Christ Jesus loved families. If you’ll remember, there were several pairs of brothers among His disciples. And there was Peter’s family, including his children and at least one in-law. And there was this extra-special family, living just outside of Jerusalem. Why did Christ love Mary, Martha and Lazarus? Was it because they were perfect saints and willing workers for the Lord? Was it because they forsook all and followed Christ? Perhaps it was because they were wealthy and supplied all Jesus’ physical needs? Was it because they were among the “beautiful” people of that ancient society?
Here is how my imagination visualizes that family. You have the freedom to take this opinion as exactly that – One person’s opinion. The parents of this trio of siblings were both dead. Although relatively young, the eldest was Martha, who was once married, but appears to be a widow. Luke 10:38 says that the house in Bethany was hers. She was a busy, hardworking lady, who felt that she had to mother her brother and sister. Mary, was younger than her sister; a romantic with a strong spiritual nature, but perhaps a little inclined to live in the clouds. Lazarus was almost a boy, professing to be follower of Christ, yet not much a servant. He was not yet married, probably because of his age. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sisters didn’t dote upon their little brother.
Of course, the most famous event in this family was the death and subsequent resurrection of Lazarus. But something just as important as that was the resurrection of Martha. I was reading a sermon entitled “Faith as a Grain of Mustard Seed.” In that message the preacher said, “Did ever notice there is scarcely miracle that Jesus did apart from somebody’s faith? Christ on earth always needed the seed of somebody’s faith through which to produce His miracle.” Now that is a thought that has crossed my mind from time to time, but I have my doubts about it. But then the man anticipated my objection, saying “The resurrection of Lazarus is a case in point.” If it were not for the faith of Martha, Lazarus would never have emerged from grave.” He said, “I think that this is the story of the resurrection of Martha.” I still have questions about that man’s idea, but his words got my meditative juices flowing in another direction – the resurrection of Martha.
In order to have a resurrection there must first be SOMETHING dead.
And there was something rotting under the Judean sun that day – it was Martha’s faith. It was not her service, for from her first mention, we see that Martha was a worker. I don’t know why this was so, but it might been due to what she felt about her responsibility toward her brother and sister. She was not one of the lazy Christians that we have in today’s modern world. There are so many professing saints who spend all their energies on the world. They have nothing left for the Lord. But then again, others are lazy sluggards and lethargic about everything that they do. Both are shameful conditions and will both be properly rewarded at Christ’s Judgment throne. No, it was not Martha’s service that needed resurrecting.
Nor was it her knowledge and theology. Consider John 11:27 while I read from Matthew 16:13-16. “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Christ had high praise for Peter’s testimony and theology. But Martha’s was every bit as exalted as Peter’s, if not just a bit more complete. Martha acknowledged Jesus’ deity.
What was resurrected in Martha was not her service or theology, but her faith. It was not her hand or her head, but her heart. And a symptom of her need was that her love for Christ was suffering. As you can imagine, Martha’s emotions had been on a roller-coaster for a few days. Lazarus became sick, which happens to all of us from time to time. But then it intensified; maybe there was fever; maybe there was extreme pain. So in Martha there may have been unconcern at first, then a bit of concern, then worry, hope, despair and perhaps even anger towards God. “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” There had been a nerve severed between her heart and the Lord – that nerve is called “faith.” She no longer felt she could trust Christ as she once had done. She mistakenly felt that He had let her down; He betrayed her expectations. She prayed for His assistance, but as we know, it was purposefully delayed. Of course, her prayer was according to HER will and not the Lord’s. That is a very common characteristic of our prayers by all of us who claim the Lord. When her will wasn’t satisfied, she no longer loved, or trusted Christ, as she once did.
Doesn’t this same sort of thing creep into our lives from time to time? Oh, of course, not to the same degree, because we are stronger saints than she was. But haven’t you seen your faith suffer from time to time, followed by your love towards the Lord? Often it’s because we have the idea of trying to run things our way. At that point we need a resurrection of genuine faith in a sovereign and loving God.
Okay then, how was Martha’s faith resurrected?
It was a two step process that began regaining her former nearness to Christ Jesus. While He tarried two days still in same place where he was, Martha’s emotions boiled uncontrollably, like one cup water in a four quart pan over highest heat. Boy, did she have some things to tell Him, just the moment that she saw Him. But then her tear-filled eyes looked onto the face of the Saviour. With an entirely different tone she said, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” The words poured out of her mouth, but not with the venom that she earlier planned. And then with her eyes on the Lord, her faith showed just a hint of life – “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.”
The presence of Christ is like oil on choppy waters. When the little fishing boat was about to swamp, Christ said, “Peace, be still.” When the widow of Nain walked out the city behind that funeral bier, she met Christ & returned rejoicing. The two residents of Emmaus, left Jerusalem in confusion but arrived home in peace, because their faith had been restored. Martha’s faith began its resurrection because death can’t exist in the presence of the One who is life itself.
But more specifically, it was quickened by the Words of the Lord – “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Did Martha accept and understand what the Lord was saying? Probably only in part and with just a little confusion. She did expect to see her brother alive some day, but not on that particular day. Then Christ headed towards the cemetery, while she went looking for her sister Mary. Eventually Martha, Mary and a host of other mourners found Him. “Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”
From where does faith come? Of course, there is earthly, fleshly faith, which can grow out of almost nothing, but it is often foolish. Faith in astrology; faith in holy water; faith in magical stones. Genuine faith is a product of the Holy Spirit operating through the Word of God. “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith…” Jesus said, “Didn’t I tell you that you’d see God’s glory if only you’d believe?” Barouck Spinoza was a liberal-thinking, rebel-Jewish philosopher. He once said, “If I could believe John chapter 11, I would become a Christian.” If I had the opportunity I’d tell Him to read it again, and again. I’d encourage him to ask God for faith, and read it again. I’d tell him to listen to its words, and listen to the Holy Spirit in his heart, not his well-educated head. I can’t guarantee that he’d ever believe, but I’d try to teach him how to make it possible, by surrendering to this scripture rather than rebelling against it. “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”
Jesus had said, “Take away the stone that covers the doorway of that tomb.” When Martha protested, nobody moved. The earthly authority to open the tomb belonged to her, as leader of the family. When they finally did roll back the door, it was because Martha nodded. That is – her faith in the Lord was recovering.
What did her faith do?
Did it force the deity of Christ to perform its miracle, like some trained monkey at the circus? It did not! Was her faith the catalyst that made God’s inert power come to life? I have a problem thinking about “inert power” and God’s dependence upon our faith.
What I do know is that Martha’s faith obeyed the Lord. As I say, I think that it was upon her orders that the tomb was opened. Her orders simply obeyed the Lord’s command. Martha’s faith obeyed the Lord, as does all genuine faith. Don’t tell me you have faith in God when you treat His commands like so many pennies – they have some value, but not enough to really use.
Mother “Faith” bore twin sisters named “love” and “obedience.” “Love” herself had a daughter which she named “Obedience” like her sister – more and more obedience. When I see a professing Christian living like the Devil, I’m forced to question his faith. Faith produces obedience to the Lord.
Was Martha’s faith really strong? Not particularly, but that didn’t matter, because it was placed properly upon the Lord. A drowning man might hold onto a life-saving ring with the minimum strength of a single finger and be saved. Another man – an Olympic weight-lifter – might hold iron anvil with both strong arms and drown. Martha’s faith was in the Lord and His Word. Strong or weak, at that point it really doesn’t matter.
And what did it produce? It produced the glory of God, through the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. How essential was Martha’s faith to that resurrection, I’m not smart enough to say. But I can say this with the authority of Word of God – that if we trust God for miracles, we just may see those miracles. If we refuse to trust the Lord, then miracles will be very unlikely.