![]() Martha protested that he had already been in there for 4 days, and surely he would stink by then! But Jesus told them that if they would just believe, they would see God's glory. When Jesus and the others came to the tomb, he instructed them to move the stone from in front of the grave. He knew he was getting ready to raise Lazarus from the dead, but he was still compassionate towards Mary and Martha and identified with their grief. We see his incredible love for these people as he is moved by their sorrow. Then, Mary came to Jesus, and was just as distraught as Martha. Martha affirmed her belief in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. And those who live and believe in me will never die" (John 11:25-26). Anyone who believes in me will live, even if he dies. Jesus then gave her one of the clearest claims of his divinity that we have in the Bible: "I am the resurrection and the life. Martha didn't know that he meant he would rise again that very same day: "I know he will rise again. This will happen when people are raised from the dead on the last day", she said (John 11:24). Jesus reassured her that he would rise again. She was distraught and cried out to Jesus that if he had just been there, Lazarus would not have died. Lazarus had died and was in his tomb for 4 days at this point. ![]() ![]() When they were coming near to Bethany, Martha came to meet Jesus. Thomas, one of the disciples, was resigned to the fact that if they went, Jesus would die, and so they would die with him. But Jesus ignored that warning and told them that Lazarus had died and he was going to do something about it. He told his disciples that they would go back to Judea (the region Jerusalem was in), but the disciples were concerned because Jews there had recently threatened his life. Jesus was good friends with all of them, and he heard that Lazarus was sick. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were from Bethany, a town about 2 miles outside of Jerusalem on the other side of the Mount of Olives. But we also see his humanity as he has close friends (Mary, Martha, and Lazarus), feels great emotion for them, and is deeply moved by their sorrow. He has the power over death, communicates directly with the Father, and we see a clear confession of Christ as the Messiah from Martha. In this story, we clearly see both the divinity and humanity of Jesus. This is a famous story, and is a good conclusion to this series of lessons on Jesus' miracles.
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