When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”' 28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.” 29 As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 For Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him. 31 So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Since Lazarus had been dead for four days there could be no dispute about him being brought back from death. Jewish tradition held that all the spirits would have left the grave site after three days. As Bethany was close to Jerusalem many mourners had come to comfort Martha and Mary. Martha was the mistress of the house and when she heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. With hope in her voice, she expressed regret that Jesus had not come while Lazarus was still alive. Jesus was well known for his miracles and Martha acknowledged that Jesus’ power came from God and that God would grant him anything he asked for in prayer.
Jesus tried to tell her that Lazarus would rise from his tomb, but Martha thought that Jesus was speaking about the general resurrection at the end of time in which the Jews believed. Jesus told her that he was the resurrection and the life, and he gave life to all who died who believed in him, and those who are alive who believe in him will never die. Jesus explained that he is the giver of life both in this world and the next and challenged Martha’s faith by asking her if she truly believed him. Martha confessed her belief that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah and went to get Mary.
Almighty and merciful God, nourish our faith so that we may truly believe in your Son and inspire us to do good deeds so that when we are laid in our tombs the risen Lord will resurrect us to new life. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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