Do you believe in Jesus? Many of us have the sort of faith that Martha had at the beginning of this passage. We are sure of His love for us, and we are confident in His power – up to a point.

For notice the way Martha speaks in verse 21: “If you had been here….” Since Jesus had healed so many other people, she’s confident that He could have healed Lazarus too. But she’s probably wondering why Jesus didn’t show up on time. And she’s sure that, now that Lazarus has died, it’s too late for Jesus to do anything about it. Oh, she knew she would see Lazarus again at the general resurrection in the last day (v. 24), but that was all she could hope for.

How about us? Have you ever found yourself pulling your punches in prayer? Have you ever thought, “This is too much to ask for?” Maybe you have a sick friend you think is too far gone, so you pray for comfort instead of healing. Maybe you’re in a relationship that is just too battered, so you pray for a way out instead of reconciliation. Maybe you’ve made so many mistakes in your life that you don’t see any way God can forgive you. In your mind, you know God is great and good, but you’re just not confident that He’ll be there for you. In one way or another, you’ve just given up hope.

If that’s where you are today, look again at Jesus’ words in verses 25 and 26. He doesn’t just promise to bring resurrection power, to bring life into our lives and the lives of our loved ones. No, He says that He Himself is the resurrection and the life. In other words, He is so much more than the miracle-working prophet and teacher Martha thought He was at the beginning of this passage. He is, in fact, who she confesses Him to be in verse 27 – the very Son of God.

Ah, but how can we be so confident that Jesus is Who He says He is? At the end of this chapter, Jesus did what Martha and Mary thought was impossible – He raised Lazarus from the grave (vv. 43-44). And just a few days later, Jesus would prove His love even more clearly by dying on the cross for sinners like us. And He would prove His power even more amazingly by walking out of His own tomb on the third day after He died.

So Jesus calls us in verse 26 to believe this, to believe in Him, to trust Him even with our biggest sins, even with our deepest fears, even in the face of our deepest hurts, even in the midst of our most impossible situations. No matter what may happen to us or our loved ones, Jesus calls us to believe in His limitless power and love. Will we do that today?

John 11:17-44 (ESV)

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”