The Man Born Blind - John 9:1-12

I am the resurrection and the life- John 11:17-37
Jonathan Stephen - Carey Baptist Church – 11 December 2005

Jesus arrives in Bethany four days after his friend Lazarus has died. The bereaved family must have had considerable social standing to have received so many mourners from nearby Jerusalem (verse 18). What we learn about the differing temperaments of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42 is confirmed in this account.

Daring to believe

Verses 20-22. There is no rebuke in Martha's words. She knows that even if Jesus had set out immediately on hearing the news of her brother's illness, he would still have died before Jesus arrived. But mixed with her grief is a glimmer of hope. Jesus' words in verse 4 had doubtless been reported to her. What did they mean? Perhaps she had heard that Jesus had raised two people from the dead in Galilee. But her brother had been dead four days! Jesus still prays for his people (Hebrews 7:25). Verse 22 teaches us to leave things in his hands when we do not know how, or do not have the faith, to pray as we should. The Lord will always ask the right things for us - and never be denied!

As Jesus encourages her faith to grow (verse 23), she expresses her belief in the clear teaching of the Old Testament regarding the resurrection of the body (e.g. Job 19:25-27; Isaiah 26: 19; EzekieI37:1-14; Daniel 12:2). She also believes what Jesus has said about his own role in the resurrection 'at the last day' (John 6:39-40). Like many of us, she found it easier to believe promises relating to a distant future than to the present. To help her in this, Jesus encourages her to focus all her attention upon him, with the great 'I am' statement in verses 25-26.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus

'I am the resurrection' refers to the body of the Christian believer, which will live again, even though it dies. 'I am the life' refers to the spirit of the believer. Whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life from that moment. These tremendous claims evince a confession of faith from Martha which is as compelling as Peter's at Caesarea Philippi (verse 27). This is the position John desires for all his readers (20:30-31). Some deny the greatness of Martha's confession because of her fear and unbelief in verse 39. But this simply confirms the practical importance of fixing our eyes on Jesus, and not merely paying lip service to certain doctrines. (Compare Peter's experience in Matthew 14:28-31.)

Verses 28-32. Mary is summoned from the noisy house of mourning and comes and falls at Jesus' feet. A great crowd follow. The Lord has determined that a many will witness the staggering miracle which is shortly to take place. Mary is wracked with even stronger emotions than her sister. As always, we find Mary at the feet of her Lord (Luke 10:39; John 12:3). There is no better place to bare our souls and do our weeping. When we through ourselves entirely on his mercy, we will discover the truth of Hebrews 4:15-16.

A warmth of love and anger

Verses 33-35. Jesus is 'deeply moved' (also, verse 38). (Whenever we find him weeping, it is over the effects of sin: Luke 19:41; Hebrews 5:7.) The original word is very strong; it implies a sense of outrage. Matthew Poole describes 'zeal' as 'a warmth of love and anger'. That is what we are seeing here. Jesus love for sinners in their misery is matched by his anger at the sin that has ultimately caused it. The fact that both can go together is all the more remarkable when we consider that we are not the innocent victims of our condition. It is a miracle of grace that those who are under God's wrath may still be objects of his saving love (Ephesians 2:1-5). We, too, must seek to maintain this balance between love for the sinner and anger at the sin that has so disrupted God's universe.

Verses 36-37. How little these spectators understood what was happening - let alone what was

about to happen! The same ignorant questions of God are just as common today. But not, I trust, in our hearts. Romans 8:28.