Last week we took a look at how Jesus showed how he was full of grace by healing a man with leprosy and a woman who had struggled with bleeding for 12 years. Anytime we read about Jesus healing people, it tends to fill us with a great sense of hope and encouragement. In the midst of our own struggles with health issues, or the health issues of those we know and love, we are reminded of those stories of Jesus’ healings and find ourselves praying for the same measure of grace.
Sometimes the healing comes our way and we are overjoyed and praise God. It’s easy to praise God in those moments, just as it was for man who was healed of leprosy or for the woman whose bleeding stopped when she touched Jesus’ cloak. However, what do we do when the healing doesn’t come? What happens when the health issue grows worse and leads to the outcome we’ve been praying against? What then?
It’s inevitable for us all. Death will knock on our door some time. How do we handle it when it’s here? Who will be there to bring us comfort in the moment of our grief?
If you’ve lost a loved one, you know the pain that comes with that loss. My wife has lost both her parents. I lost my father earlier this year. We’ve both experienced the grief that naturally followed those losses. The grief for some can be almost too much to bear and leave them wondering if God is there or if He cares.
Believe it or not, God is there in those moments. He does care. In fact, He cares more than you can imagine. Allow Jesus to show you how much God cares.
Jesus had some friends in the village of Bethany who welcomed him whenever he was in town. They were two sisters named Mary and Martha and their brother named Lazarus. Shortly after leaving Jerusalem following the Festival of Dedication, Jesus got word from the sisters that Lazarus was sick. Their hope, of course, was that Jesus would come at once and heal Lazarus.
Much to their dismay, Jesus stayed where he was for two more days before deciding to make the journey to Bethany. Meanwhile, Lazarus had already passed away and had been in the tomb for four days by the time Jesus and his disciples arrived. Naturally, Mary and Martha were both in a state of profound grief. They knew that Jesus could have cured him. Where was he? Didn’t he care?
Martha was the first to run into Jesus. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died (John 11:21).” Can you hear the anguish in her voice? Had a similar thought crossed your mind when you lost the one you loved?
Still, even in her grief, Martha revealed the faith she had in Jesus. “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask (John 11:22).” I don’t know if Martha completely understood what it was she was saying, but there was certainly a sense of hope in her statement. She still trusted Jesus and believed that a miracle was not impossible.
With tender reassurance, Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again (John 11:23).” Can you imagine hearing those words from Jesus’ mouth? Honestly, if you had been Martha, what would you have thought? Would you have understood what Jesus was saying?
Martha certainly had some understanding. She answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day (John 11:24).” That would seem to be what Martha was hoping for when she said that she knew that God would give Jesus whatever he asked for. Her hope was in seeing her brother again someday, a day that was far off into a distant future. Little did she know what was about to transpire.
Shortly after their conversation, Martha left and told her sister Mary that Jesus had arrived. A very distraught Mary ran to Jesus, fell at his feet weeping and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died (John 11:32).” She knew the type of miraculous power Jesus had. She was confident that Jesus could have saved Lazarus if only he had come immediately.
Seeing the grief in Mary’s tearful eyes, Jesus was moved with compassion and pity and began to weep also. The crowd of onlookers were impressed by Jesus’ demonstration of love for Lazarus, but some wondered, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying (John 11:37)?”
I get the sense from the words and reactions of Martha, Mary, and those in the crowd they they thought the moment at which Jesus could have miraculously cured Lazarus had come and gone. Nowhere does there seem to be a hint of anticipation of a miracle yet to occur. How could grace overcome a hopeless and helpless situation like this? Where was relief for their profound grief to come from now?
But we haven’t reached the end of the story yet. Grace is far from being exhausted. So moved was Jesus that he went to the tomb and demanded that the stone be rolled away, despite the protests that the body was surely in a state of decomposition at this point and that there would be a bad odor.
With the stone rolled away, 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 (John 11:41-43)!” Can you imagine the stunned faces when Lazarus suddenly walked out of the tomb, still wrapped in his burial cloths? Where was the grave’s victory at that point? Where was the sting of death? Death and the grave had met the one full of grace and truth and completely and utterly lost.
In a matter of seconds, Mary and Martha’s grief was turned into inexpressible joy! Jesus, full of grace, had once again revealed the truth that God will ultimately restore us, even from the darkest moments that life has to offer. Death is not the end. The life and love of Christ will win over all.
So if you have experienced the same kind of grief that Martha and Mary experienced, or if you find yourself going through it now, please take hope in the one who brings comfort like no other. As Jesus said to Martha, so he says to you and me too – “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die (John 11:25-26).” Put your faith in the hope that the grace and truth of Jesus brings. Restoration of life where there seems to be no hope may come now or it may not. The one you love may be healed or he may not. If healing does not come, you will grieve. It’s only natural that you will do so. But be assured of this – Jesus is life, and all who believe in him will have life restored someday. And when that day comes, your grief will be swallowed up by the comfort that the restoration of life brings. Put your hope in this.
Essential Grace 