Standing at the Tomb with Mary and Martha

If you've been following along in my Mary and Martha series, we left off in a pretty heavy place. Mary was collapsed at Jesus' feet, weeping. Martha had just made one of the most remarkable confessions of faith in the entire Bible...while still grieving.

And Jesus wept with them.

If you missed either of the first two posts (“Are You More Like Mary or Martha?” and When Jesus Doesn't Come When You Call), I'd encourage you to go back and start there. But for now, let's keep going.

Because it’s time for a miracle!

So here they are, standing in front of Lazarus's tomb. Jesus has wept. He's declared Himself to be the resurrection and the life. And now He gives a simple instruction.

"Take away the stone."

And Martha (bless her heart) immediately pushes back.

But Jesus, it's already been four days…it’s going to smell pretty bad!

I can't help but smile at this because it's so Martha. This is the same woman from the kitchen. Practical, logical. Already three steps ahead thinking about what makes sense and what doesn't.

And I absolutely get it! I do. Because if I were standing at that tomb, I'd probably be thinking the exact same thing. Why are we opening this up? What good could possibly come from this? It's over. It's done. It's been four days.

Have you ever been in a place like that? Where something in your life was done, and so far gone, that the idea of God doing anything with it seemed impossible?

I have. More times than I'd like to admit.

I love the way Jesus responds to Martha here. He doesn't scold her. He’s not scoffing at her.

He simply reminds her.

"Did I not tell you…?"

He's pointing her back to the conversation they just had. The one where He told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” The one where she confessed that she believed He was the Messiah.

He's saying to hold onto that. Even though this all doesn't make sense.

It’s hard because I think about how many times God has spoken something into my life, through His Word, through prayer, through other people, and then I get to yet another obstacle and I can’t see a way forward.

And I completely forget what God has spoken, or I start rationalizing. Or I start thinking practically, like Martha.

Did He not tell me?

I want to pause here for a second because I think it's easy to read this and move on. We know the story. We know how it ends. Lazarus comes back to life. Great! Next chapter.

But put yourself in front of that tomb.

You're Mary. You've been weeping at Jesus' feet. You watched your brother get sick. You sent word to Jesus and He didn't come. Your brother died, you buried him, and now four days have passed.

Or you're Martha. You've been holding it together. Managing the mourners and pushing through. You went out to meet Jesus on the road and told Him exactly how you felt. You confessed your faith even when your heart was breaking.

And now you're watching your brother, wrapped in burial cloths, walk out of the tomb.

Everything, the delay, the silence, the mourning, it was all leading to this.

I’m currently going through something that I’ve been praying about for some time. And in my frustration, I have been experiencing (what I perceive to be) delay, silence, confusion. Even now, I still don’t understand it.

And as I re-read this passage, I have to remember what He has spoken and who He is.

I believe that He is the resurrection and the life. He has said that if we believe, we will see the glory of God.

Jesus had a plan the entire time. Even when it looked like nothing was happening.

Even when I don’t see it, He’s always working. It may not be in the way I’m expecting, and it might not be on my timeline.

Nothing is impossible!

We keep coming back to this question, don't we?

At first it was about busyness vs. presence. Are you running around the kitchen or sitting at His feet?

Then it was about grief. Do you run to meet Jesus like Martha, or fall at His feet like Mary?

And now, standing at the tomb, I think the question is a bit different again.

Do you trust Him even when nothing makes sense?

Martha questioned the logistics, but she still stepped aside and let them roll the stone away. Mary had been weeping, but she was there. They were both present for the miracle.

I don't think God is asking me to have perfect faith. I really don't. Martha literally argued with Jesus minutes before the greatest miracle she'd ever witness, and He still did it!

I see it as a call to stay, to not walk away. To not give up on the thing He said, even when everything around me says it's too late.

Stay in the room. Stay at His feet. Stay at the tomb.

Even when it doesn't make sense.

Yes, we’re coming towards the end of this series, but we’re still not done yet. We have one more moment between Jesus and these two sisters to cover.

I'll give you a hint: it involves Mary, at His feet (again), doing something so extravagant that it made everyone in the room uncomfortable.

And if this series has meant something to you so far, I'd be grateful if you shared it with someone who might need it this week.