“Believe and you will see the glory of God”

John 11: 17-44

Friday 14 October 2022

‘Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”’ -John 11:40

Today’s reading gives us immense hope about what Jesus can do in a lifeless situation! It is most often our unbelief that stops the working of the miracle! But if we remove the stone of unbelief, Jesus will bring life to a lifeless situation. We live in a world of broken promises, and it is hard to believe and trust especially when you have experienced a broken promise in your life. Through this passage today, Jesus makes a promise, “Believe and you will see the glory of God.”

Jesus’ good friend, Lazarus had died and his sisters who were close to Jesus were filled with grief. When Martha saw Jesus, she said: “If you had been here Lord, my brother would not have died.” She believed that Jesus could have rescued Lazarus from his illness. And then she made an interesting statement: “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Underneath her grief, she had faith. We too experience troubles in our lives; life can be very difficult, and sometimes we feel grief and sadness, like Martha. But underneath our dejection, do we still have faith in Jesus Christ and all of His promises?

There is a promise Jesus makes here: “Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” The one who believes in Jesus might die physically but will have eternal life with Him in heaven. When Jesus says, “Never die,” he is talking about what happens at Judgment Day when the dead in Christ would rise again, both body and soul and will never die again. “Do you believe this?” Jesus asked Martha and she did. Maybe she did not understand everything Jesus was saying, but she believed. It could be hard to believe sometimes, when we are experiencing and going through tough times. Had you ever had moments of doubt, wondering if everything you ever believed and your faith in Jesus is actually true?

“Believe,” Jesus says, “and you will see the glory of God.” We all have doubts – Martha too had. Jesus asked the stone to be moved away from Lazarus’ tomb, she hesitated. Wouldn’t you have hesitated too? There may have been doubts whether Jesus could do the impossible. They moved away the stone, and with one command, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead: ‘“Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out. Martha saw God’s glory right there – she saw Jesus raise her brother from the dead! She believed, and saw the glory of God. This miracle that Jesus performed was recorded to help us believe the promises of God. Like Martha, you and I have witnessed Jesus’ power, through His Word. Like Martha, we have heard His promises, and today Jesus invites us to believe, and as we do, He promises us that we too will someday see the glory of God.

Believe in Christ Jesus as your Saviour and the giver of eternal life— you too like Lazarus- on Judgment Day will be raised from the dead, and you will be alive again, happier in the presence of God. Believe in Jesus because someday you too like Martha- will watch Jesus as he displays his power by raising your loved ones from the dead. At other times, His resurrection power will bring life to your dead situations and give you victory! Yes, we will all have days like Martha had, of grief, fear, confusion and sadness as long as we live on this earth. But His resurrection power is true and all of Jesus’ promises are true.

May God grant to all of us faith that looks to Jesus for comfort and strength in difficult times. If there are stones of unbelief that prevents God from working in our situation, let us roll them away so we can see God’s glory revealed. Let us live each day in the power of Christ’s resurrection!

To meditate: “Believe, and you will see the glory of God.” Amen.