back on even after we're saved and we regret. Anybody know that to be true? But you know what is really amazing, what is wonderful? It is never too late to do the right thing. It is never too late to do what is right. It's never too late as long as you're alive, as long as the Lord gives you opportunity. It's never too late for you, dear one. To this day, God can do a marvelous work in your life if you will turn to Him with your whole heart.
And we might limit the Lord sometimes in terms of location. We have someone we're burdened about. We know their spiritual condition, and it breaks our heart. And we say to ourselves, but I can't be there. I can't go there. I can't be there to talk to them as I want to. I can't be there to minister to them as I want to. Beloved, do you realize God is not limited by location? And your prayers—your prayers are used by God. They are means that God has chosen to work through. And your prayers have an effect half a world away. God is not limited by location. God is not limited by time. God is not limited by time. God is not limited by time. Half a world away, God is not limited by location. Do you limit God not only in terms of time? Do you limit Him in terms of location? And then do you limit Him in terms of ability? Ability.
He could do this, but He can't do this. He could have dealt with this problem, but He can't really deal with this problem. You say, well, how do I do this? Well, sometimes someone tries to encourage you with the truth in the Word of God concerning something that you are going through. And you say something like this perhaps: but you don't know my situation. But you don't know my situation. You don't know what I'm facing. You don't know what I'm going through. Beloved, I know someone who does. And the One who does know what you're at and where you're at and what you're facing and what you're going through—guess what? He is Himself unlimited power. He's all-powerful.
"The hand of the Lord is not shortened, then it can't save." Thank God this is true even when we don't believe that. Thank God this is true even when we don't understand that. Just as Christ was working beyond their understanding—the understanding and the faith of His own disciples in Perea, and beyond the understanding and the faith of Martha and Mary in Bethany—so He has worked in my life and in your life beyond my understanding, beyond my small faith so many times. But you know what? It never ever honors Him for us not to believe Him. Never. May the Lord grow us in our understanding. May He grow us in our faith to understand that He's not limited by time, not limited by location, or in any way limited in His power.
And I want to finish this morning with two questions for us. Number one, do you trust that God knows what He's doing in your life right now? Do you trust that God knows—our God knows—what He's doing in your life right now? We've talked about it all morning, how He works beyond—God works beyond, Christ works beyond—greater than our faith. Do you believe He's doing that in your life right now? And do you give Him praise? For He's done that in your life all along. Can you look back at your life and see where you faced big decisions, life-altering decisions, and even when you made the decisions you weren't certain about, you wanted to do the will of God, you sought the face of God, but you weren't certain that you had it right, and yet you can look back now and see how He was guiding you every single step of the way, and He brought you to where you are right now? Do you understand that He hasn't stopped working in your life like that, child of God? He's at work in your situation this morning, just like that. Do you trust Him? Can you rest in that truth? Do you give Him praise for it, working out His plan for His glory in your life, and you know that you don't understand it all?
And perhaps you would never have even considered all that He ends up doing in your life. It wasn't even on your radar screen. You didn't even think about it. But He's done it. He's done it. Blessed be God, He's done it. We've got to give Him praise for that, beloved. This is for the glory of God. This is God's glory that He works like that.
The second question, and we already talked about it in depth, but I just want to underscore it again by way of reminder. It's a biblical practice to remind. Are you guilty of limiting Him in your mind and heart like Martha and Mary? May we ask the Lord to enlarge us, to grow us in our understanding, in our faith. Lord, oh dear Lord, grow my faith, grow me in my trust toward You. There are going to be some times because our Lord, our Father, is disciplining us and training us that He's going to teach us. Child, I'm not going any further with you until you believe Me. There are times like this in His training of us. Not because He can't, but because it's part of His training in your life.
Will you trust Me? It's a glorious truth that all of God's children can see and say amen to. You never trust God and end up disappointed, ever. You never trust God and end up disappointed. So where is God calling you to trust this morning? Where? Do you even know that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly? Do you believe it? You see this message this morning, it hits the hearts of His people because we understand these things. And I want to remind us of Paul's words in Ephesians 3:20–21: "Now to Him who is” what? Able. Able. “Able to do far more abundantly above all that we ask or understand, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
Let me summarize what Paul is saying here and that really goes by way of application to what we're learning this morning. He's saying to us, God has the power to do. And he's saying to us, God has the power to do what we ask. God has the power to do what we think or imagine. God has the power to do all that we can ask or think. God has the power to do beyond all that we ask or think. And one more. God has the power to do infinitely beyond all that we ask or think.
Far more abundantly—and Paul uses a compound Greek word you remember in our studies there in the book of Ephesians—which means surpassing, super-abundantly, surpassingly, beyond measure, exceedingly, quite beyond all measure, overwhelmingly, over and above, more than enough. It describes an extraordinary degree involving considerable excess over what would be expected. It's the highest form of comparison imaginable, this word. It means immeasurably more than, quite beyond all measure, infinitely more than.
There is no limit. There's absolutely no limit. God has the power to do beyond all that we can ask or imagine—infinitely beyond. Whatever your doubts, whatever your spiritual struggles, God can do infinitely more than you can ask or even imagine. If it is something in line with His purpose revealed in His Word, if it is something in line with His intention to make those who know and love Him into the image of His Son, there is no shortage of His power.
But maybe there's somebody here this morning that you don't know anything about this because you don't know Christ. You don't know the Lord. And maybe even you said to yourself, you know, there was a time when I heard the Gospel, there was a time when I could have come to Jesus Christ, but it's too late for me now. If that's you—if that's you, my sinner friend, my lost friend—then why are you sitting here this morning? Why? Why does the Lord have you here today, this morning? Would you this day realize that Jesus Christ came into this world, God incarnate, to live a sinless life, to die on a tree in the stead of sinners; that He was buried in the borrowed tomb; that He was raised from the dead; He ascended on high; and now the good news is being published all over the world by God's will—that there is a way for sinners to be reconciled to a holy God, and that way, His name is Jesus.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," and He will do exceedingly, abundantly beyond what you think or imagine in your life. He will breathe life into your dead soul. He will turn the light on in your heart and mind, and He will forgive your sins. And He will adopt you into His family, and He will make you joint heir with Jesus Christ. And one day, you have that glorious promised inheritance of the saints that would belong to you, and you will leave this place today forgiven, with a conscience purged and cleansed. Will you not trust Him? Will you not embrace Him? Will you not rest the weight of your soul upon Him? Will you not believe Him?
Let's pray.
We look back and we're able to see how weak our faith was, how small. We're able to see how small our perspective was and yet God was at work doing great things. And I can't help but think about that when I look at these verses because it's obvious that Christ was working here in a way that went beyond the understanding of His disciples and that went beyond the faith of His disciples as well. When Jesus announced that they were going back to Judea, to Bethany in Judea, His disciples were afraid. They couldn't understand it. They thought it was an unwise decision. They thought it was a bad decision.
At first they misunderstood Him. You remember He said Lazarus was sleeping, and by that He meant that Lazarus was dead. Well, they thought that He meant that Lazarus was literally sleeping. And so they thought he's going to get better. While he's sleeping he's going to get better and recover. This is a good thing he's sleeping. We don't need to go and disturb him, let him rest. And after all, Lord, have You forgotten that they were trying to stone You there in Judea? We don't need to go there, do we? It's not a good idea.
And then He said to them plainly, "No, no, you don't understand. Lazarus has died, and I must go to awaken him." Lazarus has died. And even after they understood that Lazarus had died, even then, you remember Thomas' response, which was a response of faith. Nevertheless, Thomas says, "Well, let's go with Him so that we may also die." "Let's go and die with Him." So their perspective is, this is very dangerous. It's a dangerous decision. And they don't have any idea, even though Christ has taught them this right here in this text, they still don't understand that He's walking in the light as He's doing His Father's will.
He's exactly where the Father wants Him to be and that there's no reason for fear, there's no reason for trepidation, there's no stumbling as long as you're walking in the light. And they don't understand that. And so He's working in a way that goes beyond their faith, that goes beyond their understanding. They have no idea that He's going to raise Lazarus from the dead. They have no idea about how the power of God is going to be put on display to the glory of God. The glory of God, the power of Christ over death, the ability of Christ to give resurrection life. They don't have any understanding of this.
So He's not working according to their understanding. He's not working according to the limits of their faith. He's working according to the eternal purpose of God, what God had ordained to do. But not only do we see Him doing this work beyond their understanding and their faith, you also see the Lord doing this work. He's working beyond the understanding and the faith of Martha and Mary as well when He arrives on the outskirts of Bethany in Judea.
And that's what we're going to see this morning as we look at this text. Just to give you the overall picture to have it in mind before we delve into it this morning and next Lord's Day, Lord willing, and we'll see how we do with that. But if you were to look at the scene, we can break it up in this way. You see Jesus coming to Bethany. You see Martha coming to Jesus. That's the second scene. And then you see Mary coming to Jesus. That's the third scene. And finally, you see Jesus' interaction with the Jews. So that's pretty much what we have here in our text.
So this morning we're going to look at Jesus coming to Bethany, and then we're going to look at Martha coming to Jesus, by God's grace. And as we do this, I want you to recognize with me how they don't understand. And in fact, even after He explains, they don't fully grasp. They don't fully get it. Their faith is still uninformed. It is not fully informed. We could say it this way: they don't really believe in the fullness of what He's saying to them. They don't grasp it. They don't grasp it. Yet He's at work doing what He's determined to do.
Notice first of all with me in verse 17, Jesus coming to Bethany. We read, "So when Jesus came, He found that He had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother." Now let's stop here, and really it is striking, and there's so much richness in the Word of God, and sometimes we just really overlook it. We glance over it, and we miss certain things, and many things at times.
But notice the first thing that I want us to see together. It says, and there's a note here about the timing of the death of Lazarus, and we'll get to it. It says that when Jesus came, He found that He had already been in the tomb four days. Now look at this verse. A couple of things stand out here. One, there's a note here, at least in my mind, that expresses the marvelous mystery of the Incarnation. You see it? It's right here in the text, because it says that Jesus found. Wow! Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb four days.
Now He already, and we know this, don't we? He already supernaturally knew that Lazarus had died. Nobody had informed Him, but He's able to tell His disciples, when it's time to go back to Judea, two days after He was given the message that Lazarus was sick, He's able to tell His disciples He's died. And He's able to do this because He is God omniscient. He's God the Son. So He knows this, yet the Bible says that when He came to Bethany, He found. He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
And I pause here, and I marvel at the mystery of the Incarnation. There are places in the Word of God where you recognize that something unique and amazing happened when God came to earth in the person of Jesus. He still possessed all of His divine attributes, all of them. It's a huge mistake if you think that He had laid aside any of His divine attributes. He did not. Absolutely not. He was as much God on earth in the flesh as He was when He was in Heaven. But what He did do when He was on earth is He voluntarily submitted the exercise of some of those attributes to His Father. And so it could be truly said of Him in His humanity that there were times that He learned things, that He learned things through a normal means of information.
For example, Luke chapter 2 and verse 52, speaking of the growth of Jesus as a man, it says, "And Jesus was advancing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men." How does God incarnate advance in wisdom? How does He increase in wisdom? I mean, that's a mystery, isn't it? It goes beyond our puny ability to really wrap our brains around it, to fully grasp it.
And then also, what you have in Mark 13 and verse 28 and following, it says, "Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." This is Christ speaking. Verse 32, Mark 13: "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."
How could Christ say that only the Father knew this, that the Son doesn't know this? And again, beloved, He's speaking of Himself in His state of humility, voluntary humility, when He was on this earth. Oh, the mystery of the incarnation. He still possessed the attribute of omniscience. Had He wanted to, had He willed to, He could have called to mind anything He wanted to, to call to mind in His humanity. And yet, in some way, He voluntarily limited Himself in order that at certain times He may not know in His humanity, as here in this case.
And I confess to you, beloved, I don't fully grasp all of that, but we do see it in the Word of God. Fully God, fully man, and in His humanness, you find Him really setting aside the use of His of certain attributes. And here it is, it says, He found that He, Lazarus, had already been in the tomb four days. In fact, notice something else that is interesting in verse 34 in our text. He said, "Where have you laid Him?" “Where have you laid Him?” Where is He? Where is His grave? Where is the tomb? "Where have you laid Him?"
And so you see the mystery of the incarnation. Something so high that's beyond us to fully grasp. And I will also add this. It is critically important, very important, and we need to underscore this, that we keep this in mind. Christ Jesus, the God-man, in His humanity, was never, ever, ever, ever in error. Ever. If someone wants to extend this to the point that they say that there were things that He was misinformed about, that He was wrong about—unequivocally, it's a no. Absolutely not.
He is God incarnate, and the only way that He selectively limited the independent use of His divine prerogatives were ways that were meant to glorify God the Father in His mission as God incarnate, as the God-sent God. He was in no way in error. His knowledge in all was perfect, but somehow in His humanity, His humanness, there was a place for learning and growth in a way that we don't fully grasp.
Well, there's a second thing, a second reason why this note about the timing of Lazarus' death is important, and it is this. It explains some things for us. It really explains some things for us. Some things that we might not understand if we just came to this passage, and we didn't know when he died, when Lazarus died. So this is important.
Remember I told you that Bethany, Judea, was a day's journey from where Jesus was, from Perea, and this is when He got the news—that's the place where He got the news that Lazarus was sick. And so they sent the messenger. If you were to go back to the account—so follow closely—they sent the messenger, that's day one. Day number one, Jesus receives the news. Jesus waits for two more days, then He travels back—that's day four. Day four. So when He arrives on the outskirts of Bethany, Lazarus had been in the tomb four days.
Now what does that tell you, as you read this account? Well, it tells you that Lazarus died the day that the messenger was sent, right? In fact, Lazarus may have been dead before the message ever got to Jesus, but perhaps while the messenger was en route. It's very possible. Now why is this significant? Well, one thing it tells us is that Jesus wasn't waiting in Perea until Lazarus dies. The extra two days that He spent there, He was not waiting for Lazarus to die—Lazarus had already died. So that's not the explanation for why He waits.
Well, there are reasons that aren't told to us in God's Word. No doubt there are things that we don't know about. But one thing is certain: knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing how He viewed His mission and His time on the earth, one thing for certain we could say—whatever He was doing for those two days, He was walking in the center of His Father's will. He was doing what His Father gave Him to do. It was purposeful, and there were things accomplished in those two days that were meant to be accomplished in those two days. He was here to fulfill His Father's will.
Remember John 4:34, He said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work." John 6:38, "I've come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me." We know that. But another reason this is important is to explain also the attitude of the sisters—the two sisters—when they come to Jesus. Notice what Martha says to Jesus in verse 21: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
Now, if you don't know the timing of Lazarus' death, right, so how could you take those words if you don't have that in mind—the context? Well, you could understand her to be saying, "Why weren't You here?" Right? "It's Your fault. Why weren't You here?” I mean, if You had come when we sent the messenger, if You hadn't waited two more days, our brother would still be alive." You see what I'm saying, beloved? You could understand the words that way unless you recognize that Lazarus already died. So this is not what they're saying. This is not in any way accusing Him.
Notice that Mary says the same thing. Mary comes and falls down at the feet of Jesus in verse 32, right? When she came where Jesus was, she saw Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." This is in no way an accusation against the Lord Jesus. It is not an accusation. This is in no way questioning His decisions. The reason we know that is because the sisters knew that their brother had died the day the messenger was sent. So this is very important to note for us really to grasp what's going on here in this account.
Something else is given to us here in the text, and it is the location of Bethany of Judea. Look at what it says in verse 18: "Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away." That's about three and a half kilometers, about two miles off. That's important for a couple of reasons. One, it tells us that Jesus was really in a dangerous zone. He's in a dangerous area, dangerous region. It's only three and a half kilometers away from where? Jerusalem. The hub of troubles, right? It's only three and a half kilometers away from where they were ready to do what? To stone Him last time He was there. So His disciples were not wrong when they thought that this decision, humanly speaking, was a dangerous decision. It wasn't wise at all. He's in a dangerous region.
But also this note tells us that this situation presents a strategic set of circumstances as well. This is now going to be a very public miracle. When He raises Lazarus from the dead, it tells us it's going to be a very public miracle. It's going to be a miracle that the enemies of Jesus will not be able to deny and they will not be able to ignore. In fact, because it's close to Jerusalem, when Lazarus died, many of the Jews had come out from Jerusalem to comfort the sisters. This is what you see in verses 18 and 19: "Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother."
So you have present here not only some believers in Jesus, but you would also even have present there some of the enemies of Jesus as well. Some of the Jews who were not believers, no doubt, were gathered there as well. And you see this after the miracle. The response was what? They believed, some of them. The response of others was what? Well, they went back and they informed the leaders of their nation in a way that would endanger Jesus.
So this is in the providence of God, in the sovereignty of God. This is all orchestrated in such a way that this miracle, the crescendo of the acts recorded by John in this Gospel—this is the seventh sign recorded, and the greatest one yet—this is going to be done in such a way that is absolutely undeniable, unable to be ignored by the enemies of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem. In fact, you see this as they gather together for counsel after He performed the miracle. Go down just for a minute to verse 47, where we read, "Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together and were saying, 'What are we doing? What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs.'" You see this? They cannot deny that something supernatural had occurred. They can't ignore the miracle. That is beyond dispute.
Verse 48: "If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." So, the timing of Lazarus' death is given to us. It's very important that we recognize that. But also the location of Bethany in Judea, only three and a half kilometers from Jerusalem, is also important as well. It is a dangerous region. It's also a strategic place where this miracle will be really forced and thrust upon the enemies of Jesus in terms of their consciousness. They cannot ignore it. They cannot deny it.
Now there's something else that we need to be aware of as we look at these verses this morning and next Lord's Day, Lord willing. We need to know why is it that all of these people are still gathered with Mary and Martha four days after their brother died. Have you ever thought about that? Why are they still there? I mean, he's buried. He's in the tomb. Four days later, they're still there. I mean, you know what it's like, right? In our culture, usually, you have a funeral and after the funeral, there'll be some sort of a get-together, perhaps a meal, a time to be together, and after the funeral and the meal, they'll comfort one another, but then everybody goes home. So you have the service, you have the internment, you come back, usually, for a meal together. The people comfort the grieving family, and then everyone goes home.
In fact, very often, the most difficult time for people is after the funeral because now they're left to themselves and by themselves, really, to deal with the grief, to deal with the mourning and the emptiness and the loss and all of that.
Well, that wasn't the case in the culture of Judaism. It was different, and we need to understand that because it really gives us more understanding of the context. Like everything else in Judaism, there were very specific customs for how to deal with death and funerals and sorrow and grief. It was spelled out like everything else in their lives, even down to how they ate. It's unbelievable. There were traditions and customs about how you handle death and how you handle comforting people who are in mourning, and it helps us to understand the passage. Now, I'm not going to go on forever with the Jewish customs regarding funerals, but there are a couple of things that we need to know that are helpful for us. The first thing you need to know is that mourning had an official time period in Judaism. It had an official time period. People were supposed to mourn for a certain amount of time.
The traditional mourning period was 30 days. Thirty days. And those 30 days were even broken down. I mean, the entire period was known as days of sorrow, days of sorrows. So you had 30 days of sorrow, and you had the first three days called days of weeping, and then you had the seven days called days of lamentation. So they had 30 days broken down. You're going to mourn—three days of weeping, seven days of lamentation, and then the rest, all days, days of sorrow. A funeral was a very public matter in Jewish life. In fact, it was more than a public matter. It was a community matter. The entire community really was involved. Of all the things that were important in Jewish life, how you dealt with someone who's grieving and mourning was very high on the list in terms of you expressing piety.
If you're a godly person and wanted to be a godly person, you were a person who wanted to keep the law and be a righteous person, then you were obligated to take care of those who were mourning. Alfred Ersheim, who was really an expert on these sort of things, had this to write in a book entitled, Sketches of Jewish Life in the Days of Christ. Listen to what he writes, and this is really helpful: "As the funeral procession passed, everyone was expected, if possible, to join the convoy. Similarly, all reverence was shown toward the remains of the dead, and burying places were kept free from every kind of profanation and even from light conversation. It was held that the law of God only prescribed mourning for the first day, which was that of death and burial, while the other and longer period of mourning that followed was enjoined by the elders. So long as the dead body was actually in the house, it was forbidden to eat meat or drink wine, to put on phylacteries, or to engage in study. All necessary food had to be prepared outside the house, and was, if possible, not to be eaten in the presence of the dead. The first duty was to rend the clothes, which might be done in one or more of the inner garments, but not in the outer dress. The rent is made standing and in front, and it is generally about a hand breadth in length. In the case of parents, it is never closed up again, but in that of others, it is mended after the 30th day."
Let me just pause here. Let me just insert a thought here, and we're going to see this later in the text, and we'll see it next Sunday as well, that Christ was literally indignant over the hypocrisy that was present in the mourning. Indignant. Think about it. Can you imagine living in a culture where you were even told how to rend your garments when it came to mourning a loved one? How to tear your garment, and how some, in the case of parents, it wasn't to be mended, period. And in the case of others, it was to be mended after 30 days.
It's a really sad picture when you look at the Judaism in the day that Christ arrived on the earth—dead, decadent Judaism. Let me go on reading what Edersheim said: “Immediately after the body's carried out of the house, all chairs and couches are reversed, and the mourners sit on the ground or on a low stool except on the Sabbath. A threefold distinction was here made. Deep mourning was to last seven days, of which the first three were weeping. During these seven days, it was, among other things, forbidden to wash, to anoint oneself, to put on shoes, to study, or to engage in any business. After that followed a lighter mourning of 30 days.” End of quote. So mourning had an official time period.
It was the obligation of those who are mourning with these sisters to remain around, especially during the first seven days of lamentation, those first three days of weeping, and the seven days of lamentation. So now you can imagine, now you understand, right? So here we are, they have a full house, four days later. But not only did the mourning have an official time period, what you also need to know is that mourning had a prescribed form. It had a prescribed form.
Let me explain. That is, along with the natural mourning, the genuine mourning of family members and friends, it was expected—it was expected, according to Jewish custom—that even the poorest family was to hire at least two flute players and a professional wailing woman. This is if you're, like, really poor. But if you're really wealthy and a family of means, then you had many more professional mourners. So present here were not just friends of the family; they were also professional mourners who were present as well.
And we can surmise from the gospel accounts that Lazarus, Martha, and Mary may have had wealth, and so we don't know how many professional mourners were present, but it may have been a significant number as well. Now, we don't know for sure, but it is true that Martha and Mary were believers, and Lazarus was a believer. But nonetheless, you can see here they were Jewish, and the way that they were going through the mourning was very, very Jewish as well.
Something else, a side note really here for us that's interesting, is that they did not, in Judaism, allow you to mourn apostates. They didn't allow you to mourn apostates. And in fact, in the case of an apostate from Judaism, people would wear white at times to convey just the opposite of mourning. Now, what that says to us is that even though Lazarus, and Martha, and Mary were believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, they were not at this point at least treated as apostates because they were still going through this mourning ritual just like the rest who live in that culture.
So here we are, three and a half kilometers away from Jerusalem, a dangerous region, but a strategic location. Christ is at work. He's working in a way that His disciples don't understand, working in a way, as we're going to see in a moment, that Martha and Mary don't fully understand. But He's nevertheless at work. He's doing the work of the Father, and the stage is set as in the midst of their mourning. The house is full, for many have come from Jerusalem, and they're going through this grieving. They're grieving the way the culture grieves.
So the stage is set now that leads us to Jesus and Martha, that encounter in verses 20 through 27. We'll begin to look at it this morning very briefly. When Martha hears that Jesus has arrived—look at verse 20—"Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary was sitting in the house." Now here we come to these two sisters again, Martha and Mary. Martha and Mary. And they act really according to their personality, and you see them here acting according to their temperament.
You know, one of the things you see in the Gospel of Luke is the difference in the personalities of these two sisters. Remember—well, we talked about that already—when Jesus taught Martha a lesson about what's really important when He was visiting in their home in Luke 10. There's Martha, you remember, she's rushing around, busy, she's serving, cooking, doing all sorts of things to be hospitable. And where's Mary? She's at the feet of Jesus. And how does Martha feel about that? Well, she's not happy about it, you remember. "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the preparations alone? Then tell her, tell her to help me" (Luke 10:40). And Jesus said to Martha, "Your sister has chosen the better part." She's chosen the better part. She's doing the right thing. She's fine. She's chosen the right thing.
And what you see in that picture is, here you have one sister who is what we would hear in our culture described as a type A personality. She's busy. She's a doer. She's out front. And then you have the other sister who's very contemplative. She's very pensive. She sits at the feet of Jesus. And she listens to the Word of God. In fact, you even see a difference in this passage here. You can see it carried out here. Because Martha comes to Jesus, and there's nothing in the account close to what you see really of Mary when she comes.
When Mary comes to Jesus, what does she do? Well, she does what she always does. She falls at His feet, right? She's at His feet. But she falls down at His feet. She falls down at His feet, broken in this case. She may have been the more emotional of the two sisters. This certainly appears to be the case. So here's the point. Martha may have gotten—it looks like she's gotten—the news first as the older sister. And she would be the mistress of the household. She would have gotten news that Jesus was on the outskirts of Bethany. And it looks like she didn't even tell her sister at this point. She just went out on her own. She took the lead. She went out to meet Jesus.
And that seems to be a correct explanation in light of verse 28, which seems to indicate that Mary doesn't even know Jesus is there. She doesn't find out until Martha comes back and tells her. She's just caught up in the loss of her brother, agonizing loss of this brother that she loved dearly. So Martha gets the news that Jesus is coming. She doesn't wait. She runs to meet Him. And here's what she does. Look at verse 21: "Martha then said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.'"
And there are two things I see in her words. One, I see a regret mingled with grief. Regret mingled with grief. The regret of Martha. We must look upon Martha's words as the expression of really poignant grief, regret. So one, I see regret—the regret of Martha. And when Mary comes in and says the exact same thing, what that says to me is that they were talking about this in these four days. They were in conversation about this, the two sisters. These two sisters had talked about this. What would it have been like if the Master had been here and not had been in Perea?
What would it have been like if You had been here, Lord? And she expresses here the confidence that if Christ had been present with them, their brother would not have died. That Jesus would have healed him. That confidence in Him. Now that speaks both of her confidence that Jesus Christ was willing to help them, her confidence that Christ had the ability to help them. And so she expresses not only regret, but also I want us to see that she also expresses faith. She expresses faith. She expresses faith not only in what He could have done had He been there in Bethany, but notice when she goes on to say in verse 22, "But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You." Even though we are where we are, I know, Lord, You can offer us help from God for the situation.
Now, here's what's interesting about this. Even though, beloved, that she expresses faith, even though she expresses faith—and here's what I meant earlier in the message when I said not only our lack of understanding, but the weakness, the smallness of our faith—Christ works beyond our faith. Christ works beyond our weak faith and the smallness of our trust. Because even though this sounds like a great statement of faith—I mean it sounds like literally she's saying whatever You would ask for, I know God will give it to You. Your Father will hear You, Lord, and He will give it to You.
Even though that sounds like this great expression of faith, it becomes very obvious as you go on to read the verses that she did not consider that Christ would raise her brother from the dead on the spot. That was not part of her consideration. And not only did she not consider it, but there has to be some weakness in her faith here. Because even when Christ tells them—we're going to see later in the passage—to roll away the stone so that He might call her brother out of the tomb, what does Mary say? What does she say? She says, hold on, wait, wait. In a sense, that's what—hold on there, Lord. He's been dead for what? Four days. By this time there'll be an odor, right? In other words, she doesn't get it, does she? She doesn't understand what He's about to do.
Pastor MacArthur on Martha, he said this, and I quote, "Although obviously heartbroken, she was not rebuking the Lord for failing to prevent Lazarus' death. The sister's message had arrived too late, humanly speaking, for Jesus to have returned to Bethany in time to heal him. Martha's words,” he goes on to say, "were simply a poignant expression of grief mingled with the faith she expressed in her statement, 'Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.' That confidence, however, evidently did not extend to Jesus' ability to resurrect her brother, as her later hesitation when the tomb was opened makes clear (John 11:39). She seems to have had faith in the Lord's power to heal, but not in His power to raise the dead. Perhaps the possibility had not even crossed her mind," end of quote.
So even though she says, "Lord, anything You ask, whatever You ask from the Father, God will give You," there's still a limitation in her mind. And that's what I want to mention here for a moment. I want to pause here and ask the question, what do you see here in her words? What do you see here in her words? You see regret, you see grief, you see respect, but also notice you see a lack of understanding and a smallness of faith. Beloved, she has limited Christ at least in three ways. Three ways.
One, she has limited Christ in terms of time. She's limited Christ in terms of time. "Lord, if You had been here," but guess what? Guess what? He's here now, isn't He? He's here now. He's standing there in front of her now. She's living in regret. She's thinking about what might have been. In her mind, there was something He could have done back there, but He can't do right now. Back then, but He can't do right now. So she has limited Him in terms of time.
Not only has she limited Him in terms of time, but secondly, she has limited Him in terms of location. In terms of location. "Lord, if You had been where? Here. Here." Isn't it interesting? I don't know for certain that they had been informed of this, but honestly, I'd be quite shocked if they hadn't been informed already about this. Do you remember when Christ healed someone on His word, right? The Roman centurion said to Jesus in Matthew 8, "Lord, I am not good enough for You to come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to this man, 'Go,' and he goes, to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." And Christ marveled at that man's faith, that he understood that, and said, "Truly, I say to you, I've not found such great faith with anyone in Israel." Do Martha and Mary not understand that, that Christ didn't have to be present? All He had to do was to be informed. And with a word, their brother would have been healed. "If You had been here," what might have been? So they limit Him in terms of location.
But thirdly, she limits Him in terms of power. In terms of power. Because she doesn't understand or consider that He's able. Christ is able, that He has the ability right now to raise her brother from the dead. Though she says, "Whatever You ask," she doesn't think in those terms. In her own mind, there are certain things, certain ways He's able to minister to them right now. But one thing she didn't consider that He was able to do—to bring her brother out of the tomb. It's not in her mind.
How do we know this? In fact, notice another indication it's not in her mind. Verse 23—we're going to see this next week, Lord willing—Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." And where does her mind immediately go, right? Does she say, "Oh, oh, I'm so thrilled, Lord. I'm so thankful. I can't wait. I know whatever You ask from God, God will give it to You. So let's go to the tomb, Lord. Let's do it." Is that what she says? Well, what did she say? "Oh, I know that he will rise again." When? When? "In the resurrection on the last day." So she doesn't think in terms of a miracle right then. She's thinking about His words as being comfort concerning what? The future.
By way of application, I wonder, beloved, I wonder. I wonder, do we ever do this? Do we ever do this? Do we ever limit in our minds the Lord in that way? Do we? Do we think, you know what? There was a time when if I had done this or done that or been more responsive to the Lord than I was, there was a time when God might have done a great work in my life. But now the time has passed. You want to know what is a wonderful thing to realize? And as I say this, I'm not dismissing at all the fact that there are missed opportunities. There are things that we look back on even after we're saved and we regret. Anybody know that to be true? But you know what is really amazing, what is wonderful? It is never too late to do the right thing. It is never too late to do what is right. It's never too late as long as you're alive, as long as the Lord gives you opportunity. It's never too late for you, dear one. To this day, God can do a marvelous work in your life if you will turn to Him with your whole heart.
And we might limit the Lord sometimes in terms of location. We have someone we're burdened about. We know their spiritual condition, and it breaks our heart. And we say to ourselves, but I can't be there. I can't go there. I can't be there to talk to them as I want to. I can't be there to minister to them as I want to. Beloved, do you realize God is not limited by location? And your prayers—your prayers are used by God. They are means that God has chosen to work through. And your prayers have an effect half a world away. God is not limited by location. God is not limited by time. God is not limited by time. God is not limited by time. Half a world away, God is not limited by location. Do you limit God not only in terms of time? Do you limit Him in terms of location? And then do you limit Him in terms of ability? Ability.
He could do this, but He can't do this. He could have dealt with this problem, but He can't really deal with this problem. You say, well, how do I do this? Well, sometimes someone tries to encourage you with the truth in the Word of God concerning something that you are going through. And you say something like this perhaps: but you don't know my situation. But you don't know my situation. You don't know what I'm facing. You don't know what I'm going through. Beloved, I know someone who does. And the One who does know what you're at and where you're at and what you're facing and what you're going through—guess what? He is Himself unlimited power. He's all-powerful.
"The hand of the Lord is not shortened, then it can't save." Thank God this is true even when we don't believe that. Thank God this is true even when we don't understand that. Just as Christ was working beyond their understanding—the understanding and the faith of His own disciples in Perea, and beyond the understanding and the faith of Martha and Mary in Bethany—so He has worked in my life and in your life beyond my understanding, beyond my small faith so many times. But you know what? It never ever honors Him for us not to believe Him. Never. May the Lord grow us in our understanding. May He grow us in our faith to understand that He's not limited by time, not limited by location, or in any way limited in His power.
And I want to finish this morning with two questions for us. Number one, do you trust that God knows what He's doing in your life right now? Do you trust that God knows—our God knows—what He's doing in your life right now? We've talked about it all morning, how He works beyond—God works beyond, Christ works beyond—greater than our faith. Do you believe He's doing that in your life right now? And do you give Him praise? For He's done that in your life all along. Can you look back at your life and see where you faced big decisions, life-altering decisions, and even when you made the decisions you weren't certain about, you wanted to do the will of God, you sought the face of God, but you weren't certain that you had it right, and yet you can look back now and see how He was guiding you every single step of the way, and He brought you to where you are right now? Do you understand that He hasn't stopped working in your life like that, child of God? He's at work in your situation this morning, just like that. Do you trust Him? Can you rest in that truth? Do you give Him praise for it, working out His plan for His glory in your life, and you know that you don't understand it all?
And perhaps you would never have even considered all that He ends up doing in your life. It wasn't even on your radar screen. You didn't even think about it. But He's done it. He's done it. Blessed be God, He's done it. We've got to give Him praise for that, beloved. This is for the glory of God. This is God's glory that He works like that.
The second question, and we already talked about it in depth, but I just want to underscore it again by way of reminder. It's a biblical practice to remind. Are you guilty of limiting Him in your mind and heart like Martha and Mary? May we ask the Lord to enlarge us, to grow us in our understanding, in our faith. Lord, oh dear Lord, grow my faith, grow me in my trust toward You. There are going to be some times because our Lord, our Father, is disciplining us and training us that He's going to teach us. Child, I'm not going any further with you until you believe Me. There are times like this in His training of us. Not because He can't, but because it's part of His training in your life.
Will you trust Me? It's a glorious truth that all of God's children can see and say amen to. You never trust God and end up disappointed, ever. You never trust God and end up disappointed. So where is God calling you to trust this morning? Where? Do you even know that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly? Do you believe it? You see this message this morning, it hits the hearts of His people because we understand these things. And I want to remind us of Paul's words in Ephesians 3:20–21: "Now to Him who is” what? Able. Able. “Able to do far more abundantly above all that we ask or understand, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."
Let me summarize what Paul is saying here and that really goes by way of application to what we're learning this morning. He's saying to us, God has the power to do. And he's saying to us, God has the power to do what we ask. God has the power to do what we think or imagine. God has the power to do all that we can ask or think. God has the power to do beyond all that we ask or think. And one more. God has the power to do infinitely beyond all that we ask or think.
Far more abundantly—and Paul uses a compound Greek word you remember in our studies there in the book of Ephesians—which means surpassing, super-abundantly, surpassingly, beyond measure, exceedingly, quite beyond all measure, overwhelmingly, over and above, more than enough. It describes an extraordinary degree involving considerable excess over what would be expected. It's the highest form of comparison imaginable, this word. It means immeasurably more than, quite beyond all measure, infinitely more than.
There is no limit. There's absolutely no limit. God has the power to do beyond all that we can ask or imagine—infinitely beyond. Whatever your doubts, whatever your spiritual struggles, God can do infinitely more than you can ask or even imagine. If it is something in line with His purpose revealed in His Word, if it is something in line with His intention to make those who know and love Him into the image of His Son, there is no shortage of His power.
But maybe there's somebody here this morning that you don't know anything about this because you don't know Christ. You don't know the Lord. And maybe even you said to yourself, you know, there was a time when I heard the Gospel, there was a time when I could have come to Jesus Christ, but it's too late for me now. If that's you—if that's you, my sinner friend, my lost friend—then why are you sitting here this morning? Why? Why does the Lord have you here today, this morning? Would you this day realize that Jesus Christ came into this world, God incarnate, to live a sinless life, to die on a tree in the stead of sinners; that He was buried in the borrowed tomb; that He was raised from the dead; He ascended on high; and now the good news is being published all over the world by God's will—that there is a way for sinners to be reconciled to a holy God, and that way, His name is Jesus.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," and He will do exceedingly, abundantly beyond what you think or imagine in your life. He will breathe life into your dead soul. He will turn the light on in your heart and mind, and He will forgive your sins. And He will adopt you into His family, and He will make you joint heir with Jesus Christ. And one day, you have that glorious promised inheritance of the saints that would belong to you, and you will leave this place today forgiven, with a conscience purged and cleansed. Will you not trust Him? Will you not embrace Him? Will you not rest the weight of your soul upon Him? Will you not believe Him?
Let's pray.
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