Thematic Bible: Of mary and martha


Thematic Bible



and many of Martha and Mary's Jewish friends had come to comfort them over [the loss of] their brother. So, when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went [out to the edge of town. See verse 30] to meet Him, but Mary [just] sat at home [i.e., probably grief-stricken]. Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if [only] you had been here, my brother would not have died. read more.
And I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask Him for." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again [from the dead]." Martha replied to Him, "I know that he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day [i.e., the judgment day]." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; the person who believes in me will live on, even though he dies [physically]. And whoever goes on living and believing in me, will never die [spiritually]. Do you believe this?" Martha answered Him, "Yes, Lord, I have [already] believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." After saying this, she left and called her sister Mary and said to her privately, "The Teacher is here and is asking for you." And when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. (Now Jesus had not yet arrived in town, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him [i.e., probably on the road near the edge of town]). When Martha's Jewish friends, who had been comforting her at her house, saw Mary getting up quickly and leaving, they followed her, thinking she was going to the grave site to mourn. So, when Mary arrived at where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell down at His feet and said, "Lord, if [only] you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her and her Jewish friends, who had come with her, crying, He felt distressed in His spirit and [visibly] troubled [Note: This last word means to shake with emotion, and seems to have been caused by His deep sympathy for these grieving people], and said, "Where have they laid his body?" They answered Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus shed tears. [Some of] the Jewish friends then said, "Look how [much] he loved him!" [See verse 3]. But others of them said, "Could not this man, who restored sight to a blind person, have kept Lazarus from dying?" So, Jesus again felt distressed within Himself [as He] went to the grave site, which was a cave with a stone [slab] across its entrance. Jesus said, "You people, take the stone away." [But] Martha, the dead man's sister, said to Jesus, "Lord, his body is decomposing by now, for he has been dead four days." Jesus replied to her, "Did I not tell you that you would see God's glory [i.e., a miraculous resurrection. See verses 22-27] if you believed?"