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.” (John 11:23-24)
How do we respond to Jesus?
In this exchange, we see a bold statement made by Christ followed by an interestingly “churchy” answer by Martha. Her brother, Lazarus, had just died and she found herself in a whirlwind of grief. Yet, when Jesus states that He would rise again, she regurgitated what she had learned – heaven comes eventually but you first have to die. Perhaps unknowingly, Martha put Jesus in a box. He was confined to mere Sunday School answers.
In this moment, Martha was thinking with a heaven mindset, but what she didn’t realize is that Jesus, God with us, was bringing a glimpse of heaven to earth. He was about to expand her view on faith and death. Chasing Jesus is not merely heaven when you did, but a rich intimacy while we live. And this often runs opposite of our “seeing is believing” reference. Jesus makes His declaration before He moves and is asking Martha to expand her vision of Him to the limits of religious jargon. He is asking for her to respond from relationship and not religion.
Lord, thank you for challenging us. Thank you that our minds are not large enough to hold your great work. Expand our vision of you and faith in you.
Matt simon blog 