John 11:40

Jesus said to her: Did I not say to you that if you believe, you shall see the glory of God? that is, the greatness of the divine power: Acts 7: "When Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazing into heaven, saw the glory …

1547 Christ answers her, saying, Did not I tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God? Here our Lord seems to reprove Martha for not remembering what Christ had said to her: "He who believes in me, though he …

Christ reminds Martha of what He had told her before, which she had forgotten: Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee,....

If thou wouldest believe, etc. - So it appears that it is faith alone that interests the miraculous and saving power of God in behalf of men. Instead of δοξαν, the glory, one MS. reads δυναμιν, the miraculous power.

These verses record one of the greatest miracles the Lord Jesus Christ ever worked, and supply an unanswerable proof of His divinity. He whose voice could bring back from the grave one that had been four days dead, must indeed have been very God! The miracle itself is described in such simple language that no human comment can throw light upon it. But the sayings of our Lord on this occasion are peculiarly interesting, and demand special notice. We should mark, first, our Lord's words about the STONE which lay upon the grave of Lazarus.

Jesus said, Take ye away the stone--spoken to the attendants of Martha and Mary; for it was a work of no little labor [GROTIUS]. According to the Talmudists, it was forbidden to open a grave after the stone was placed upon it.

These verses record one of the greatest miracles the Lord Jesus Christ ever worked, and supply an unanswerable proof of His divinity. He whose voice could bring back from the grave one that had been four days dead, must indeed have been very God! The miracle itself is described in such simple language that no human comment can throw light upon it. But the sayings of our Lord on this occasion are peculiarly interesting, and demand special notice. We should mark, first, our Lord's words about the STONE which lay upon the grave of Lazarus. We read that He said to those around Him, when he came to the place of burial, "Take you away the stone." Now why did our Lord say this? It was doubtless as easy for Him to command the stone to roll away untouched as to call a dead body from the tomb. But such was not His mode of proceeding. Here, as in other cases, He chose to give man something to do. Here, as elsewhere, He taught the great lesson that His almighty power was not meant to destroy man's responsibility. Even when He was ready and willing to raise the dead, He would not have man stand by altogether idle. Let us treasure up this in our memories. It involves a point of great importance. In doing spiritual good to others—in training up our children for heaven—in following after holiness in our own daily walk—in all these things it is undoubtedly true that we are weak and helpless. "Without Christ we can do nothing." But still we must remember that Christ expects us to do what we can. "Take you away the stone" is the daily command which He gives us. Let us beware that we do not stand still in idleness, under the pretense of humility. Let us daily try to do what we can, and in the trying Christ will meet us and grant His blessing. We should mark, secondly, the words which our Lord addressed to MARTHA, when she objected to the stone being removed from the grave.

IT is not every man whose deed is as good as his word, but of the Son of Man, Christ Jesus, it may be said that whatever His lips have promised, His hands perform. He can, after the fact has transpired, turn to His disciples and say, "Said I not unto you, such-and-such, and is it not even as I said?" Seeking Sinner, Christ has said that you shall have peace if you believe on Him and He will not run back from that word!

IT is not every man whose deed is as good as his word, but of the Son of Man, Christ Jesus, it may be said that whatever His lips have promised, His hands perform. He can, after the fact has transpired, turn to His disciples and say, "Said I not unto you, such-and-such, and is it not even as I said?" Seeking Sinner, Christ has said that you shall have peace if you believe on Him and He will not run back from that word! If you cast yourself upon Him, you shall have peace right now—you shall have happiness evermore, you shall have Heaven at the last—for there is no promise which Christ has made which He is not prepared to keep! There is no blessing which He presents to the hand of our faith which is either unreal, a sham, or a mockery! You shall find that Christ's gold is not mere tinsel, but true, and that His silver is silver tried in the furnace—good spending money, both for time and for eternity! I shall hope to use the text tonight—may God, too, use it—first, with regard to the case of our feelowmen, about whom many of us are much concerned. And then, in the second place, with regard to our own case. Dear Friends, I know that I touch a sympathetic chord in your hearts when I speak— I. WITH REGARD TO OUR CARE FOR OTHERS' SOULS. I bless God that so many of you love your fellow creatures and fellow sinners and earnestly desire to promote their highest interests by bringing them to Christ! You have tasted and known the sweetness of true religion for yourselves and you are not selfishly satisfied merely to rejoice in this, but long that others, too, may taste and see, as you have done, that the Lord is good! Now, I know that if you are really in earnest about the matter, you will often meet with cases which wiil stagger your faith, will throw you back entirely upon your God and compel you to make your passionate appeal to His Omnipotence.

Said I not unto thee - This was implied in what he had said about the resurrection of her brother, Joh 11:23-25. There would be a manifestation of the glory of God in raising him up which she would be permitted, with all others, to behold. The glory of God - The power and goodness displayed in the resurrection. It is probable that Martha did not really expect that Jesus would raise him up, but supposed that he went there merely to see the corpse. Hence, when he directed them to take away the stone, she suggested that by that time the body was offensive.