John 11:26

Having previously explained the force of the mystery in Himself, and shown plainly that He is by Nature Life and Very God, He demands assent to the faith, furnishing in this matter a model to the Churches. For we ought not quite vainly to cast our words into the air when we confess the venerable mystery, but to fix the roots of the faith in heart and mind and then to let it bear fruit in our confession; and we ought to believe without any hesitation or double-mindedness. For the double-minded man is insolent and halting as regards the faith; wherefore also he is unstable in all his ways. Nevertheless, it is necessary to know that we make the confession of our faith unto God, although we are questioned by men, I mean those whose lot it is to minister in sacred things, when we say the "I believe" at the reception of Holy Baptism. Certainly therefore to speak falsely and to slip aside towards unbelief is a most awful thing; lest we may have as both Judge and Witness of our folly the Lord of all Himself, saying: Even I am a Witness, saith the Lord. And we must observe that, as Lazarus was lying dead, on his behalf in a certain way the assent to the faith is demanded of the woman, that the type in this also may have force among the Churches; for when a newborn babe is brought, either to receive the chrism of the catechumenate, or that of the complete-[Christian]-condition at Holy Baptism, the person who brings it repeats aloud the "Amen" on its behalf. And on behalf of those who are assailed by extreme sickness, and on that account are going to be baptized, certain persons make the renunciation [of Satan] and the declaration of attachment [to Christ], by an act of charity lending as it were their voices to those who are disabled by sickness: a thing which we see to have been done in the case of Lazarus and his sister. […]

Not only do I make the dead rise, but I also make the living live: whence: And everyone who lives and believes in me shall not die forever; above in the sixth chapter: "Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life." …

Because He hath attained to the life of the Spirit, and to an immortal resurrection. Our Lord, from Whom nothing was hid, knew that she believed, but sought from her a confession unto salvation: Believest thou this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, I believe that Thou art the Christ the Son of God, which should come into the world.

The second thing he says of his power is that he is life. The effect which corresponds to this is the preservation of life. Thus he says, and whoever lives and believes in me, whoever lives a life of righteousness, "the righteous shall live by …

"He who believes in Me, even if he dies this bodily death, shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall not die a spiritual death. Therefore do not be troubled. For although your brother has died, he shall live. And why do …

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me,.....

Two things Christ possesses her with the belief of, in reference to the present distress; and they are the things which our faith should fasten upon in the like cases. First, The power of Christ, his sovereign power: I am the resurrection and the life, the fountain of life, and the head and author of the resurrection.

Man consists of body and soul, and provision is made for the happiness of both. ( a. ) For the body; here is the promise

Shall never die - Or, Shall not die for ever. Though he die a temporal death. he shall not continue under its power for ever; but shall have a resurrection to life eternal. Believest thou this? - God has determined to work in the behalf of men only in proportion to their faith in him: it was necessary, therefore, that these persons should be well instructed concerning his nature, that they might find no obstacles to their faith.

‘Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?’John 11:24-26. MARTHA is a very accurate type of a class of anxious believers. They do believe truly, but not with such confidence as to lay aside their care.

There is a grand simplicity about this passage, which is almost spoiled by any human exposition. To comment on it seems like gilding gold or painting lilies. Yet it throws much light on a subject which we can never understand too well; that is, the true character of Christ's people. The portraits of Christians in the Bible are faithful likenesses. They show us saints just as they are. We learn, firstly, what a strange mixture of grace and weakness is to be found even in the hearts of true believers.

There is a grand simplicity about this passage, which is almost spoiled by any human exposition. To comment on it seems like gilding gold or painting lilies. Yet it throws much light on a subject which we can never understand too well; that is, the true character of Christ's people. The portraits of Christians in the Bible are faithful likenesses. They show us saints just as they are. We learn, firstly, what a strange mixture of grace and weakness is to be found even in the hearts of true believers. We see this strikingly illustrated in the language used by Martha and Mary. Both these holy women had faith enough to say, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Yet neither of them seems to have remembered that the death of Lazarus did not depend on Christ's absence, and that our Lord, had He thought fit, could have prevented his death with a word, without coming to Bethany. Martha had knowledge enough to say, "I know, that even now, whatever You will ask of God, God will give it to You—I know that my brother shall rise again at the last day—I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God." But even she could get no further. Her dim eyes and trembling hands could not grasp the grand truth that He who stood before her had the keys of life and death, and that in her Master dwelt "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Colos. 2:9.) She saw indeed, but through a glass darkly. She knew, but only in part. She believed, but her faith was mingled with much unbelief. Yet both Martha and Mary were genuine children of God, and true Christians. These things are graciously written for our learning. It is good to remember what true Christians really are. Many and great are the mistakes into which people fall, by forming a false estimate of the Christian's character.

THE Savior said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life: He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?" When Believers are sorrowful, they may be assured that a consolation is provided exactly adapted to their cases. For every lock that God has made, He has provided a key. As every blade of grass has its own drop, so every grief has its comfort.

THE Savior said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life: He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?" When Believers are sorrowful, they may be assured that a consolation is provided exactly adapted to their cases. For every lock that God has made, He has provided a key. As every blade of grass has its own drop, so every grief has its comfort. I doubt not that for every pain which racks this mortal frame there is a pain reliever among the herbs of the fields and for every disease there is a remedy in God's wondrous laboratory if we could but find it. As for us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we may rest assured that if we are borne down by excessive sorrow, it is almost always our own fault and arises from a defect in our faith—for if our faith were as strong as it ought to be, we would "take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches and in distresses for Christ's sake." We would find that as our tribulations abounded, so would our consolations abound by Christ Jesus. It will be well, therefore, when we are greatly distressed, not so much to look to the apparent cause of the present trouble as at the condition of our own hearts—it will be wise to inquire where our faith is lacking and what it may be which prevents our laying hold upon the comfort provided for the present distress. It frequently happens that our faith is defective because of slender knowledge. A man cannot believe what he does not know.

‘Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?’John 11:24-26. MARTHA is a very accurate type of a class of anxious believers. They do believe truly, but not with such confidence as to lay aside their care. They do not distrust the Lord, or question the truth of what He says, yet they puzzle their brain about ‘How shall this thing be?’ and so they miss the major part of the present comfort which the word of the Lord would minister to their hearts if they received it more simply. How? and why? belong unto the Lord. It is His business to arrange matters so as to fulfil His own promises. If we would sit at our Lord’s feet with Mary, and consider what He has promised, we should choose a better part than if we ran about with Martha, crying, ‘How can these things be?’ Martha, you see, in this case, when the Lord Jesus Christ told her that her brother would rise again, replied, ‘I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ She was a type, I say, of certain anxious believers, for she set a practical bound to the Saviour’s words. ‘Of course there will be a resurrection, and then my brother will rise with the rest.’ She concluded that the Saviour could not mean anything beyond that. The first meaning and the commonest meaning that suggests itself to her must be what Jesus means. Is not that the way with many of us? We had a statesman once, and a good man too, who loved reform; but whenever he had accomplished a little progress, he considered that all was done.

Whosoever liveth - He had just spoken of the prospects of the pious dead. He now says that the same prospects are before the living who have like faith. Greek, “Every one living and believing on me.” Shall never die - As the dead, though dead, shall yet live, so the living shall have the same kind of life. They shall never come into eternal death. See Joh 6:50-51, Joh 6:54, Joh 6:58. Greek, “Shall by no means die forever.” Believest thou this? - This question was doubtless asked because it implied that he was then able to raise up Lazarus, and because it was a proper time for her to test her own faith. The time of affliction is a favorable period to try ourselves to ascertain whether we have faith. If we still have confidence in God, if we look to him for comfort in such seasons, it is good evidence that we are his friends. He that loves God when he takes away his comforts, has the best evidence possible of true attachment to him.