Good morning to you my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
Of all the great cities in the world, down through all history, which would you choose as THE most significant city? For me Jerusalem would be at the top of my list of most significant cities in the world through all time. Yesterday we looked closely at the Legacy and Reputation of King Solomon who reigned as king over Israel, in Jerusalem, from 970bc to 930bc. Those were the most glorious years for the nation of Israel and the entire middle east, for there was peace and prosperity throughout the region, and Jerusalem was a globally predominant city.
If you and I could have sat down on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem during the reign of King Solomon, and then somehow God could roll the videotape of time revealing to us the story of that great city from King Solomon’s time forward over the next 1000 years, oh my what dramatic things we would see which occurred in and around Jerusalem. Other great cities rose and fell as global empires overshadowed Israel and Jerusalem during those ensuing centuries. Nineveh and King Shalmaneser of the Assyrian empire; (2 Kings 17) Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire; (2 Chronicles 36) Susa and King Cyrus of the Persian Empire; (Ezra 1) Greece and Alexander the Great; Rome and the Caesars of the Roman Empire, which of course included the days of Jesus Christ of the Kingdom of heaven. (Luke 1,2)
Thus far this year, since January 4th, we’ve been journeying with some of the great Old Testament heroes watching carefully and seeing God work in great ways in the region of Israel through the lives of Samuel the prophet; Israels’ first king: Saul; Israel’s second king and the founder of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: David; and most recently David’s son King Solomon. It has been a great journey, and we’ll come back to 2 Chronicles, but for the next few weeks, it seems appropriate that we jump forward in time about 1000 years from King Solomon to about the year 25ad, and let’s ‘walk with Jesus’ and His disciples toward and through that world changing week of Passover & Easter.
John, the disciple who seems to have had the closest friendship with Jesus, is the only one of the four Gospel writers who gives us the detailed story of an event which dwarfs the amazing feats in King Solomon’s day. With this miraculous event it seems to me everything changed for Jesus, and from that event on, Jesus was carefully, but very intentionally, making His way toward Jerusalem to fulfill the purpose for which He, God the Son, had come from heaven to earth. What is that event?
It is the miracle of raising a man, already dead five days, back to life! Jesus did this unexplainable miracle in the town of Bethany, only two or three miles from Jerusalem. In Bethany two sisters and a brother lived who had become very dear friends of Jesus and His disciples, remember? They often hosted Jesus and His disciples when they stopped in Bethany for a meal and sometimes overnight at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.
John writes that Lazarus was very sick and so naturally his sisters sent word to Jesus informing Him and expecting Jesus to come very quickly. But days passed and Jesus did not come! Of course these were the days of no cell phones, not even telegraph or radio, so as the sisters waited impatiently, knowing how much Jesus loved them, they could not imagine His delay. In fact John tells us that when Jesus heard about Lazarus’ illness Jesus intentionally remained where he was for two more days. (John 11:6) That decision caused some major confusion in Bethany, where everyone expected Jesus would rush to help Lazarus and comfort the sisters.
It also really confused the disciples who had seen Jesus consistently demonstrate compassion for almost anyone in need of God’s help. Sensing the confusion of His disciples, Jesus told them: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified.“ (John 11:4)
This was not the first time John records for us that Jesus said something, that appeared to be a disaster, was actually for God’s glory. Not many days before Jesus and His disciples had encountered an adult man who was blind since birth, and Jesus had said: “…this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:3)
Death and Blindness. It seems to me there are few human crises worse than that, and yet Jesus stood face to face with both and claimed God could be greatly glorified in both situations! Why would Jesus say that? Because it is in the crises of our lives, when we’ve exhausted our human efforts, our resources and perhaps even our hope, that God can do the impossible and turn a crisis into a celebration! For the man born blind, Jesus made some mud, put it on the blindman’s eyes and told him to go wash his face in the pool of Siloam and with great faith, he would receive his sight… and he did! (John 9:1-7)
But standing outside the cave/tomb near Bethany, where Lazarus had been buried four days before, Jesus said some things no one had ever said: “Your brother will rise again…I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:24-26) Blindness reversed and 20-20 vision given; (John 9:1-7) or paralyzed limbs straightened and strengthened so a man cripple 38 years could walk; (John 5:1-9) or even a woman healed from 12 years of a bleeding disease; (Luke 8:40-48) were all remarkable, unexplainable, medical miracles witnessed by these disciples of Jesus and others over the preceding weeks. But Jesus claiming to have the power to raise a man dead almost a week, now that’s a whole different matter, isn’t it?
The disciples and others who had come with Martha and Jesus to the cave/tomb outside Bethany simply stood speechless as they heard Jesus make His resurrection claim. But then looking right at Martha, Jesus asked her, “Do you believe what I’ve said?” His loving eyes and tender voice invited her response which has stood for 2000 years as one of the most significant statements any person has ever declared about Jesus Christ: “Yes, Lord, I believe that YOU are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27) Martha, the disciples and everyone else wiping their grieving eyes standing near the tomb that day were Jews.
For centuries they held tightly to their belief that God’s promised Messiah would someday come from God and BE the Presence of God among them, similar to the day the glory of God filled the Temple and fire from heaven fell on the burnt offering in front of the Temple when King Solomon dedicated that Temple in Jerusalem to God. (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)
Martha’s declaration shook every person there to the very core of their being and challenged every religious belief they’d ever held dear. What if what she said was true? What if this Jesus really was the long awaited, long promised MESSIAH, sent from God to the Jewish people? What if this Jesus was really God the Son, Immanuel, God among them? What are the implications for those people, for dead Lazarus, for the nation of Israel, and 2000 years later, for you and me, our families, our cities, our world in 2024?
Let’s pause and ponder that…I mean really ponder it, and tomorrow we’ll return to Bethany to see what happened. For today, here’s a worship song to help us ponder the significance of Martha’s words. Yes, it’s a Christmas song, but listen very carefully to every word and stand alongside Martha at a tomb, considering what she said and how important the identity of Jesus really is:
Today’s Scripture: John 11:1-27.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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