If Christ Had Only Been There

of my life, and is he concerned?

Well, today we're gonna meet a couple ladies,

two ladies who were very dear friends of Jesus,

and yet we're going to see how they experienced

a situation that brought similar feelings

that I've just described into their lives.

You see, their brother Lazarus,

who was also a dear friend of Jesus,

he was very sick.

He was so sick he was at the point of death,

and Mary and Martha, they knew that Jesus

had already healed many and was well capable of healing,

so they sent a message to him,

and they said, come now.

It's urgent, it's necessary right now.

You've got to come or Lazarus, the one you love,

is going to die.

But Jesus did the very unthinkable.

Now, if you received a message that this was urgent,

we need you right now,

most of us would drop everything and take off,

especially if it's dealing with a loved one,

a family member, and they need us instantly.

We're going to drop everything and take off.

But Jesus did the very unthinkable.

He waited two days.

He waited two days before even starting the trip to Bethany

where Lazarus was to get there,

and when he arrived,

he finds that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

And both Mary and Martha, separately, different times,

but both of them approached Jesus,

and they say, Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

If you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

Now, we can't read the tone or the reflection in their voices

or really know their attitudes,

but we can read this,

and we can put ourselves in that situation

and maybe imagine the feelings and the emotions

and the thoughts that both Mary and Martha were going through.

Maybe they experienced frustration with Jesus.

Jesus, you could have healed.

You've healed so many before.

Why did you not come sooner?

Maybe they were disappointed

that they thought Jesus loved them more.

Maybe they thought Jesus loved Lazarus.

So why?

Maybe they were confused.

Or do we dare say maybe they had a hint of anger towards Jesus

as to why he didn't respond to their message

and come instantly and prevent their brother Lazarus from dying.

So let's look at our scriptures together.

We're going to look at John 11.

And for starters, we're going to read verses 17 through 27.

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 that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day,

but 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 said to him.

I believe that you are the Christ,

the Son of God,

who has come into the world.

Let's call the Lord in prayer for a moment.

Father, we thank you for your word and your truth.

And I pray, Lord, that it is your word

that is speaking to us today.

Open our eyes that we might see.

Open our ears that we might hear.

And Father, I pray that you soften our hearts,

that we would receive what you say to each one of us,

what you reveal to each one of us.

May we receive it.

May we believe it.

May we live it.

We thank you for this.

Lord, I pray that you forgive me of all of my sin.

Cleanse and purify me, Lord, today.

And use me as your mouth to speak your word and your truth.

In Jesus' name, amen.

After Lazarus had been in the grave for four days,

Jesus arrives at Bethany.

Now Mary, the one that we know that sat at his feet

and listened to him teach,

the one who later would anoint his head

with expensive perfume,

she stayed seated in her house.

But Martha, Martha couldn't contain herself.

Martha, upon hearing that Jesus had arrived,

she went running out to him.

She greeted him before he actually got into town.

And she said to him what she must have been thinking for days.

And maybe Mary and Martha had even said this to one another.

Lord, if you had been here,

if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

Do you feel Martha's pain here?

Do you feel her emotions?

Do you feel her grief?

Let me add something to that.

If Mary and Martha were living with their brother,

this meant they weren't married.

That meant Lazarus was their provider

and took care of them financially.

And with Lazarus gone,

here's two women in that day and time

who didn't have much of a way

to take care of themselves and provide for them.

And now Lazarus is dead.

Can you feel the emotion

that they're experiencing here?

Maybe just confusion, frustration.

Why did Jesus not come sooner?

Why did he allow this to happen?

Martha understood by her own words

that Jesus was the Son of God.

She said she believed that God the Father

would do anything that Jesus had asked.

She said she understood these things.

She says that she believes these things.

But did she really believe?

Did she really have faith?

Did she really have understanding?

You know, how many times do we make statements

within the Christian community

of things that we say

because we hear others say them,

but we may not really believe them

or we don't trust in them

and we struggle there.

Martha said she believed Jesus was the Son of God.

She said that she knew that he could do anything,

but her actions act a little bit differently here

as if she doesn't have complete understanding.

See, in that day and time,

there was a high messianic expectancy,

but there was also a confusion

as to what the Messiah was coming for.

It wasn't to die on a cross, I'll tell you that.

It was more to overthrow Rome.

And so maybe Mary and Martha,

even though they said they believed he was the Son of God,

maybe they were buying into some other understanding

of who the Son of God really was.

We don't know that.

But I'm just imagining here

because Martha clearly didn't have

the depth of understanding that we have today

from we have the Bible,

but she also didn't have the depth of understanding

of the Roman centurion in Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

Do you remember the Roman centurion

sent word to Jesus to heal his servant?

And Jesus said, I'll go with you to his home.

And they're like, no, no, no, no, no.

The Roman centurion said he's not worthy

for Jesus to come into his house.

He said, all you have to do is speak the word.

All you have to do is say it and it'll be done.

And this is one of the few moments in scripture

where it said Jesus was amazed.

Here's a Roman that's believing

and having faith in Christ like no one else.

He understood that all Jesus had to do

was speak the word from a distance

and his servant would be healed.

And indeed it was.

You know, if Jesus had desired to heal Lazarus,

he didn't have to go to Bethany.

He didn't have to go lay hands on him.

All he had to do is say the word

and it would have been done.

He didn't have to be there physically.

But Mary and Martha,

neither one had the understanding

and the knowledge maybe of exactly who Jesus is

and the authority that he commanded

even over life and death, sickness and disease.

They didn't have the faith or the understanding

that the Roman centurion had

because this was very difficult for them to imagine.

But do we ever fall into that category ourselves?

You know, maybe God seems distant.

God has remained silent to your prayers,

to your pleas, to your cries,

and God's silent.

Do we ever think that because we don't feel God's presence,

we don't have that warm, fuzzy feeling that God is with us

or God has remained silent and hasn't answered our prayer.

Do we ever think that he doesn't really care?

He doesn't really love me.

Or maybe we think he's not even aware

of the situations or the concerns in our lives.

Do we ever feel that?

Ever experience that?

David did.

You know, David went through many hardships in life

from King Saul pursuing him to killing

to his own son trying to kill him.

And one thing after another,

David went through a whole lot.

And at one point, David felt abandoned by God.

David felt like God had turned his back on him

and was nowhere to be seen.

And yet, at the end of that psalm,

David said, but I know you are there.

I don't feel you.

I don't sense you.

I don't know what's going on in these situations.

But David said, but Lord, I know you're there.

I know you're there.

I know you will never leave me.

But you are there.

Martha was lacking a complete understanding of the authority

that Jesus had been given.

Even though he said to her,

you know, your brother will rise again.

And of course, she got confused

and thought he was just talking about the afterlife.

And then Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life.

I am the resurrection.

You see, Martha didn't have full understanding of who Jesus was

and the authority that he had.

But he was teaching a valuable lesson here,

not only to Mary and Martha,

to us today,

to those who might have heard,

that he was the resurrection.

And anyone who is in Christ,

even though they die,

they will live.

If Christ has the authority and the power

to raise Lazarus from the dead,

if Jesus Christ was raised from the dead

by God the Father,

then we can have hope,

we can have faith,

we can have trust

that even though we die,

God will raise us to life as well.

That we will spend eternity with him in heaven.

But Martha and Mary were struggling

to put all this together

and to really understand it.

Wouldn't it be great

if we could pull it all together too?

All the things that we say we know about God,

all the things,

all the scriptures,

all the truths and promises

we read in the Bible,

wouldn't it be good

if we could pull all those together

in our own lives

and not just have a head knowledge of it,

but to have a faith,

a trust,

a belief in God

and learn to trust God

even when he's silent.

Even in the pain,

even in the struggles,

even in the worries,

that we learn to trust

that God is at work in our lives.

He's at work in the world around us.

He's at work in our children's lives.

He's at work in our grandchildren's lives.

Even though we don't sense him,

we may not feel him.

Maybe he hasn't answered our prayer

at least the way we want him to

and we think he's silent and distant

and we question.

Don't get confused.

God is still at work.

God is still at work

perfecting his perfect will

and his perfect plan.

His will and his plan,

but his will and his plan

in our lives as well.

Well,

when Martha had this encounter

with Jesus,

she left

and she went to get Mary.

So let's go to verse 28.

And we're going to read

from verse 28 to 32.

And after she had said this,

she went back

and called her sister Mary aside.

The teacher's here,

she said,

and is asking for you.

When Mary heard this,

she got up quickly

and went to him.

Now Jesus had not yet

entered the village,

but was still at the place

where Martha had met him.

When the Jews,

who had been with Mary

in the house comforting her,

noticed how quickly

she got up and went out,

they followed her,

supposing she was going

to the tomb to mourn there.

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.

When Jesus saw her weeping

and the Jews who had come

along with her also weeping,

he was deeply moved

in spirit and troubled.

Where have you laid him?

He asked.

I think I went beyond

what I was supposed to read,

but I won't charge any for that.

When Mary heard that Jesus

was calling for her,

she got up

and she went out to Jesus.

He was still outside the village

where Martha had spoken to him

and she got out

and she went out there

and we see

a recurring conversation

with Jesus

that Martha had just had.

This time though,

Mary bows at his feet

and says,

Lord,

you know,

this is more of a brokenness,

deep grief here

that Lord,

if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

You know,

she had an element of faith.

She recognized that,

just like Martha,

that Jesus was Lord,

that he was the Messiah,

the Son of God.

But she too,

like Martha,

failed to fully understand

the authority

that Jesus had been given

over life and death.

her understanding

wasn't complete

in really

who Jesus was.

And so,

we see this brokenness

within her.

There'll be times

in our lives

when we

may not feel

God's presence.

We may be going through

some rough periods

of time,

some hardships,

physical illness,

maybe a loss

of a loved one

or ourself.

and we wonder,

where is God?

Where is God?

Why did he allow

this to happen?

Why has he not

answered my prayers?

But we must never

draw the wrong conclusion

in the midst of those.

And we need to make up

our minds ahead of time

or when we find ourselves

in the middle

of the struggles,

we'll slip.

But we need to decide

ahead of time

that despite

the feelings,

despite God's silence,

despite the struggles

or the pain,

never,

ever,

ever conclude

that God is not

at work around you.

Never assume

that God does not love you,

that God is not

concerned about you

because he is.

You know,

Hebrews 13,

5,

it says,

never will I leave you,

never will I forsake you.

Memorize that.

That's a short one,

easy to do.

Hebrews 13, 5,

never will I leave you,

never will I forsake you.

And when we feel

in the darkness,

we feel in the pain,

we feel God's silence

and his distance,

recite that verse

over and over

and over again

that never will I leave you,

never will I forsake you.

And understand

that whatever

we're going through,

God is working

about his perfect will

and his perfect plan.

We see individuals

throughout the Old Testament

that experience

moments of

long silence

from God

and they wondered

what is God

doing?

Where is God?

Why has he abandoned me?

Why has he forsaken me?

Jesus himself

even said that,

didn't he?

My God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

But God was working

in every one

of those instances,

in every situation,

every circumstance,

God was on his throne

and God was working

about his perfect will

and his perfect plan

for each one

of those individuals

as well as his overall

arching plan.

we have to learn

that we can trust God.

We trust him

in all situations,

in all circumstances,

even when we don't understand.

Or here's another one,

even when God answers

our prayer

in a way we didn't want him to.

And he puts us

through things

that we would never

want to go through.

So,

why

did Jesus wait

until Lazarus

had been in the tomb

for four days

before he would get

to Bethany?

Well,

let's look.

Passage I have not read.

Look back at

verse four

of this same chapter.

When Jesus received

the message,

you know,

from,

that Mary and Martha

had sinned,

he said,

when he heard this,

Jesus said,

this sickness

will not end

in death.

No,

it is for God's glory

so that God's son

may be glorified

through it.

Do you see that?

God is using

this situation

and this circumstance

to bring glory to God

and to bring glory

to himself.

Now,

jump down

to verse 38.

We're going to read

verse 38 through 44.

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.

And the dead man

came out,

his hands and his feet

wrapped with strips

of linen

and a cloth

around his face.

And Jesus said to them,

take off

the grave clothes

and let him go.

Jesus delayed

his coming

in order to bring

glory to the Father

but also to bring

glory to himself.

He delayed

his coming

so that he could

demonstrate

his authority

over life

and death.

That is not

to be skipped over

and understand

the authority.

If Jesus doesn't

have authority

over life

and death,

then we can't

put faith

and trust

that he will

raise us

to new life

either.

So we can't

skip over

that statement

of Jesus

saying,

I am the

resurrection

and the life

and that whoever

is in him

even though he dies,

he will live.

It was this

experience,

this raising,

well,

Lazarus dying,

being in the tomb

for four days

and Jesus arriving

and raising him

from the dead.

This experience

allowed others

to come to know

Christ and understand

the authority

and the power

and who else

could raise someone

from the dead

other than

Jesus Christ.

Back in that day

when individuals

had a death,

they would pay

mourners.

That might have been

some of the frustration

that Jesus had

in this passage.

They paid people

that would come

and cry

and weep

and wail

during that time

and so we don't know

there were a lot

of people.

It said people

came from Jerusalem

out,

the two mile walk

out.

There were a lot

of people around

and so this experience

allowed many others

to see the authority

and the power

of Jesus Christ

and to believe

in him.

But thirdly,

Jesus took Mary

and Martha's faith

to a whole new level.

They said,

Martha did,

that I believe

that God will give you

anything you ask.

She said she believed

that her brother

would live in the afterlife,

that Jesus would raise

him from the dead.

She believed

he was the Messiah

but I believe

that this experience

of Lazarus

being raised

from the dead

took Mary and Martha's

relationship with Christ

but faith in Christ

to a whole new level.

A whole new level

of understanding

Jesus and the authority

that he has.

So many times

in our lives

we go through experiences

don't we?

Where once we get

on the other side of them

we look back

and we realize

what God had been doing

in those situations

in those circumstances

we can never see it

in the middle of it

can we?

Usually we have to get

beyond that experience

to be able to look back

and see how God

was with us

and the things

he accomplished

in the midst of that.

And that strengthens

our faith

and it takes us

to a whole new level

and we have to remember

those moments

and those times.

We have to remember them

because we will go

through them again

and we can't question

or doubt God

in the instances

we'll have

in the future.

Have you ever questioned

why you had to go

through a situation?

Have you ever questioned

why God was allowing

something to happen

in your life

and you just cry out

why God?

And he's silent.

Have you ever gotten

frustrated?

Disillusioned?

Confused?

Maybe even angry

at God?

Have you ever wondered

if God really cares

about you?

Well I hope

this passage

this morning

in seeing

this is a blatant

delay

by God

Jesus Christ

to come

and respond

to Mary

and Martha

but it was

for a point.

It was for a purpose.

It was to take them

to a whole new level

in their faith

and their understanding

of who Christ was

and the authority

and the power

that he had been given.

So as we go

through those moments

and those times

just rest

in Christ.

Just rest

in him

knowing

that it's painful

it's difficult

it's hard

but I'm just

going to learn

to trust

that God

is working

in a way

that I don't

understand

and I may not

agree with

until I can look

back maybe

years later.

Maybe today

you're sitting here

and you're in

one of those moments

right now.

Maybe today

you're frustrated.

Today you're

disappointed.

Today you're

confused

or maybe

you're even

angry at God.

I'd love

to pray

with you

this morning.

I won't have

all the answers

for you

but I'd love

to pray

with you

and help

you to restore

your understanding

of God

is working

in that situation

in those circumstances.

God

is fulfilling

and bringing

about his

perfect will

and his plan.

Let's pray.

Father we

just thank you

for this message

and your word.

We thank you

that it's evident

and clear

in the scripture

that you loved

Mary and Martha

and you loved

Lazarus

and yet you

delayed

not to hurt

them

but to bring

glory to your

name and to

take them to a

whole new level

of understanding

that you are

the resurrection

and the life.

And I pray

Lord today

if there's anyone

sitting here today

who is struggling

with feelings

of abandonment

anger

disappointment

I pray Lord

that you would

touch their hearts

today

and help them

to know

that you love

them

you care for

them

and you are

working

in their

situation

and their

circumstances

despite the

fact of what

we feel.

We thank you

and praise you

for that

in Jesus name.

Amen.

If I can pray

with you