I want to start today's sermon by saying something that might sound a little strange to hear your pastor say. I want to start the sermon by saying that there are some passages in the Bible that are just hard to read. And I'm not just talking about the names that you find in some of the genealogies in the Bible, although the name of Isaiah's second son, which is Mahershalal Hashabah, is quite the doozy to get out of your mouth. But no, there are some passages in the Bible that are hard for us to read because they deal with things like betrayal.
Like when Joseph's own brothers sold him into slavery. And there are some passages in the Bible that are hard for us to read because they deal with intense grief. Like when the prophet Jeremiah cried out to God, saying that his head was like a flowing spring, saying that his eyes were filled with like a fountain of tears when he saw the city of Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonian army. And there are some passages in the Bible that are hard for us to read because they deal with suffering that just doesn't make sense.
Like when Job lost almost everything he had in one single day. Today we're going to be talking about another one of these passages in the Bible that's hard for us to read. But this one is hard to read for a different reason. But before we start talking about this passage, let me just remind you about what we've been talking about over the last few weeks.
And over the last few weeks, we've been working our way through a series of sermons called Crossroads. And in this series, we've been talking about different people who encountered Jesus during Jesus' time on this earth. And whenever they had an encounter with Jesus, it brought them to a Crossroads moment, a moment where they had to make an important decision about who Jesus is and how they were going to respond to Jesus. Well, today we're going to be taking a closer look at another one of these stories where someone encounters Jesus.
But in this story, Jesus is going to encounter two people, two sisters named Mary and Martha. And their story, the story of this encounter, is one of those stories that is hard for us to read. But it's not a story that's hard for us to read because it deals with betrayal or grief or suffering or even really long names that are hard to pronounce. No, this story is hard for us to read because it tells us of a Jesus who could have helped, but he didn't.
This story is hard for us to read because it tells us of a Jesus who could have shown up, but he stayed away. This story is hard for us to read because it tells us of a Jesus who could have prevented a death, but he allowed it to happen. So let's take a closer look at this story today. If you've got a Bible close by or Bible app on your phone, I encourage you to open it to John chapter 11.
John chapter 11, I want to start reading in verse 1. Here's what John writes. John tells us, A certain man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
So the story begins by telling us about a man named Lazarus who was very sick. But Lazarus isn't just some person who randomly pops up in the middle of the book of John. We're also told that Lazarus is Mary and Martha's brother. A couple of verses later, John's going to tell us that they were all loved by Jesus.
So Mary and Martha and Lazarus, they're all friends of Jesus. So when Lazarus gets sick, Mary and Martha are going to want to make sure that Jesus hears about it because he would want to know that his friend is sick. So in verse 3, John tells us this. He says, So the sister sent word to Jesus saying, Lord, the one whom you love is ill.
Now let me ask you a question. What do you do when somebody that you love is sick? Now depending on the situation, when someone that you love is sick, you might rush down so that you can visit them when they're in the hospital. Or you may stop by their house just to check up and see how they're doing.
You might pick up the phone and make a call or send them a text message. Those are the kind of things that Mary and Martha would have expected Jesus to do when he heard that his friend was sick. But that's not all Mary and Martha would have expected Jesus to do. Because Mary and Martha, they know who Jesus is.
They know that Jesus is a miracle worker. So when they send word to Jesus that Lazarus is ill, they're not just thinking about the possibility that Jesus is going to stop by for a visit. They know that Jesus has healed people who were sick in the past. So they likely expected that he would do the same thing for their brother, who is also Jesus' friend.
But this is where the story takes that turn that makes it so hard for us to read. Because in verse 7, John tells us this. I'm sorry, I jumped ahead a little bit, yes. In verse 6, John tells us this.
After having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. So when Jesus hears that his friend is sick, he doesn't go rushing to see Lazarus. When Jesus finds out that Lazarus is sick, he doesn't drop everything to go to Bethany, the place where Lazarus was living, to check out on him. John tells us he stayed two more days where he already was.
And then, in verse 17, John tells us this. When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. So not only did Jesus not make it to Bethany, where Lazarus lived in time to visit Lazarus when he was sick, Jesus doesn't even make it there in time for Lazarus' funeral. Lazarus had already been in the tomb when Jesus arrived.
So, it's not surprising as we continue to read through the story that both of Lazarus' sisters were going to say the exact same thing to Jesus when he finally shows up. In verse 21, when Martha goes out to meet Jesus, this is what John tells us. He says, Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. And then just a couple of verses later, in verse 32, John tells us that when Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died.
Mary and Martha both say the exact same thing to Jesus. They both say, if you had been here, if you just came when we called for you, if you just showed up when we needed you, our brother would still be alive. That's what makes this passage so hard for us to read. Because we've all been there.
We've all felt the way that Mary and Martha felt. But we've all had moments when we felt like God wasn't there when we needed him. We have. We've all had those moments where we felt like God wasn't there when we needed him.
Maybe you felt that way when you were praying for someone that you loved who was sick, but their disease was still terminal. Maybe you felt that way when you were praying for your marriage, but the divorce papers still got signed. Maybe you felt that way when you were just praying to God, asking for help, asking for relief, asking for anything. But it felt like your prayers weren't answered.
When that happens, you're left wondering, where was God when I needed him? That's where Mary and Martha were in the story. Mary and Martha were hurt. They were disappointed.
They felt like God wasn't there, like Jesus wasn't there when they needed him the most. It's not surprising to hear that Mary fell at Jesus' feet, weeping and crying when she said this. But the next thing that Jesus does shows us something important that we need to remember. Whenever we're having these moments, we feel like God isn't there when we need him the most.
So what does Jesus do next? Well, in John 11, verse 35, we're told, Jesus went. You may already know this. That's the shortest verse in the entire Bible.
But it's also one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible. It's two words. Jesus wept. But those two words tell us something that is so important for us to remember, especially when we feel like God didn't show up when we needed him.
Because those two words tell us that when we're hurting, when we're suffering, when we're mourning, when we're grieving, when we're crying out and weeping and feel like God isn't there, that God is there. God is with us in our pain. God is with us in our suffering. God is with us in our grief, weeping along with us.
Because those two simple words Jesus wept tell us that God is not a God who is off in the distance. And when something bad happens to us, God tells us to just get over it. No, those two verses tell us that God meets us in our pain. And that God weeps whenever we weep.
So, even though Jesus didn't come when Mary and Martha first called for him, even though Jesus didn't arrive in Bethany until after Lazarus had already died, God was still with Mary and Martha when they weeped. And God was weeping with them. Because God is present when we're in pain. God's present when we are in pain.
Now, of course, if you're at all familiar with the story, you know that Jesus does more than just weep with Mary and Martha. We know that Jesus does something else in the story. So, let's take a look and see what Jesus does when he goes out to Lazarus' tomb. In verse 38, John tells us this.
He says, Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave and a stone covered the entrance. Jesus said, remove the stone. But Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, Lord, smell will be awful.
He's been dead for four days. Jesus replied, Didn't I tell you that if you believe, you will see God's glory? All right, so when Jesus arrives, we arrive where Lazarus is buried. Jesus says, remove the stone.
And because we know how the story plays out, we don't understand just how weird that would have been. Because the only reason why that ever would have happened before this story is that the person who was asking for the stone to be removed, we'd want to be able to go in and see the body of the person that they loved and pay their final respects. But when Jesus asked to do this, Martha points out, Lord, he's been dead for four days. His body is already decomposing.
If we open up the tomb, if we move that stone, it's going to smell awful. But I don't think that's actually why Martha doesn't want them to remove the stone in the story. No, I think Martha objects to them removing the stone when she makes this objection that there's something deeper going on. Because remember, Martha knows who Jesus is.
She knows what Jesus is capable of doing. So when she hears Jesus tell them to remove the stone, Martha starts getting her hopes up that Jesus doesn't just want to see Lazarus one more time and pay his final respects. She gets her hope up that he might do something for. So for Martha, when she hears Jesus ask the people that were around the tomb to remove the stone, she would hear Jesus asking her to trust him again.
But Martha wasn't sure if she could. Because the last time she had trusted Jesus, her and her sister had said word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick because they wanted him to show up and do something. But instead he stayed away. The last time she had trusted Jesus, she ended up feeling disappointed and hurt because her brother died.
And for four days, she had been dealing with this loss. And over the course of those four days, Martha had to plan Lazarus' funeral. She had to wrap his body in his grave clothes. She had to have his body laid into that tomb and the stone put into place.
And she had to do all of that while she was mourning. And now Jesus shows up. Four days, too late. And he asks her to open it all up again.
So when Martha responds by saying, if we move that stone out of the way, it's going to stink. I think what she really is saying is, I can't put myself through that again. I can't open all of this up myself and everything I've been through in this way again. Because the last time I trusted you, I ended up feeling hurt.
I ended up feeling disappointed in here. When you're asking for us to remove the stone, my hopes are starting to get up just a little bit again. But Jesus, if you're not going to do something more than just walk into the tomb and see my brother's body and pay your final respects, I'd rather we leave the stone in place. If you're not going to do something, it's safer to just leave things how they are.
If you're not going to do something, I'd rather leave the stone where it is than protect myself. And let's just be honest here. That's the way that we all react once we've been hurt. We all put stones in place that are meant to keep us from getting hurt again.
And when God asks us to remove those stones and let him into the places that we've been hurt, we want to respond the same way that Martha did. We want to say no. We want to say it's just too risky to let you back in. It's too dangerous.
If we don't want to be hurt again, if we open these wounds up, that's going to smell. But when all of this happens, when Martha objects to removing the stone, Jesus immediately replies, didn't I tell you that if you believe, you will see God's glory? And that brings Martha to her crossroads in the story. Martha has to make a decision about what she's going to do when she felt like Jesus didn't show up when she needed him the most.
And she has two choices. She can leave that stone where it's been. She could protect herself from more disappointment and pain and grief. Or she could let them remove the stone.
She could open herself up. She could be vulnerable again. She could trust Jesus again. Even though the last time she trusted Jesus, she felt like Jesus had let her down.
So what does Martha decide to do? Well, John tells us in verse 41, John writes, so they removed the stone. Martha lets them roll the stone away. And when Martha lets them roll the stone away, Jesus follows us up by praying.
And in verse 43, we're told, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out! And the dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied and his face covered with a cloth. And she said to them, untie him and let him go. So when Martha allows herself to trust Jesus, when she allows herself to believe and have a little faith in Jesus again, when she allows them to remove the stone, everything that she was afraid of, her fear of being disappointed.
again. Her fear of being hurt again. Her fear of having her hopes up again only to have them dashed disappear. Because when she allows the stone to be rolled away and allows herself to trust in Jesus her brother comes out of the tomb alive.
Now Martha's not the only person who faces this crossroads in her life. The truth is that we all either have or will face the same crossroads. We all have to decide what to do when God doesn't show up the way that we want him to. We all have to figure that out because we've all had those moments when we felt like God didn't show up the way that we wanted him to.
We've had those moments where we have prayed and we have prayed and we have prayed but an answer never came. We've had those moments when we expected God to be there and show up in a certain way only for God to seem distant. And when that's happened it makes us wonder is God going to be there when we need him the most. But here's what we have to remember from Martha's story.
Martha didn't know how the story was going to end when Jesus asked her to roll that stone away. Jesus doesn't promise that a miracle is going to come. He doesn't say that he will raise Lazarus from the dead if they just remove the stone from his tomb. So all Martha knows in this moment is that Jesus is asking if she'll trust him again.
And that's the crossroads that we all face. Will you trust God enough to roll the stone away even when you don't know what's going to happen next? Now maybe for you the stones that you've put into place to keep from feeling like God didn't show up when you needed him the most. You said God the last time I prayed to you and asked you for something you didn't answer my prayers.
So I'm just not gonna pray anymore. Or maybe the stone that you put into place and say God I've read the Bible I've seen the things that you have done when other people have called out and cried out to you. But you haven't done the same thing for me. So I'm not gonna read the Bible anymore.
Maybe for you you just said God I was hurt so bad when you didn't show up the way that I wanted or expected you to show up that I'm just closing off those wounds for good. I'm not going to allow myself to open my whole heart up to you again and risk that you might hurt me. And maybe right now Jesus is standing there not explaining why you felt like he wasn't there not trying to undo the past but gently saying take away the stones. But you don't get to see what's going to happen on the other side first.
That's not how faith works. Martha had to choose to trust Jesus again and let the stone roll away before Jesus could do what she had hoped and prayed that he would do. And the same thing's true for us. We don't get to know how the story plays out until we're willing to let the stone be removed.
So the question we all have to ask ourselves is if we trust Jesus enough to open up the tombs that we have sealed off. Because sometimes the miracle in the story doesn't begin when the dead walk out of the tomb. Sometimes the miracles start simply when we're willing to remove the stones and open ourselves up again. Let's pray together.
God as we come to you now in this time of prayer we are thankful for the story of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. Because God when we're willing to really stop and think about the story it's not hard to see ourselves in it. Because God even though the story is hard to read because Jesus didn't show up when Mary and Martha wanted maybe even needed him to. It shows us that you were always with them.
You're always with us especially when we're broken hearted. But God we don't always feel it. So God if there's somebody who is listening to me right now whether they're inside the walls of the sanctuary or on the other side of a computer screen that feels like you just haven't shown up for them I pray that you show them that you have. Reveal yourself to them.
Let them see that you have been present. That you have been weeping with them and say flat. That you've joined them in their pain. And God help us to do a better job of realizing that you've been there for us too.
And let us also do a better job of being your presence in the lives of people who are having those moments where they felt like you haven't shown up. Because God you've been there. The problem we have is that sometimes we just put the stones up and pile them up so high we just can't see you anymore. We pray all this in Jesus' name.
Amen.