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We have here -

I. HER FAITH MANIFESTED.

1. In its strength. In her conversation with Jesus there axe proofs of a genuine and strong faith in him.

(1) Faith in his personal presence as capable of preventing her brother's death. "If thou hadst been here," etc. She had full confidence in the efficacy of his power and influence, and the sincerity and warmth of his friendship, to stand between her brother and death had he been present.

(2) Faith in his ever and all prevailing influence with God. "I know that even now," etc. In her faith God was the great source of supreme and universal power and favor, and the intercession of Christ with him was all-prevailing and coextensive with the power of God, and ever present and available. Even now it was not too late.

(3) Faith in the great resurrection. That all the dead shall rise at the last day, and that her own brother would appear then among the vast throng. This problem has baffled many a bright intellect, and staggered the faith of many a mighty giant, and driven him to the shades of doubt and unbelief. Then, as now, there was many a Sadducee and agnostic. But Martha was not one. This great and mysterious fact was a leading article in her faith, and could say to Jesus with serenity and full confidence, "I know that he shall rise," etc.

2. In its weakness. Though genuine, and strong in some of its features, it is still weak and incomplete. In her faith:

(1) Christ's power is limited by place. "If thou hadst been here," etc. In her faith the presence or absence of Jesus made all the difference with regard to the exercise of his mighty and friendly power. Present he would and could, absent he could or would not. Her faith partook largely of the character of her religion, and had a tendency to localize Divine energy. In this she was very different from that ruler who deemed himself unworthy of Christ coming under his roof. And there was no need: "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." In this his faith was right and strong; but Martha's wrong and defective. Christ could prevent her brother's death in Peraea as well as at Bethany if he so wished.

(2) Christ's power is limited by prayer. With regard to the best of men, prayer is the medium of Divine power, and yet its limitation. In his human nature and official capacity Christ ever exercised prayer, but was not limited by it; he was really above it. Martha had fully grasped what he was in relation to God, but not what he was in himself, the Source and Giver of life; and her faith had not yet risen to the Divinity of his Person and mission.

(3) Christ's power is limited by time. "If thou hadst been here;" but that is passed. "I know that he shall rise;" that is future and distant. Her faith could grasp the Divine power and infinite certainties of the present with regard to Jesus. "As the same yesterday," etc.

3. In its private struggles. In the language of Martha there are indications of the private struggles of her faith.

(1) Its struggle for some special favor, for consolation in their bereavement. Something which no one else could give. Her love was stronger than her faith, but still her faith timidly struggled for a blessing.

(2) Its struggle with doubt. That she had a faint belief that something great would be done seems evident. The sisters were too intelligent and true to dismiss as insignificant the message of their Lord. "This sickness is not unto death." Before his death they could well understand it, but what can it mean now? Scores of times it was pondered over in their minds. It must mean something good and great as coming from him, but what? There was a doubt, which is only the struggle of faith and its vacillation between light and darkness.

(3) Its struggle for a more definite knowledge and a clearer light. "I know that he shall rise," etc. This she said, not merely to indicate her faith in the distant resurrection, but also to draw him out, and it indicates the struggle of her faith for a nearer and a clearer light, and a more present help and solace.

II. HER FAITH STRENGTHENED.

1. By its own trials.

(1) It was tried by the absence of Jesus. Whoever would be absent from their brother's bedside, he was fully expected to be there. But he was not. Although sent for, he came not. A great disappointment, and a severe shock to faith.

(2) By his long delay. He was expected at the heel of the message; but came not for several days, and their brother was in the grave.

(3) It was tried by their sad bereavement. Their brother was dead - dead, while he might be alive if Jesus had been there. Faith was really in a storm. The night was dark, and there was no light but that of the resurrection; but that was too dim and distant to be but of little support.

(4) Faith is strengthened after all by its own trials. It gains strength by trouble, disappointment, and opposition. It gains strength in weakness, and is prepared for more; and down in the region of doubt it is often trained to take higher flights, to receive sublimer truths and grander visions.

2. By the special revelation of Christ of himself. (Ver. 25.) He reveals himself.

(1) As the Resurrection and the Life. There is an inseparable connection between the two. The former is the effect, the latter the cause. Jesus reveals himself first in relation to the effect, for this is first seen, and our first concern on this side. This was uppermost in Martha's thoughts. This was the subject of her constant meditation, towards which her faith stretched forth; and here Jesus meets her. "I am the Resurrection." But, as usual, he stops not on the surface with the effect, but leads faith down to the cause. "And the Life." This is complete, and faith is in the light.

(2) As being all this himself. "I am," etc. Not "I can raise the dead," but "I am," etc. Not "I can give life by prayer to God," but "I am the Life." He is this in himself, in virtue of the Divinity of his Person and commission. He is the Resurrection and the Life, physically and spiritually.

(3) He is all this now. "I am," etc. Not "I shall be at some future period," but "I am now, irrespective of time." Thus, to Martha's faith, what was distant is near, what was future is present, and the resurrection and the life are embodied before her in the person of her Lord. The resurrection is not entirely future, but in Christ it is potentially now.

3. By a revelation of the wonderful effects of faith in him.

(1) With regard to the believing dead. "He that believeth on me, though he died," etc. They continue to live in spite of the dissolution of the body, and shall live in union with it again.

(2) With regard to believing survivors. "Whosoever liveth," etc. The death of believers is not really death; to faith death is abolished. It is only a pleasant change, a sweet sleep, and a natural departure from the land of the dying to the land of the living. The life of faith is uninterrupted. "Shall never die." It is not in the least interrupted by the dissolution of the body, but suddenly advanced. What we call death is really a resurrection with Christ into a sublimer state of being, a birth to a higher life and a more perfect manhood.

(3) Faith in Christ produce these effects with regard to all believers without distinction. "Whosoever," etc.

4. Her faith is strengthened gradually. Jesus feeds faith as a mother feeds her babe, little by little; and he teaches faith to move as a mother teaches her child to walk, or as an eagle teaches her young to fly. She takes them on her back and soars aloft and throws them down on the friendly air, and repeats the process till they are able to reach the highest altitudes themselves. Thus Christ taught Martha's faith gradually and helpfully. "This sickness is not unto death." His absence, the death, the disappointment and doubt; but he comes at last, and in his welcome presence and revealing and hopeful words faith obtains a resting-place. "Thy brother shall rise again." Thus gradually, by self-exercise and Divine support, faith is taught to soar aloft till at last she reached the grand heights of the resurrection and the life.

III. HER FAITH TRIUMPHANT. "Yea, Lord," etc.

1. Her faith accepts him fully.

(1) As the Christ.

(2) As the Son of God.

(3) As the One expected to come into the world. Who would fill all the world's expectations and wants, and carry out his Divine purposes. Her faith accepts him as being all he had just revealed, and much more.

(4) As the Lord of her faith and whole spiritual being, who should rule over her, and to whom she would submit.

2. Although her understanding could not fully grasp his revelation, her faith could fully accept him. We are not to think that she understood all that Jesus had just told her; but, failing this, her faith embraced his Person and mission with implicit trust and hope.

3. In accepting him she ensured all at once. What he had just said, after all, contained only a few crumbs from his rich table, a few drops from the inexhaustible ocean of his power and love. Instead of remaining with these, her faith embraced him altogether, and ensured at once his Divine and infinite fullness.

4. She makes a hearty and full confession of her faith. The confession is fuller than the request. "Believest thou this?" "Yea, Lord," and much more: "I believe that thou," etc. To believe in Christ is much more than to believe a few truths of his revelation. Probably Martha's head had become dizzy in looking down from the heights of the resurrection and the life; but faith came to the rescue, and threw her arms around him who is both, and there found a safe repose and a glorious triumph.

LESSONS.

1. In some directions too much may be expected of Christ. "If thou hadst been here," etc. There is a slight complaint in these words, as if Christ were bound to be there. But he was under no obligation to keep even Lazarus alive. Too much often is expected of his personal presence, time, attention, and service. He had other places to visit, other things to do, other wants to supply, and purposes of his own to accomplish. Some are ignorant and selfish enough to monopolize Christ and his ministers to serve their own personal and private ends.

2. In the right directions too little is expected of him. The appetite is often keener for the physical than for the spiritual, for the personal than for the general, for the temporal than for the eternal. Many are more anxious for health of body than for health of soul, for a physical resurrection than for a spiritual one. They prefer a dead graveyard to a living sanctuary, and some interesting talk from the minister during the week to a good sermon on the sabbath. Too little is expected of Jesus in the right direction. He will not satisfy our whims and low appetites, but wilt save our souls to the uttermost.

3. In the right direction too much cannot be expected of him. The more the better. The more by faith we expect, the more he will give and we receive. "According to thy faith be it unto thee." Expect as much as we like, his grace will exceed our highest expectations, and will surprise us with more. Martha's expectations were for a future resurrection at the last day, but Jesus surprised her with a present one in himself; and that very day became to her a day of resurrection.

4. The absolute necessity and importance of faith in Christ. It is necessary to the gracious operations of Jesus and to our participation of his grace. Without it even he could not do much, and we can do or enjoy nothing. But with it, in relation to our highest interest, Christ is omnipotent, and we through him are eternally happy and blessed. "He that believeth in me, though he were dead," etc. - B.T.

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KJV: Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

WEB: Therefore Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn't have died.