“You’re too late! If you had been here last week, you could have prevented this but now it is too late.” A loose paraphrase of what Martha said to Jesus after He arrived four days following her bother Lazarus’ burial. Jesus received a message that His friend was sick but He waited two more days before He took the day long journey back to Bethany. Martha had witnessed Jesus heal the sick, and knew He could have healed her brother. Now that Lazarus was dead, in his tomb, rapped in grave clothes and probably stinking, she thought the only hope of seeing her brother alive again was the final resurrection of the dead. Jesus was going to demonstrate to her and all those around her that He was also Lord of the here-and-now over any situation.
Martha made the statement, Yet even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You (11:21). English translations miss an important concept that Martha had not grasped the fullness of who Jesus was. In the original language the word for ask means an inferior person asking something from a superior person revealing she saw Jesus as subordinate to the Father. If she had comprehended Jesus as equal with the Father, she would have used a different word that meant asking someone with whom you were equal. She told Him she believed He was the Messiah however, she had no concept of all that meant. The word she chose for ask indicates she only saw Jesus as a human prophet. She did not yet understand He was divine. This left her believing her only hope lay in the future. She failed to see Jesus was God who had power over her here-and-now need.
Too often, Christians say to God—myself included—“it’s too late” or “I know God has done wonderful things in my life in the past but fulfilling this need won’t happen in this life time.” Last week, the Holy Spirit used this account of Martha and Jesus to remind me, “I am Lord of the here-and-now. Don’t limit your expectations about what I can do.”
This does not mean we can expect Jesus to resurrect a loved one who died. This resurrection of Lazarus is one of the seven signs that John states have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31). Jesus told His disciples the death of Lazarus happened for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it (11:4).
Life in His name means more than our future existence in heaven. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (Joh 10:10). Both of these verses refer not just too eternal life but also life in the here-and-now. Two incorrect ideas can arise from these statements. First, false teachers misinterpret this to mean God guarantees life with wealth and health without difficult times in our life. Second Christians can over react and ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater.’ Thus, they miss the blessings of the here-and-now. The Biblical meaning of life is far broader than finances or material possessions. The word for life, just as the Hebrew word shalom, means wholeness in body, soul, and spirit and includes even the most ordinary aspects of life.
The key to wholeness of life is balance. One lesson from my teacher, Robertson McQuilkin, which has guided my life, “It’s easier to go to an extreme than to walk in the tension of biblical balance.” We must find the tension between life as false teachers proclaim and throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I have seen thousands who live in mud-brick houses, walk or ride a bicycle, have no saving account or retirement fund, yet live an abundant life in Christ. The Lord provided all they needed; they ate well, had peace and joy, and served God faithfully.
What constitutes material wholeness of life becomes relative to the country in which we live. In America God does not expect us to live in a mud house and for most people it is impossible to walk to all the places we must go. Neither does it mean we will live in a 10,000 square foot home on the lake with gold faucets, marble floors, and expensive cars parked in the garage. People can possess unending material possessions and not live, abundant lives in fact not even have life. I admit I have thrown out many babies with the bathwater going to the extreme against unbiblical teaching. I think this is why the Holy Spirit reminded me I’m missing some of the blessings He has for me. We all continue to grow in our knowledge of who Jesus is and the life He wants us to have in the here-and-now.
Sustaining Word for the Week: It may appear too late for help in your circumstances. Remember Jesus is God, and lives in you through the Holy Spirit. He is LORD of the here-and-now