God is Good...All The Time
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Introduction
Introduction
Last week we saw how suffering presents an opportunity to glorify God. An opportunity to make much of Him. A chance to show the world God’s power and character. We saw suffering afforded us an opportunity to glorify God in a way not available to us in the absence of it.
By verse 17 the suffering of Lazarus had ended. He had died and gone to heaven. But the suffering of Mary and Martha was just beginning. They were in the intense grief of the recent passing of someone they loved dearly.
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The way people express their grief was somewhat different from the way we do so in our day. The funeral was a simple, quiet, intimate occasion for the family to grieve. After the funeral others would come to offer condolences and grieve with the family. In fact, it was customary to hire flute players and professional wailers/mourners to help in the process.
Mary and Martha were a well known, wealthy family. There were a lot of professional mourners among them on the day Jesus came to them; lot of people from Jerusalem. Among these were a LOT of people who loved Mary and Martha but disliked Jesus.
“The four days may be significant. There was a Jewish belief that the soul stays near the grave for three days, hoping to be able to return to the body. But on the fourth day it sees decomposition setting in and leaves it finally”
Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John (p. 485). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
“There are sources attesting the rabbinic belief that the soul hovers over the body of the deceased person for the first three days, ‘intending to re-enter it, but as soon as it sees its appearance change’, i.e. that decomposition has set in, it departs.”
Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 411). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.
So by this point all hope was lost. Lazarus was dead four days, buried and the professional mourners, family and friends were grieving with Mary and Martha. Their suffering was at its high point.
Grief is a powerful emotion. It can be overwhelming and devastating. When you are in the grip of intense grief it feels like it will never end.
The home of Paul Laurence Dunbar, noted poet, is open to the public in Dayton, Ohio. When Dunbar died, his mother left his room exactly as it was on the day of his death. At the desk of this brilliant man was his final poem, handwritten on a pad. After his mother died, her friends discovered that Paul Laurence Dunbar's last poem had been lost forever. Because his mother had made his room into a shrine and not moved anything, the sun had bleached the ink in which the poem was written until it was invisible. The poem was gone. If we stay in mourning, we lose so much of life.
In the midst of these powerful emotions Jesus comes to see these two women. It is very important for us to remember the intensity of their emotional state as we read these verses
When grief comes to our life…Will we be found clinging to our faith?
Martha’s Story
Martha’s Story
When Martha heard Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him. And in this moment, this woman, grieving terribly, demonstrates an incredible faith. Her’s is not a statement of anger or hurt, it is not a rebuke…her statement is one of deep faith.
She, in affect stated, “Lord, if you had been here I know you could have healed my brother. But you weren’t and He died. This does not diminish my faith in you as Messiah. In fact, I know even now that God will give you whatever you ask.”
Martha is amazing. She knew Jesus could heal her brother. She knew if Jesus had come while Lazarus was sick He would have been healed. But instead of questioning the love of Jesus or why Jesus chose not to come and heal Lazarus, she reaffirms her faith that He could have done so and is still the Messiah, God.
How many of us would have screamed out, “Why didn’t you come? You could have healed him and you didn’t! Why didn’t you help us when we needed you???” But not Martha, she trusts God and has faith in His Christ.
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God does not always move the way we would hope. It is in these moments that our faith is tested. Will we believe and trust Him…will we believe in His goodness…even when we do not receive the answer that we ask.
I often hear people talk about God’s goodness when things go their way. “Dad made it through surgery…God is good!” “I got the new job…God is good!” “I prayed and God gave me a wife…God is good!”
But what about those times when things don’t go the way you hope? When your prayers are not answered. When your dad doesn’t make it through…you lose your job and you remain single well into your 30’s? Is God good then?
How often do we hear people testify to such? How many times have you heard someone say, “I got fired…God is good!”
God’s goodness is never dependent upon me or my perception of His choices for me or my loved ones. Martha is a woman who understands this...
One day C.H. Spurgeon was walking through the English countryside with a friend. As they strolled along, the evangelist noticed a barn with a weather vane on its roof. At the top of the vane were these words: GOD IS LOVE. Spurgeon remarked to his companion that he thought this was a rather inappropriate place for such a message. "Weather vanes are changeable," he said, "but God's love is constant." "I don't agree with you about those words, Charles," replied his friend. "You misunderstood the meaning. That sign is indicating a truth: Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love."
"I don't agree with you about those words, Charles," replied his friend. "You misunderstood the meaning. That sign is indicating a truth: Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love."
Jesus you are powerful, good and the Messiah…I did not get from you what I wanted…but you are still powerful, good and the Messiah! You still love me just the same!
One of the greatest testimonies to the genuineness of our faith is our continues belief God’s goodness, power and love when we have been disappointed in God’s choices for us. Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love."
Glorify — Be a demonstration of God’s power and character.
Can you say with Martha…God you know what is best…you are still good…and I trust your choices for me.
This is not something we can do in the natural man. This is not the response of someone living a life in their own will, emotions and understanding. These are the words of a man or woman walking in relationship with God immersed in the power of His Spirit.
Glorify — Be a demonstration of God’s power and character.
Martha knew Jesus and lived her life from the genuineness the relationship she had with Him
I Am The Resurrection and the Life
I Am The Resurrection and the Life
Your Brother will rise again — Upon the testimony of her faith Jesus reassures Martha that Lazarus will rise again. She takes this as commonplace consolation of a resurrection that is to come someday in the future at the end of the age.
Of course Jesus means this but He means something else as well…Lazarus was going to rise today! But she missed this point thinking He was talking about the resurrection to come.
I am — Jesus understands Marthas confusion and uses it as a platform to teach both her and us something about Himself...
He IS the resurrection — There is only one who raises the dead at the end of time and that person is Jesus. Someday, at the end of time there will be a resurrection from the dead. The body of every saint who died in Christ will be raised just as we see Lazarus raised in this story.
Jesus will come again and command us to rise…and we will do just that! We will rise from the dead and come forth from the grave. Our spirit will rejoin our physical body as it is recreated into a perfect structure to house our spirit for eternity.
Life — Jesus is eternal life…quality and quantity…In Him we not only have a life that never ends but a life of infinite quality…a life we will never want to leave!
Jesus is teaching Martha that in Him is the resurrection from the dead unto a life of infinite quality which will never end. And that changes everything doesn’t it? Regardless of how bleak, scary or risky life seems in the moment...
The first two Scottish missionaries sent to the New Hebrides Islands were killed and eaten by cannibals on the day they arrived. After that it proved difficult to find missionary volunteers. But even when John G. Paton agreed to go, well-meaning people in the church tried to dissuade him. One elderly man warned that he would be eaten by cannibals. Paton replied, “I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honouring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.” After fifteen years of fruitful ministry, almost everyone on the island of Aniwa where Paton ministered was converted.
We do not live or grieve as those who have no hope when we remember there is a resurrection day coming!
But the resurrection and life only come to those who believe…those who have faith in Jesus for eternal life.
Once again we come back to the unique nature of our faith and the exclusivity of Christianity. There will be only one resurrection and way unto eternal life…and that is the person of Jesus. If you do not have faith in Him you will never experience life.
Interestingly enough…even after her confession of faith in the previous verses…Jesus asks Martha…Do you believe this? Do you believe I am more than a good teacher…more than what you may have understood a Messiah to be…Do you believe that in me you have eternal life???
She responds, “Yes Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world.” In the midst of her grief she confesses that she still believes and believes strongly that Jesus is God.
In the midst of her grief she confesses that she still believes and believes strongly that Jesus is God.
Mary’s Turn
Mary’s Turn
Jesus had asked to see Mary and so Martha goes to get her. Mary jumps up in a rush to go see Jesus…many of the mourners go with her thinking she was going to the tomb to grieve.
“Mary’s words, which are almost identical with those of Martha (v. 21), are eloquent of a firm conviction that Jesus’ power could have saved Lazarus from death. They reveal Mary’s certainty that Jesus could overcome sickness.”
Mary’s words, which are almost identical with those of Martha (v. 21), are eloquent of a firm conviction that Jesus’ power could have saved Lazarus from death. They reveal Mary’s certainty that Jesus could overcome sickness.
Mary was convinced that Jesus could overcome any sickness but there is not even the hint of faith that she should ask Him for anything concerning Lazarus at this point.
Morris, L. (1995). The Gospel according to John (p. 492). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
This is an interesting point upon which to meditate.... First, when we do not get the answer we hope for will we continue believe God is good and powerful? Will we have faith, in the midst of our disappointment, that God has a better plan for our life?
Will we believe God’s will to be better than our own? Will we believe that He is making our paths straight even in the moments when His choices defy our ability to understand?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Will we believe He is making our path straight? That His ways are best? That He has our best interest at heart? That what He is accomplishing in our grief and disappointment is better than anything we could have ever enjoyed had our desires been fulfilled?
If we can believe like this…then we can experience a life beyond the natural. Mary and Martha, along with Lazarus were about to experience something beyond the natural…something bigger and better than they could have ever dreamed of for themselves…Their life was going to glorify God in ways impossible had they not experienced the pain of their suffering.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Is God still on the throne when life seemingly scatters before us out of control? When there is pain, suffering and confusion does this in some way call into question God’s power, goodness and sovereignty?
Does God love good little boys and girls or does god love all little boys and girls?
Is God really in control? If so does our pain call into question His goodness? These are questions Martha and Mary answer for us. This story shows us a perspective God intends for us to have this side of heaven. There is a bigger picture and our suffering has a larger purpose than we can comprehend.
God is good…all the time…all the time…God is good.
Ultimately this comes to a question of faith…more specifically it comes to the question of trust. Can we really trust a God who allows His children to suffer? The answer is a resounding yes…If we understand the purpose and privilege suffering is for the believer in Christ.
None of us like to suffer…but our testimony in the midst of our suffering can be the greatest testimony of God’s character, power and even His existence we will ever be privileged to share.
Can you say, “ Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love."