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 was confident that He could have healed Lazarus too. But she was probably also wondering why Jesus didn’t show up on time. And she was sure that, since Lazarus had already died, it was 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.

So, how about us? Do we ever pull our punches in prayer? For example, 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? Because 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. Yes, 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 (NASB)

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
18 Now 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 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him; but Mary still sat in the house.
21 Martha therefore said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother shall 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; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 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.”
28 And when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here, and is calling for you.”
29 And when she heard it, she arose quickly, and was coming to Him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.
31 The Jews then who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
32 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.”
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled,
34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 And so the Jews were saying, “Behold how He loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have kept this man also from dying?”
38 Jesus therefore again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 And so they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou heardest Me.
42 “And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me.”
43 And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
44 He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”