What Jesus Did

When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus's grave to weep. So they followed her there. When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died."

—John 11:31-32 NLT

Key Thought


"Where could I go but to the Lord?" These words to an old hymn speak the truth of Mary's heart. Through her confusion and loss, she comes and falls at...

 

"Yes, Lord," [Martha told Jesus]. "I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God."

—John 11:27 NLT

Key Thought


Do you believe? Everything hinges on this faith. Do you believe that Jesus is God's Son, the Messiah, who came to the world from God? That faith is crucial. So say it out loud! Share it with someone else. Someday, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess it. So let's say it now to the...

 

Jesus told [Martha], "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?"

—John 11:25-26 NLT

Key Thought


You will never perish! Did you catch that promise embedded in Jesus' words? Jesus says: 1) Lazarus will be raised (right then); 2) those whose bodies die will be raised to live again; and 3) those who believe in him will never die! We...

 

Jesus told [Martha], "Your brother will rise again." "Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day."

—John 11:23-24 NLT

Key Thought


For everyone who dies before Jesus returns, there is the ultimate resurrection day. That will also be the day when Jesus comes in his heavenly glory and reveals the kingdom of God. For Christians, it will be a day of joy, victory, celebration, and glory. It is a day to cherish and anticipate, not a day to...

 

When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss.

—John 11:17-19 NLT

Key Thought


Did you ever notice that Jesus is the Lord over hopeless causes? Can you think of a funeral he attended that he didn't "ruin" by raising the dead person to life? Remember the time he provided a picnic for more...

 

Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go, too — and die with Jesus."

—John 11:16 NLT

Key Thought


Martha and Mary will soon be challenged to believe in what they cannot understand. Before they face their challenge, however, the disciples of Jesus must follow even though they don't understand but know they are risking their lives to follow. They are our examples. Do we have faith to follow in the face of danger and confusion? Do we have faith to...

 

Finally, [Jesus] said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea." But his disciples objected. "Rabbi," they said, "only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?" Jesus replied, "There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light." Then he said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but...

 

So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days.

—John 11:5-6 NLT

Key Thought


Most of us will face the long dark night of the soul when it seems as if God is absent and our prayers are nothing more than wasted breath. If God doesn't respond when we want him to respond, his delay in acting seems uncaring. We can feel abandoned and unloved by the God on whom we depend and for whom we seek to live. I claim no great wisdom in...

 

So [Mary and Martha] sent a message to Jesus telling him, "Lord, your dear friend is very sick." But when Jesus heard about it he said, "Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this."

—John 11:3-4 NLT

Key Thought


Sometimes we have no answers, and all we can do is cry out to Jesus and ask for his help! We don't know what he knows. We can't see to the end of the matter. Everything...

 

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord's feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick.

—John 11:1-2 NLT

Key Thought


While John tells us this story of Lazarus' sickness and death in today's verses and the following verses, this story is part of a much bigger story. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are Jesus' disciples. Jesus knows them and loves...