Lazarus: It's Not Over

Yes, I am on vacation...but I'm not on vacation from God, and so I thought I would write a blog about an occurrence in the Bible that always gets to me, and that I've been thinking about a lot the past two weeks:

Lazarus.

Lazarus is possibly one of the most cut-and-dried stories in the Bible; however, it means something to me, and I will try to express why.

I don't like to quit. And I hate to give up. Of course, I do quit/give up from time to time...but there is a part of me that still holds on to hope, that believes: it's not over.

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. - John 11:17

Lazarus is a great story because...it was over. It was about as over as it could get. Four days dead and in the tomb! He gone! Jesus had healed tons of sick people (Mark 2:1-5). Jesus had raised people from the dead (Mark 5:41-43), though they were all recently dead. He had calmed seas (Mark 4:35-40), and He'd fed thousands of people with food that could probably only feed a table of four (Matthew 14:19-21). He'd done so many things, but He'd done them all in the moment when they were needed. He'd done all those things when He was present.

But then...Lazarus. Four days?

Lazarus is an awesome story because it reflects two different perspectives. I thought that it was two ways of looking at a situation, but really it's two ways of looking at Jesus. For the purposes of this blog we will call this: Martha's Way and Mary's Way. Caveat: This is just my take on their reactions, which are (of course) hard to read. I'd be interested to know your take.

Part One - "Hey ya'll...Jesus is coming."  John 11:20

Martha's Way: Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him...
Mary's Way: ...but Mary stayed at the house.

Both women have lost their brother. Both women are in pain and grieving. But one has gone out to meet the Lord, either in spite or her grief or because of her grief. But she still has to see him. That is Martha's Way. The other withdraws from the Lord, either in spite of her grief or because of her grief, she can't bring herself to leave her place of weeping. I don't think this needs much explanation, because if you're a Christian--and even if you're not--you know what it's like to be unable to move. You know what it is like to be paralyzed by your emotional state. Sometimes to the point that you avoid the one thing/one person who could help you. 

Part Two -  Praise vs. Blame/Disappointment/Pain/Anguish. John 11: 21 - 26 and John 11: 32

Martha's Way:  

Martha then said to Jesus, “ Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “ I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “ I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

Mary's Way: 

Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “ Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

This is where it gets real to me. I am so Mary. If I can muster up the strength to pray, it's only to alert God to what He could have done. "If only you had blessed me with that job (boo hoo hoo) ," "Lord, I prayed for 'XYZ' but this happened instead (boo hoo hoo)" And then I just fall out and cry. It's over.

But Martha. Man, this chick inspired me this morning. Because she acknowledges that Jesus could have done something ("if you had been here my brother wouldn't have died"), but she also acknowledges that He can still do something ("even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."). And on top of that she acknowledges why she believes this...because she knows who He is ("even He who comes into the world). For Martha, it's NOT over, even though, she believes Lazarus to be a goner. When Jesus talks about resurrection, she's like "yeah, on the last day." And Jesus is like: no chick...right now! 

And that's another point. Even if my faith is strong enough to see me to "it's not over" it not usually strong enough to see me to an expectation of the miraculous--or to an expectation of complete deliverance--in the here and now. But that is what Jesus was offering, a right now deliverance in a time when it was rational for hope to be lost.

Of course, WITHOUT question, our main expectation is to be towards heaven, but the story of Lazarus inspires me to think like David: 

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Psalms 27:13  

It might be irrational to think so sometimes...but it's not over.