Jesus Encourages Faith With Dialogue, Compassion, and a Miracle!

The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead describes an incredible miracle. However, before Jesus did the miracle, he spoke with his disciples, with Martha, with Mary and with the Jews who had come to mourn Lazarus’ death. In each case, he did this because he wanted to increase their faith. First, we recount the story.

The Story

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead: Jesus had become friends with Mary, her sister Martha, and their brother, Lazarus, who lived about two miles from Jerusalem in Bethany. The sisters sent word to Jesus that their brother was sick. “When Jesus heard this, he 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.’ Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. Then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’” John 11:4-7. NIV.

Jesus went on to tell his disciples, “’Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.’ His disciples replied, ‘Lord if he sleeps, he will get better.’ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but the disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.’” John 11:11-15. NIV.

“On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days…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…. ‘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 he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ 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 told him, ’I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.’” John 11:17-27. NIV.

Then Martha went back home and told her sister, Mary, that Jesus had arrived and was asking for her. Mary went to Jesus 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. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ John 11:32-36. NIV.

Jesus “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 know 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!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’” John 11:38-44. NIV.

“Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.” John 11:45. NIV.

Jesus Encourages Faith

Jesus Teaches His Disciples: When Jesus heard Lazarus was sick, he said, “This sickness will not end in death.” Then he added that God would be glorified through this sickness, suggesting that some sort of a miracle would occur which would glorify God. I think he wanted them to contemplate what having a deadly illness not ending in death implied. He wanted to force them to think about who He had to be if such an outcome was to become reality. He was trying to point them to the truth that he was God and could do anything. They were slow to understand this and slow to believe.

Then Jesus said, “Let us go back to Judea.” There was a real possibility that the Jews might try to kill him if he returned, but he insisted on going anyway. Why? I think it’s because the truth he planned to teach them and the miracle he planned to do were so important, he had to go even in the face of danger.

Next, Jesus told the disciples that Lazarus had fallen asleep, and that he would awaken him, but they misunderstood him. When Jesus clarified his meaning by saying, “Lazarus in dead,” he was then also implying that he would bring him back to life. Jesus is giving them hints about what he’s going to do and what that means regarding who he is. Why give them hints? Why speak indirectly? Why use symbolic language? Because he wants them to think about the implications of what such a miracle would mean and so they would eventually believe.

But what did he want them to believe? Peter already believed in him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16). They already believed in him as a teacher and a healer. I think that Jesus knew that their faith only took them so far and he wanted to take their faith deeper. So, he gave them hints and analogies to prepare their minds to accept the supreme meaning of the miracle which he would soon do.

And why wait two days? Because by waiting, the situation would require bringing a dead man back to life instead of (merely) healing him. He wanted to take them from believing in him as teacher-healer to believing in him as God who has conquered death and gives life. He spoke to them in this way because he was preparing them for greater faith. In so doing, he strengthened the faith they had and gave them increased faith.

Jesus Meets With Martha: The same is true for Martha. Jesus is preparing her for greater faith also. Observe their encounter. Martha said, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died,” showing she believed in Jesus as a healer. Her next statement, “I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Shows faith, but it comes short of the greater faith Jesus wants to create in her.

Jesus tells her, “Your brother will rise again.” Her response, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day,” indicates she’s not thinking of the present. She’s not thinking that Jesus will bring him back NOW. Jesus then suggests to her that he can bring him back NOW when he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And he adds, “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies,” teaching her that for the believer there is life after death.

Martha replies, “I believe that you are the Christ (Messiah) the Son of God.” She still doesn’t fully comprehend; she has not yet gained a full appreciation of his Deity and Power. But she has been prepared to understand and believe in a more profound way by his words, and so have the disciples who have been present during this conversation.

Jesus Meets With Mary: When Mary comes to Jesus, she says the same thing her sister said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary also believes in Jesus as healer. And Jesus sees her weeping. How does he respond? He weeps with her and with those accompanying her. There are no hints about his Deity or analogies implying his power as there were with the disciples. There is no theological discussion as there was with Martha. Instead Jesus gives Mary heart-felt empathy and compassion, he identifies with her grief and joins her in mourning. He meets her where she is. He did the same for the disciples and for Martha, but they were in a different place. With Mary comfort and support were more important than teaching her a lesson.

Jesus Speaks to the Mourners: Just before Jesus called Lazarus back to life, he prayed aloud, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me…but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” Jesus wants to give the crowd a basis for faith also. He allows them to hear his prayer so they will understand that he is the Son of God who is in a special relationship with God the Father. Then when HE calls Lazarus from the grave, he demonstrates HIS power and authority over death and HIS ability to grant life to whoever he will. First, Jesus tells the people that the power comes from God, and then he shows that he possesses this kind of power by doing the miracle, proving that he is God!

The Effect of the Miracle: Once the disciples, Martha, Mary, and the crowd saw the miracle, the words of Jesus took on a new meaning. The miracle gave them not only a convincing reason for believing what he told them, it also gave them an understanding of Who he is. Now they have a new basis in fact for trusting him with their lives and their eternal souls.

The Application

A Personal Challenge to my Faith: Recently, I was praying on the phone with my sister, who is a real prayer warrior. She was saying to JESUS: You are present; you are kind; you are love; you have all power; you hear our prayers; you can do anything, and much more. As she prayed, I realized that at that moment, with the prayer concerns that I had, my image of Jesus was not big enough. As I began to think about how loving and powerful and welcoming my Lord really is, my faith was increased and was able to relax and trust him with my concerns much better.

Let Jesus Encourage Your faith. The story of Lazarus’ resurrection offers penetrating questions, dialogue about Biblical truth, personal compassion, and a powerful miracle – a witness to the Deity of Christ. Jesus invites us to think about his words and this miracle, so we can begin to appreciate Who he really is and trust him completely in every situation of life. He wants to strengthen our faith and give us steady courage and his peace. Hear these words of Scripture:

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1. NKJV.

“The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything (in every circumstance), by prayer…, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends (all) understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (the Mighty God). Philippians 4:5-7. NIV.

Going to the Scriptures Increases Our Faith. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17. NKJV. The Word tells us who Jesus really is and when we grasp the truth of his Deity, our faith increases and we know he is sufficient for all circumstances.

What we Believe Matters. Who do we believer Jesus is and how do we characterize him? What we believe about him really matters. It affects how we pray and how we live. He is truly present, hears prayers, is merciful, gracious, kind, loving, caring, identifies with our pain and suffering, has all power, has all wisdom, knows everything about us, welcomes us into his presence, and answers prayer. He made us his children who can come to their Abba Father at any time. He’s totally compassionate, eminently approachable and fully empathetic. He’s one hundred percent trustworthy and he has our best interest at heart. Why would we not pray in faith? And why would we not live our lives to please him?

My prayer is that God will increase my faith by increasing my comprehension of my Lord’s Deity and all that that means. I pray the same for you.

Additional Lessons

Lessons this Miracle Teaches: In closing, we want to list some additional, important lessons taught by this story. 1. Jesus is God. 2. Jesus gives eternal life to believers. 3. Christians will receive imperishable resurrection bodies. 4. Death is not a threat to believers. Jesus has overcome death. We can trust him to take us and our loved ones safely over to the other side. 5. Believers live on after they die in the care and presence of God. 6. Jesus meets us where we are. 7. Jesus loves us deeply and feels our pain and grief. He wants us to look to him to supply our needs when problems arise. He will come beside us and comfort us. 8. Jesus is leading us into greater faith. We should listen carefully, think about what he says, and follow his lead. 9. The more we grasp who he really is, the more we will be able to trust him for everything. 10. God’s way of granting us relief from our problems may be different from ours. The disciples and Lazarus’ sisters wanted a healing. Jesus gave them a resurrection. We must not minimize what he is able to do. At the same time, we must trust him for his best solution, even if we want something different from what he has in mind.