21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
Believing in Christ’s power, Martha, with her honest impulsiveness, was first to speak the prevailing sentiment of the crowd -"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died". She knew if Jesus had but seen her brother in his dire condition He would have been filled with compassion for His friend and healed him. We find Mary stating the same thing a little later in the chapter:
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." John 11:32 (NIV)
The crowds echoed the sister’s sentiments as well:
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" John 11:37 (NIV)
It seems perhaps all had forgotten that the physical presence of the Savior was not necessary for the healing to have taken place. They all seemed to have limited Christ’s achieving power by assuming He could not cure from a distance. There remained in their thinking something of unbelief at the bottom of it all. They certainly should have known that Jesus could have both healed Lazarus and prevented his death with but one Word from His holy lips. Had they forgotten about the healing of the Roman centurion’s servant? Jesus had already proven His abilities through that miracle performed but oftentimes our memories have a way of lapsing or failing us when troubles fall upon us and our hearts are breaking. We find the account of this healing below:
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." 7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." 8 The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour. Matt 8:5-13 (NIV)
The Proverb holds true, hope deferred certainly makes the heart sick – I am confident Martha could “Amen” that! Yet all the while our disappointments are merely God’s appointments, each setback used as a tool to regain our focus on Him, to strengthen our faith and to divert our attention to His best for our lives. That is the definition of the encompassing “All” of Romans 8:28:
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV)
“All means all; and when we realize that, it gives us a basis for lifelong optimism...It isn’t a mere platitude, but a divine promise. It isn’t a goal, but a guarantee. It isn’t wishful thinking, but a shaft of almighty providence that lands squarely on our pathway each day and every moment. The Lord moves heaven and earth to keep this promise. He puts His eye to the microscope of Providential Oversight and scans the smallest details of our lives, working them into a tapestry of blessing, making sure that goodness and mercy follow us all our days.” Robert J. Morgan
Prior to Jesus’ return to them, certainly Martha and Mary did not “feel” the fullness of this glorious promise. Yet we see in Martha’s next statement to our Lord a spark of continued faith and hope though not without its blemishes. She humbly presents the case to the compassionate and wise consideration of her Master. This is a smart move and one we should seek to emulate as well – when we do not know what to ask for or expect, let us always refer ourselves to the Lord Jesus. She knew enough to know that with Jesus, no situation was hopeless or helpless though she certainly knows not how. She held strong confidence in our Lord’s prayers. Martha believed Jesus could receive anything from God’s hand - again attesting to a partial faith. She speaks of our Lord as if He was a prophet only – having no achieving power of His own, as God, to perform any miracle or command any cure. Unfortunately, ignorance and dimness of Jesus often runs rampant among those who embrace true faith and love of Him. Even possessing a faith the size of a grain of mustard seed can save yet sadly, how much ignorance of Jesus may be found in those on the way to heaven. How we as earthly sojourners miss the sheer pleasure and the blessing of knowing Him more fully through our continued ignorance!
Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! Let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.” C. H. Spurgeon
“I’m seeing how robust and cogent, how versatile, sweeping and effective is the message and life of our Jesus. He fits. He is not ‘foreign’ to any person no matter their origins. His teachings work in ANY culture. His Being and Life resonates to all who hear of Him, to all who hear Him. He infuses and changes us forever.” Paula Kirby