Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Power to overcome fear...

“On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

“‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’

“Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’

“‘Yes, Lord,’ she told him, ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’”
(John 11:17-27, NIV)

I love how John let’s us see the progression of Martha’s faith. She’s upset about her circumstances. She didn’t want her brother to die. That’s why she sent word to Jesus. She knew Lazarus was beyond her help. She needed God.

So when Jesus shows up days late, she expresses her frustration, but also her hope. “If you had been here,” she begins. She knows Jesus’ presence makes a difference in the most difficult situations. She believes he could have healed her brother. Then she says, “…even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Her faith is still in God despite the less than ideal outcome of her prayer to Jesus. She believes God has the power to do whatever he pleases.

I wonder if at this point she even remembers the word Jesus had sent back with the messengers. “This sickness will not end in death.” It sure looks like it has. Lazarus is dead. He was buried four days ago. In Jewish culture at that time, it was believed that a person’s spirit stayed near the body for three days. Reuniting spirit with body in that three-day window would not have been half the miracle it was doing it after four. Someone four days gone was really gone. Only God could raise someone that gone.

But we’re getting just a bit ahead of ourselves. Jesus says to his frustrated follower,
“Your brother will rise again.”

She, of course, knows this. She’s heard about the resurrection since she was a child. God had promised a bodily resurrection through the prophet Daniel.

“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake,” the prophet had said, “some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:2-3, NIV)

The resurrection was a given. “I know he will rise again,” she affirms in good Jewish girl fashion.

Then Jesus reveals himself. “I am the resurrection and the life.” That statement changes everything. The resurrection isn’t some far off event. The resurrection is a closer-than-close person. God’s Son is the resurrection. He is the life.

Jesus is still the resurrection and the life today. If you believe on Jesus, you have life. Even if you die, you live. Why? The resurrection and the life is in you. God’s Son, by his Spirit, is in you. You cannot die. You have the resurrection and the life.

Again we see that there is no reason to fear. Death cannot win. Life is on our side when we believe.

And Martha, bless her heart, she believes. Her affirmation of faith is so beautiful.
“You are the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world.”

Why did Jesus come? We don’t have it here, but John’s already recorded the good news for us. When Jesus was talking with Nicodemus, he revealed this truth.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)

Jesus, sent to earth by God out of love, came that we might have life, eternal life. And he is that life. If you have Jesus, you have eternal life. You cannot die! Why are you afraid?

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:16-18, NIV)

Put your faith in Jesus. Find peace in him. Do not fear. He is with you. No harm can come to you unless he allows it for your good and for his glory. If you die, he who is in you is the resurrection and the life. You will not die!

And just to prove that Jesus is who he says he is, let’s jump to the end of the story.

“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ he said.

“‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.’


“Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’

“So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’

“When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’

“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

“Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”
(John 11:38-44, NIV)

The resurrection and the life! That’s who Jesus is. And he is the one who watches over you day and night. The same power that raised Lazarus from the dead is being exerted to protect you. That power is in you by the Holy Spirit. Praise him! Live for him! Do not be afraid!

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