You Know Jesus, And You Don’t Know Him
John 11:20, When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Martha and Mary sent word to Jesus that their brother, and His friend, Lazarus was sick, "Lord, the one you love is sick.” (John 11:1) When Jesus received the message, HE STAYED WHERE HE WAS two more days. He said to the disciples, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” However, Lazarus died.
Jesus had a clear objective: To show His friends that they did not know Him as they thought.
We know Jesus, but we don’t know everything He can do. It has been said, “Familiarity breads contempt.” It this case familiarity contributed a blindness of the power of God. Sometimes we don’t appreciate the capabilities and grace of God present within people we think we know. This familiarity prevented friends and family, who knew Jesus, from honoring Him in fulness; Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” (Mark 6:4)
A lack of honor did not create a condition of a lack of love for His friends.
When Jesus arrived after the death of Lazarus, Martha came out to meet Him, but Mary “stayed in the house” — indicating her heartbreak and offense. When she came to the burial site, we read, "When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32)
This was the reason Jesus delayed. He needed to show his friends that they did not know Him fully. As far as they knew, Jesus could do anything, including healing any sickness. However, He couldn't heal after death.
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:23-24)
Then came the words that represented a new level of knowledge about Jesus Christ and relationship with Him: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life." (v. 25) Jesus then raised Lazarus from the dead –– a capability of Jesus that Martha and Mary did not know.
What challenge do you and I need to allow and endure to learn more about Jesus and transition to a more full relationship?
