November 8, 2015 John 11:14 – 37
Download discussion questions: John 11_14-37 Jesus wept
Jesus had to be blunt to make the disciples understand: “Lazarus is dead.” Then He starts the fifteen mile journey back to Bethany on the outskirts of hostile Jerusalem. Thomas says what the other eleven are most likely thinking: going with Jesus into Judea meant facing death. And they did, but not in the way they expected. They faced the reality of Lazarus’ death and they saw the response of Jesus to death.
As they approach the village the process of grieving is already well under way. The house is crowded with the “many” (v. 19) who had come from Jerusalem. (More anxiety for the disciples – more people who might recognize Jesus! Word will get back to the Pharisees. Then who knows what might happen?) Perhaps the crowded house was the reason Martha didn’t wait for Jesus to arrive, but she went out to meet Him (v. 20). When she went back to Mary, she told her “secretly” (v. 28) that Jesus wanted to see her. The secrecy was probably intended to avoid a crowd around Jesus and Mary, to give them some time together privately. Secrecy might also have been important (in Martha’s mind as well as the disciples’) to avoid more escalating confrontations with the religious authorities.
Most of our discussion was about the similarities and differences in the responses of the two bereaved sisters. Martha went out to meet Jesus, Mary stayed in the house (v. 20). Both sisters (Martha now, Mary later) greet Jesus with identical words.[1] Then Martha engages Jesus in a dialog about His power and her belief. When Mary meets Him she can only collapse, weeping at His feet. More later on the response Jesus had for each of them.
After Martha met Jesus with her “If only” statement she was far from done. She adds the affirmation of faith (and perhaps a hint to Jesus), “Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give You” (v. 22). The common assumption (which I held until our great discussion group worked through this passage) was that Martha was making a thinly veiled suggestion that Jesus should bring Lazarus back to life. But is that assumption consistent with the text? Naturally, we cannot know exactly what was in Martha’s mind, but part of the interpretation phase of the Observation-Interpretation-Application process is taking the facts (what Martha said) and trying to understand what the facts mean (what Martha was affirming).
Jesus next statement is bold and reassuring: “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). Wow! Just what Martha was asking (if the common assumption is right). Just what she wanted to hear. So then Martha responds to Jesus, “Oh, thank you, Lord! Can we go do that now? We can stop by the house and get Mary. She will be so relieved.” (No verse here – not what Martha said). If Martha was expecting (or even hinting about) the resuscitation of Lazarus, her response to the assurance of Jesus seems odd. Rather than grasping the hope He seems to offer for immediate relief, Martha expresses her faith in the future resurrection. She has hope looking toward the last day, but not so much hope for this day. Martha makes correct theological statements, but they don’t seem connected to any hope or expectation of an immediate miracle to restore her brother to physical life.
So what exactly was Martha’s meaning? “Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give You.” A group member pointed out the reality of their situation. The immediate grief over the death of Lazarus was not the only problem facing Martha and Mary. In a male-dominated culture, they were now two unmarried women with no man in the household. Their social and economic and religious status was suddenly very uncertain. Perhaps Martha’s comment was not an “unspoken prayer” or a hint at what she expected Jesus to do about Lazarus. Maybe Martha was expressing her faith in Jesus in an unfamiliar and frightening situation. “Lord, whatever you know we need right now, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give You.” We know (Luke 10:38-42) that Martha was the practical sister. She was probably more concerned, or at least more aware, than Mary of the shaky status of their future, and her confidence was in God’s provision through Jesus. “Lord, whatever….” She may not have even thought of the idea of Lazarus restored to life. That was not her mental focus.
Admittedly that understanding of her comment includes some speculation. But it seems to fit with the continuing interchange between Martha and Jesus. Her confidence was in the future resurrection, and she had no doubt of her brother’s eternal life. That confidence enabled her to trust the Lord of Life for the present needs. “Lord, whatever you ask of God….”
Mary was not known as the practical sister (Luke 10 again). Without a soundtrack we can only guess, but it seems reasonable that she choked through her tears, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” and then fell at His feet. We see her at His feet again in John 12, the familiar story (even to John’s original readers, John 11:2) of anointing His feet. And in Luke 10 all she wants is to sit at His feet and listen. Being at Jesus’ feet – in learning, in service, in grief – that was Mary’s desire. She had no more to say or discuss or ask of Him.
John records (as mentioned above) essentially identical statements from both sisters. Their very different personalities express the statement differently – the beginning of a conversation with Jesus for Martha, the only thing Mary can say between sobs. But the words are the same. Which made me wonder, what did Martha and Mary talk about for four days? John is careful to point out that Lazarus had been “in the tomb” for a specific length of time. That detail is important for a number of reasons which we discussed in our group. One member explained that Jewish custom of the day marked three days as the period after which the individual’s spirit was no longer nearby, and resuscitation was no longer possible. (I must acknowledge that there were a few comments about “dead-dead” versus “mostly dead,” but we eventually left the Princess Bride movie allusions behind. This is a great discussion group, but I never said we are always serious.) After four days, Lazarus was dead – no question about it.
Four days agrees with the timing of the story (a day for the messenger from the sisters, v. 3; Jesus’ delay of two days, v. 6; a day for Jesus and the disciples back to Bethany). Lazarus must have died right after the messenger left (burials were on the same day as the death).
So Martha and Mary had four days with each other before Jesus arrived. The first two days were certainly full of grief and uncertainty and hope in Jesus’ imminent arrival – a day for the message to reach Him, a day for His travel. But day three came and went, and most of day four. He should be here by now. Is He coming? What might have happened? Were we asking too much for Him to make the dangerous journey into the jurisdiction of the Jews? What if He doesn’t come? Four (or at least two) days of that kind of conversation. How many times did they remind each other, “If He had been here, our brother would not have died”? It is not surprising that those would be the first words out of the mouth of each sister when Jesus did finally appear. The statements were not accusations or blame directed toward Jesus. They were the expressions of four days of pent-up grief and confusion.
Jesus responded to each of the sisters perfectly (as we would expect of the Son of God). Martha wanted to engage Him, whatever the reason. After her initial declaration (“Lord, if you had been here…”) they exchanged 89 words (in the NASB text). Jesus responded and continued with as much conversation as Martha wanted. Jesus said not one word to Mary in the text John has recorded for us. Looking down at her weeping at His feet and then around at the others weeping with her stirred Jesus’ emotions. As we talked about in our group, sometimes there is nothing to say, and that is appropriate. Sharing in the emotion, being present with the person, is all that is needed, and all that is helpful. That is just what Jesus did for Mary. Jesus loved this family (v. 5), and He knew the sisters and their different expressions of grief. He responded to each perfectly, meeting them exactly where they needed Him, with intellectual assurance or emotional silence. A member of the group reminded us of the specific description of Jesus in Hebrews 4:15-16:
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Martha and Mary could draw near, each in their own way, with confidence to “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The grief of the death of their brother, the bewilderment at Jesus’ delay, the uncertainty of their future – all these factors were met by One who can sympathize with every weakness.
And why did Jesus weep? The seemingly obvious answer is that, like everyone else, He was saddened by the death of His friend. But He knew that in a matter of minutes Lazarus would walk out of the grave. Or was Jesus saddened by the fact of death itself, the final enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26)? Perhaps, but a closer examination of the text offers a different answer. What prompted Jesus tears? What were the immediate circumstances? “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled” (v. 33). His tears actually came when He went to the tomb, but perhaps the weeping that so deeply troubled Him was also increased at the tomb. Jesus knew that He is the Lord of Life, that He is the resurrection and the life, and the hope available to those who believe in Him. And seeing the response of so many around Him brought Him to tears. There is no expectation that the death of a loved one is without emotional response. But the weeping around Jesus was a loud lament, even a wailing expression of seeming hopelessness. Jesus was brought to tears as He saw those around Him who not fully embrace the hope He came to give.
And it is significant that the familiar verse, “Jesus wept,” uses a different Greek word than the other three occurrences of “weep” or “weeping” in the immediate context of the passage (v. 31, 33). While the other mourners were loudly expressing their grief (klaio, κλαίω), Jesus “teared up” (dakruo, δακρύω, the verb form of the word for “tear”). Jesus was deeply moved by the apparent hopelessness around Him, but He knew what was coming and was not incapacitated by grief. (For a more detailed discussion of the vocabulary used, see the essay “Jesus wept.”
[1] There is an apparently minor difference in the word order in the Greek text. While there may be some subtle nuance of difference, we did not explore that detail:
Martha: Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε οὐκ ἂν ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἀδελφός μου
Mary Κύριε, εἰ ἦς ὧδε οὐκ ἄν μου ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἀδελφός.