Day 178: John 12:44-50 & Psalm 45 - Did Jesus Come to Judge the World?

Today's Reading: John 12:44-50 & Psalm 45

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Did Jesus Come to Judge the World?

If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. - John 12:47, ESV

When Jesus said "I did not come to judge the world," did He mean that it doesn't matter whether people believe in Him or not? Did He mean that all roads lead to God and each one should just choose their own religion and their own way to God? Well, no. That's not what He meant. But if not, what did He mean when He said, "If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him"?

The world without Jesus is full of darkness, and people who do not believe in Jesus are already trapped in lies. Jesus makes this clear over and over again. He is the light which shines in the darkness. He is the truth which frees us from lies. He is the life that overcomes the death that dominates this world. 

In John 3:17-18, the verses that follow one of the most famous verses in the Bible, Jesus had said, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." 

This is the same message Jesus is emphasizing here: "The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak." (vv. 48-49)

To properly understand Jesus' message, we must understand our natural condition. We must accept the testimony Jesus gives about our sinful condition apart from Him. It makes all the difference what we believe about where we stand with God and the truth on our own: 

• If we're convinced that we're basically good and right and that we know and live according to the truth on our own, then it seems rather unreasonable that Jesus would say that we must accept Him and His words in order to have eternal life.
   
• But if we understand that, on our own, we are spiritually dead and blind and walking in darkness, the the news of one who comes as the light of the world, the giver of life and the truth that sets us free. 

We need Jesus. We need to be saved from ourselves. He is the only way of salvation because He alone is eternal life, the light of truth and the way to God. He did not come into the world to judge and condemn the world, but that doesn't mean that you can reject Him without consequence. For if you have heard the message of Christ and you reject Him, the message He brought will be your judge and you will be condemned because you freely rejected the word of life. 

Prayer Based on Psalm 45:

Psalm 45 is a love song written in honor of the king's wedding, praising the glory of the king and the beauty of the princess, his bride. It is ultimately a love song about Christ and the church, the King of kings and His glorious bride.

You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
    grace is poured upon your lips;
    therefore God has blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
    in your splendor and majesty!
In your majesty ride out victoriously
    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;

    let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
    The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
     you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
     your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.

From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad.

All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
    In many-colored robes she is led to the king,
    with her virgin companions following behind her.
With joy and gladness they are led along
    as they enter the palace of the king.
God causes Your name to be remembered in all generations;
    therefore nations will praise You forever and ever.

This Psalm reminds me of a beautiful new worship song from Audrey Assad, "Even Unto Death":

Day 177: John 12:27-43 & Psalms 42-43 - What does John mean when he says "they could not believe"?

Today's Reading: John 12:27-43 & Psalms 42-43

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What does John mean when he says "they could not believe"?

Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

 “He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart, and turn,
    and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him . . . - John 12:39-42

Are you ever just stunned that the people who saw Jesus perform such great miracles and heard Him teach such wonderful things still did not believe in Him? John himself seems shocked by such persistent unbelief and he says, "Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him." (v. 37) Then, the explanation he gives is as stunning and unexpected as the people' unbelief.

John says that their unbelief happened to fulfill prophecy and because God blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts. He attributes the unbelief of the Jewish people to the activity of God in fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy from Isaiah 53:1, “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Why would God harden the hearts of the Jewish and blind their minds, keeping them from believing in Jesus? 

This king of blindness and hardening in Scripture is an act of judgment, a judicial hardening. It is how God brings about judgment against a people for stubborn, persistent unbelief and a lack of repentance. In blinding eyes and hardening hearts, God is not actually working against the will of the people. They want their sin and they don't want God's ways, and do God acts to give them over to their sin and to keep them from seeing their way of salvation.

When God acts in judicial hardening, He is acting within His rights as God. He is also merciful, because even in the midst of such judgment, people still do come to believe. Many of these who were brought to faith in Jesus were too afraid and intimidated to speak out about their faith, but God had shown them to the truth and opened their eyes to see it and their hearts to receive it, despite their cowardice. 

We must always remember that we only get what we deserve when God judges, and we usually get far better than we deserve. If we have come to see the truth in Jesus, that is more amazing than unbelief, because unbelief is the natural desire of our selfish hearts. Faith is the miracle, and it is a miracle of grace! Praise God for it!

Prayer Based on Psalms 42-43:

We must preach the Gospel to ourselves daily, and the wonderful refrain of Psalms 42-43 (likely one Psalm originally) help us do that:

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

As a deer pants for flowing streams,

    so pants my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

    for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

My tears have been my food

    day and night,

while unbelievers mock my faith, saying to me all the day long,

    “Where is your God?”

O Lord, I remember when going to worship with Your people

    would fill my heart with joy and satisfaction.

I long to be content, satisfied, joyful in Your praises.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

    and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

    my salvation and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

    therefore I remember you

even as I live my life in the midst of unbelievers

   in a God-hating, Gid-denying culture that can suffocate me at times.

Deep calls to deep

    at the roar of your waterfalls;

all your breakers and your waves

    have gone over me.

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,

    and at night his song is with me,

    a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, my rock:

    “Why have you forgotten me?"

I confess that I do sometimes feel abandoned, O Lord,

   lonely and forsaken.

Why do I go mourning

    because of the oppression of the enemy?

Why do You allow Satan to oppress me and my flesh to ensnare me.

   Deliver me from them, O Lord!

As with a deadly wound in my bones,

    the world mocks and taunts me,

while they say to me all the day long,

    “Where is your God?”

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

    and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

    my salvation and my God.

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause

    against an ungodly people,

from the deceitful and unjust man

    deliver me!

For you are the God in whom I take refuge;

    why have you rejected me?

Why do I go about mourning

    because of the oppression of the enemy?

Send out your light and your truth;

    let them lead me;

let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!

Then I will go to the altar of God,

    to God my exceeding joy,

and I will praise you with the lyre,

    O God, my God.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

    and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

    my salvation and my God.

Day 176: John 12:12-26 & Psalm 40 - Was the Triumphal Entry a Failure?

[Nerd Note: This is the 176th post in Walking with Jesus in the Gospels and Psalms. That's equal to the number of verses in the longest psalm in the Bible, Psalm 119.]

Today's Reading: John 12:12-26 & Psalm 40

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Was the Triumphal Entry a Failure?

And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
    sitting on a donkey's colt!”

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 

- John 12:14-16, ESV

Large crowds gathered around Jesus and praised Him. They cut down palm branches and shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” They pressed around Jesus and accompanied Him on His ride into Jerusalem in such large numbers that the Pharisees said, "Look, the world has gone after him.”

But what was the point? Just a few days later, many of these same people would form another crowd that would shout, "Crucify Him!" So, was the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as the King of Israel a failure? Does the rejection of Good Friday make the triumph of Palm Sunday an empty, meaningless exercise? No! It's quite the opposite, in fact! 

Everything that happened on Palm Sunday during the Triumphal Entry happened just as Jesus intended, to communicate the real truth of why He had come to Jerusalem. He rode on a donkey because He was the king bringing peace to the people. He was coming to be Himself the peace between God and His people. The people shouted "Hosanna!", which means "Save now!" They wanted salvation from Rome, but Jesus came to save them from their deeper bondage to sin and death. They hailed Him as their king, and they were right. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. 

We are conditioned to think of glory and rejection, triumph and defeat, victory and death as absolute and irreconcilable opposites. But later, when Jesus spoke with Phillip and Andrew, He said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." The hour for the glory of the Son of Man has come, and that was the hour of His death. For only in death would He bear much fruit.

We need to learn that God defines failure differently than we do. We need to learn that God defines glory differently, too. If we would seek success by worldly standards, we will lose with God every time. But if we seek to lose our lives in magnificent defeat for His sake, we will bear much fruit! To God be the glory!

Prayer Based on Psalm 40:

By Your grace, I waited patiently for You, Lord;
    You inclined to me and heard my cry.
You drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog of my sin and shame, guilt and condemnation,
and set my feet upon the Rock of Christ,
    making my steps secure.
You put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to You, my God.
Lord, may many see and fear,
    and put their trust in You for what You have done for me.

May I be blessed as a man who makes
    You, the Lord, my trust always.
May I never turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your wondrous deeds and Your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with You!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are more than can be told.

In sacrifice and offering You have not delighted,
    but You have sent Your Son, who came as a willing servant.
Burnt offering and sin offering
    You have not required.
Then Christ said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of Me:
I delight to do Your will, O my God;
    Your law is within My heart.
Father, I praise You for the perfect obedience 
    and willing sacrifice of Your Son.

Let me always tell the glad news of deliverance
    in the great congregation;
Let me never restrain my lips from speaking Your glory and grace,
    as You will grant by Your grace, O Lord.
Let me not hide Your deliverance within my heart;
    Let me always speak of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
Let me never conceal Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness
    from Your great congregation.

As for You, O Lord, You will not restrain
    Your mercy from me;
Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
For evils have encompassed me
    beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart fails me.

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
    O Lord, make haste to help me!
Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!
Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

But may all who seek You
    rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who love Your salvation
    say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but You, Lord, take thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!

Day 175: John 12:1-11 & Psalm 34 - How Have You Responded to the Saving Work of Jesus?

Today's Reading: John 12:1-11 & Psalm 34

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How Have You Responded to the Saving Work of Jesus?

Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. - John 12:3, ESV

Sometimes when we read the Gospels, it's hard to find good role models for our lives as believers. Surprisingly, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, is one of our best models for worship and discipleship in the Gospels. It's actually amazing how positively the Gospels portray her as a model disciple, given the approach to religion in the ancient world and in ancient Judaism, in particular.

Mary shows us one thing most clearly: The best place for a disciple of Jesus to be is at His feet. We see Mary in Luke 10, sitting at Jesus' feet learning from Him, while her sister, Martha, was distracted with busyness in preparing a meal for Jesus and His disciples. When Jesus says, "Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her," we learn that it is better to sit quietly at Jesus' feet and learn than to wear ourselves out in work, even work for Him.

In today's passage, we see how Mary responds to the saving power of Jesus in restoring her brother to life. She comes to Jesus, pours out the most precious thing she has at His feet and wipes His feet with her hair. In this extravagant, scandalous act of grateful devotion, Mary shows us how we should respond to the work of Jesus in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. 

How do we respond when we consider that the voice of Jesus has called us from death to life? How do we respond when we remember the grace of God in rescuing us from sin and death? Do we grumble and begrudgingly give Him 15 minutes of time in His word? Do we lazily drag ourselves out of bed to worship on Sunday, half-asleep and half-engaged? Mary's worship was overflowing gratitude, thankfulness expressed in sacrifice, extravagant and precious, heart-felt and unreserved. 

Paul says in Romans 12:1: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (ESV) Our response to God's mercy in the Gospel should be a whole life lived as a sacrifice to God. The ESV says this is our "spiritual worship," but the Greek is probably better translated as our logical or reasonable worship. It's the worship that makes sense in the light of the Gospel. Half-hearted, compartmentalized, reluctant, obligatory worship is irrational as a response to what Jesus has done and what God has given us in Him! 

So what does living-sacrifice worship involve? Hebrews 13:15-16 spells out part of it: "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (ESV) Praise, thanksgiving and generosity are the sacrifices that please God. These are the sacrifices that make sense in light of the Gospel - to praise God, to give thanks and acknowledge His greatness and to share what we've been given with others, physically and spiritually.

So, how have you responded to the saving work of Jesus? Are you overflowing with expensive, sacrificial, continual worship? When we respond to God in this way, we find our joy and satisfaction in Him and we are blessed.

Prayer Based on Psalm 34:

I will bless You, Lord, at all times;
    Your praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in You alone, O Lord;
    let the lowly hear and be glad.
Let them come and magnify You with me,
    and let us exalt Your name together!

I sought You, Lord, and You answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to You are radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and You, O Lord, heard me
    and saved me out of all my troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear You, and You deliver them.

By Your grace, I have tasted and seen that You are good!
    How greatly You bless those who take refuge in You!
Those who fear You have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek You, Lord, lack no good thing.

Your eyes, O Lord, are toward the righteous
    and Your ears toward their cry.
Your face, Lord, is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, You hear
    and You deliver us out of all our troubles.
You are near to the brokenhearted,
    and You save the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    but You alone, O Lord, deliver us out of them all.
You redeem the life of Your servants;
    none of those who take refuge in You will be condemned. Amen!

Day 174: John 11:45-57 & Psalm 32 - Why Plot to Kill Someone Who Can Raise the Dead?

Today's Reading: John 11:45-57 & Psalm 32

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Why Plot to Kill Someone Who Can Raise the Dead?

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done . . . So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. - John 11:45-46, 53

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in the presence of many eye-witnesses. Many of these eye-witnesses who had seen this miracle believed in Him, but some of them decided that this miracle made Jesus a threat. Imagine seeing a man raise someone from the dead who had been in the tomb for four days and responding to such a great miracle by telling His enemies so that they could plot to put Him to death! What would have to go through someone's mind in order to lead them down such a course of action?

The truth is that many people are threatened by Jesus. Many people know that Jesus is the Son of God and that forgiveness of sins and eternal life can only be found in Him. Many understand that He did great miracles in the presence of eye-witnesses, that He died on a cross at the hands of Romans executioners and that He rose again from the dead, seen by many. They know that Christianity is not a hoax and must be grounded in true historical events, and yet they still deny Jesus, claim that it's all a hoax and refuse to trust in Him. Why? Why are people so threatened by this man?

People are threatened by Jesus because He is someone they cannot control who has the right to call them to follow Him. In other words, if Jesus really is the Son of God and King of kings, then our lives are no longer our own. We belong to Him, and we owe Him our worship and allegiance. This is the ultimate threat to self-reliance, self-determination and self-satisfaction. 

The only way we will ever let go of our self-ruled lives and embrace this ultimate threat as our salvation is if God's grace changes us from the inside out. This requires as great a miracle as it took to call Lazarus back from the dead, for we must be called away from our ultimate allegiance to ourselves and into saving faith in Jesus Christ alone. The good news is that the same voice that called Lazarus from the dead can call our souls from the death of self to eternal life in Christ.

Prayer Based on Psalm 32:

Oh, Lord, how greatly You have blessed those whose transgressions is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
How greatly blessed am I, that You should count no iniquity against me,
    and that You should free my soul from self-deceit.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

I acknowledged my sin to You,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
    and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to You at a time when You may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
You are a hiding place for me;
    You preserve me from trouble;
    You surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but Your steadfast love surrounds those who trust in You.
Let us be glad in You, LORD, and rejoice, for You have made us righteous;
   and let us shout for joy, for You have made us upright in heart by Your grace!

Day 173: John 11:28-44 & Psalm 31 - How Powerful is the Voice of Jesus?

Today's reading: John 11:28-44 & Psalm 31

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How Powerful is the Voice of Jesus?

When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 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.”- John 11:43-44, ESV

Sometimes I wonder if we really believe in Jesus. Do we really believe He is who He said He is and that He is able to do what the Gospels say He did? In the Gospels themselves, Jesus' disciples often say things about Him and then immediately act as if they don't really believe what they just said. Peter called Jesus "the Christ, the Son of the Living God," and then almost immediately rebuked Him and said, "Far be it from you, Lord!"

We see a similar kind of disbelieving disconnect in today's passage, with both Martha and Mary saying, "Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died," and yet seemingly unable to believe that Jesus could do anything about their brother's death now. Martha had confessed Jesus as "the Son of God," but did she believe that the Son of God could raise the dead? She claimed to believe in the resurrection of the last day - a faith that Mary likely shared - but how could she trust God to raise everyone at the last day and not believe that Jesus could raise her brother now, on this day.

But aren't we the same? We believe that God will save us from sin and death and eternal hell, but we're not sure if we'll have enough money to pay our bills. We say we trust God with our lives, our souls and our eternity, but do we trust Him with the traffic, the political scene or our children? 

One thing cuts through the chaos of half-belief and doubt in the hearts and minds of Jesus' disciples: His voice. At the gave of Lazarus, Jesus calls with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" Immediately, the dead man comes to life and emerges from the tomb. The voice of Jesus is powerful enough to cut through confusion, grief, despair, death and the grave. The voice of Jesus brings the dead to life and brings confirmation to the confession of faith of Lazarus' sisters, weak as their faith may have been.

We hear the voice of Jesus in the Scriptures, by the power of the Holy Spirit, So often, when my faith has wavered and I have doubted, the Holy Spirit has brought Scripture to mind or led me to open and read. In Scripture, the voice of Jesus comes and penetrates by confusion and my doubt. The voice of Jesus is powerful still, despite my weak faith. 

Some people have been teaching that faith is all about what I say to God and how carefully and precisely I say it and believe it without wavering. But faith rests not on what I say to Jesus but on what He says to me. It is His word, and not my words, which matter most. So speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.    

Prayer Based on Psalm 31 - 

In You, O LORD, do I take refuge;

    let me never be put to shame;

    in Your righteousness deliver me!

 Incline Your ear to me;

    rescue me speedily!

Be a rock of refuge for me,

    a strong fortress to save me!

 For You are my rock and my fortress;

    and for Your name's sake You lead me and guide me;

 You take me out of the net they have hidden for me,

    for You are my refuge.

 Into Your hand I commit my spirit;

    You have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

 I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love,

    because You have seen my affliction;

    You have known the distress of my soul,

 and You have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

    You have set my feet in a broad place.

 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;

    my eye is wasted from grief;

    my soul and my body also.

 For my life is spent with sorrow,

    and my years with sighing;

my strength fails because of my iniquity,

    and my bones waste away.

 But I trust in You, O LORD;

    I say, “You are my God.”

 My times are in Your hand;

    rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

 Make Your face shine on Your servant;

    save me in Your steadfast love!

 O LORD, let me not be put to shame,

    for I call upon You.

 Oh, how abundant is Your goodness,

    which You have stored up for those who fear You

and worked for those who take refuge in You,

    in the sight of the children of mankind!

 Blessed are You, O LORD,

    for You have wondrously shown You steafast love to me

    when I was in a besieged city.

 I had said in my alarm,

    “I am cut off from Your sight.”

But You heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

    when I cried to You for help.

May Your saints always love You, O Lord!

    You alone preserve the faithful

    but You also abundantly repay the one who acts in pride.

 Let us be strong, and let our hearts take courage,

    as we who wait for You, LORD!

Day 172: John 11:1-27 & Psalm 30 - Why Did Jesus Wait Two Days Before Going to See Lazarus?

Today's Reading: John  11:1-27 & Psalm 30

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Why Did Jesus Wait Two Days Before Going to See Lazarus? 

So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. - Luke 11:3-6, ESV

He sent professional fishermen back out onto the water in the heat of day after they had fished all night. He told people He had healed not to tell anyone about their healing. He intentionally drove large crowds of followers away by telling them that they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood.

Sometimes the things Jesus did simply make no sense from a human perspective. But of all of His puzzling actions, none has left me more stumped than His choice to remain in the place where he was for two full days after He heard that Lazarus was gravely ill. What is even more puzzling is the Apostle John's explanation: "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was." John says that it was because He loved this family that He decided to stay where He was for two days longer.

Martha was obviously deeply confused by Jesus' decision to delay His arrival. When she greeted her Lord, "Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." (v. 21) Why would this man who loved her and her family so much, who had healed so many people, delay in coming to them until after Lazarus had died and been buried?

What we learn when we read the rest of John 11 is a powerful and important truth: Whenever Jesus fails to meet our expectations and confuses us by His actions, it is always because He has something better planned for us. God never withholds good things from His children, but sometimes the good we want is not really God's best. God often withholds the good we want because He wants to give us the better we don't even know exists.

Even though Martha says, "But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you," it's obvious that she doesn't expect Jesus to raise her brother. When Jesus says very plainly, "Your brother will rise again," she sees this as a reference to the resurrection on the last day. So Jesus says to her, "I am the resurrection and the life." He wants her to see who He really is, because in seeing who He really is, she will have a salvation and hope that nothing can ever take from her.

Jesus' words draw from Martha one of the strongest and clearest confessions of faith in the Gospels: “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” This woman, who is still best know to history for being busy and distracted by meal preparations, has come to true and saving faith in her Lord. She now knows and confesses that He is more than a great prophet or powerful miracle worker. He is the Christ, the Son of God.  

Do we want God to meet our felt need in this hour of our lives, or do we want Him to give us the faith that will save us forever? Do we want Him to scratch us where we itch or save us where we are truly lost? This is what is so often on the line when Jesus acts in unexpected ways. We want our desires fulfilled, but He wants to bring us to know Him in a better, deeper, truer way. We want His gifts and blessings; He wants to give us Himself. May He give us the grace to let go of the lesser things to receive Him instead!

Prayer Based on Psalm 30:

I will extol You, O Lord, for You have drawn me up
    and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to You for help,
    and You have healed me.
O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;
    You restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Let Your people sing Your praises, Lord,
    and give thanks to Your holy name.
For Your anger is but for a moment,
    and Your favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
By Your favor, O Lord,
    You made my mountain stand strong;
You hid Your face;
    I was dismayed.

To You, O Lord, I cry,
    and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    You have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
that my glory may sing Your praise and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever!