Jesus said unto Martha, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? When Lazarus of Bethany fell sick, his sisters sent a messenger beyond Jordan to carry the tidings to Jesus. Our Lord's reply was to the following effect: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God," etc. We cannot doubt that these words, or the substance of them, was conveyed by the messenger to Martha and Mary, and yet, either before the arrival of the message or shortly after, Lazarus died, and his death was followed by his burial. Four days of mourning passed away, and at last Jesus himself came to Bethany. Martha met him at the outskirts of the village, and he told her that her brother should rise again, and that he himself was the Resurrection and the Life. At last the Savior stood at Lazarus's grave. It was a cave, and its inner recess, which concealed the dead from view, was blocked up by a stone. Before it stood Martha and Mary and a crowd of their weeping friends. But when our Lord bade the bystanders take away the stone, then Martha interfered. She evidently hoped from first to last that Jesus would do something to meet her case, and, though her hopes were vague, they were nourished by his own words; but now her fears prevailed against her hopes. Her faith gave way before the exigencies of sense. She dreaded the removal of the stone and the evidences of corruption. She could not bear to look into the dark and noisome grave. How gently, and yet how solemnly, does Jesus chide her unbelief! "Said I not unto thee," etc.? He reminds her of all that had passed between them before. And could she now mistrust him, whatever he might do? Why doubt that power and wisdom and love, even all that makes up Divine glory, would shine forth in his actions? This was enough for Martha, and now she trusts her Lord. Now she is in a right state of mind and heart for profiting by all that followed. Had it been otherwise, even the raising of her brother from the tomb would not of itself have revealed to her the glory of God. For her it might have been but a temporal mercy, an earthly, perhaps a questionable boon, carrying no spiritual blessing along with it. Miracles, when they were wrought, were extraordinary means of grace, but they might be misunderstood and abused like any other means; nay, we must not forget that there were men who witnessed this miracle as well as Martha, whose hearts were only hardened by what they saw. They went their ways to the Pharisees and helped them to plot against the Prince of life! Our text is this, "If thou wouldest believe," etc. The significance of these words extends far beyond the occasion on which they were uttered. As a master-key opens many locks, so it is with such sayings of Jesus dropped incidentally in the course of conversation. If we could only use them aright they would open many of the secrets of our hearts, and explain to us much of the character and of the ways of God.

I. THESE WORDS CONTAIN A GREAT DOCTRINE, VIZ. THAT THE GLORY OF GOD CAN ONLY BE SEEN BY THE EYE OF FAITH. This is universally true, whether we think of his glory as displayed in nature and in providence, or by his Word and his Son from heaven. The psalmist of Israel exclaims (Psalm 19.), "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork." And so it has been from the beginning. But what multitudes have, alas! been deaf and blind to all this teaching - in some ages worshipping the host of heaven instead of him who made them all; and in later times seeing nothing in God's grandest works but a vast and complicated machine without a final purpose, a thickly woven veil of laws and second causes with nothing behind it! Ah! the last word of unbelief is a blank and cheerless materialism. And the same thing must be said of the very highest display of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ. There, surely, it shines forth in wondrous and yet attractive radiance. "Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God." His life on earth the very image of God's holiness. His cross the meeting-place of righteousness and mercy. His resurrection the triumph of victorious grace. But why is Christ to so many a stumbling-stone and a rock of offence? Why is he still despised and rejected of men, so that they turn from him with indifference or, perhaps, with a far worse feeling? Why do they think naught of his Divine glory, and make so much of the glory of man, which is as the flower of grass? The Apostle Paul replies that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God... neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." The god of this world, or the spirit of the age, or, it may be, some lust of their own hearts, has blinded their eyes, so that they will not believe. On the other hand, every Christian knows, by a very practical experience, that the glory of God is a spiritual thing, which can only be seen by the eye of the spirit. By whatever way he has been led in providence and grace, he has learned this much, that God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in his heart and opened his eyes. And what has been the result? May we not say that, so far as he has walked in this light, life has become a more solemn and blessed thing than it was before, and the Bible a different book to what it was, and the day of rest otherwise hallowed and welcomed, and the means of grace, instead of seemly and well-meaning forms, have become wells of salvation? Not seldom among his fellow-pilgrims in life's journey he recognizes men and women who have the mark of God on their foreheads; and there are times, too, when on the face of nature itself - on the many-colored earth beneath and on the heavens over his head - there seems to him to rest "a light that never was on land or sea," revealing to him a glimpse, as it were, of the glory of the Eternal.

II. THESE WORDS CONTAIN A GREAT PROMISE, TREASURED UP HERE FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF EACH DISCIPLE OF CHRIST. "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe," etc.? For this vision of faith of which we have been speaking does not perpetuate itself. I do not mean that it passes away like a dream in the night, leaving no traces behind it. The Christian who has seen ought of the Divine glory must desire to see it still, or he would be no Christian at all; but how many things tend to veil it from his view! Sometimes, from the inevitable cares and engagements of life, often from causes which cannot be traced, he finds himself in perplexity and gloom. But, weak and changeful as he is, God's promises do not depend on his varying moods of mind; and in view of such a promise as this, faith bursts into prayer, and evermore the prayer of faith shall live. "I beseech thee, show me thy glory;" "Open thou mine eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of thy Law; " Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." But it is in the greater trials of life that the soul feels most its own intrinsic weakness, and that the promise in the text is "exceeding great and precious." When, for example, health is suddenly shattered; or when fair earthly prospects are dashed to the ground; or when the family circle is broken in upon, and a tenderly loved member is taken away; - then nature's darkness and nature's sorrow compass us in on every side. The heart whispers, "Vanity of vanities." Oar common life loses its interest - "like a dream when one awaketh." And perhaps unbelief, no longer like a silent, lifeless weight, but rather like a mocking demon, assails the very foundations of the faith, or tells us that our interest in them has been all a delusion. Thus it was with the Psalmist Asaph, when in an hour of infirmity he exclaimed (Psalm 77.), "Will the Lord cast off forever? Both his promise fail forevermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious?" Poor and cold is the comfort that the world can give in such a case - perhaps telling the sufferer that things might have been worse; or that misfortune is the common lot of man; or that time will in the long run blunt the edge of his feelings; and that "wild flowers may yet grow among the ruins of his happiness," and that meanwhile "to bear is to conquer his fate." Ah! surely if these are the only lessons that trial has to each us, we must often come to look upon providence as a necessary evil. How different are the Master's words, "If thou wouldest believe," etc.! This is indeed the sum and substance of many an ancient oracle. In all ages the Spirit of Christ, which breathed in the prophets, had spoken in the same tones. God's children were ever taught to look within the veil and walk by faith. "Who is among you that feareth the Lord,... that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the Name of the Lord, let him stay himself on his God" (Isaiah 1:10). But here Christ himself adds his "Yea and Amen" to all the promises given by his forerunners; and not only when he raised Lazarus from the grave, but above all when he burst forever the chains of death in his own resurrection, he gave assurance unto all men that his words are faithful and true. What, then, is the perpetual message of these words of his to his disciples? Believe that your secret trials are not the shafts of a blind fate, but the decrees of a reconciled Father's will. They are not designed to crush you, inscrutable as they now appear. They bid you "be still, and know that he is God;" but they are never lightly inflicted, never inconsistent with his wisdom and love. Trust him, then, in the dark. Trust him when your heart is aching. Trust him when human sympathy falls short of your need, and your faith shall not be in vain. He has many ways in providence and grace of showing you his glory; tempering your trials with mercy; perhaps giving them an unexpected issue; raising you above them, and, as it were, above yourselves; giving you new discoveries of his love, a deeper assurance than you ever had before that he is your God. Thus those who walk by faith and not by sight have this promise of Christ fulfilled to them even here below. Through the checkered experiences of life, whether those be joyous or grievous, God is ever drawing near to them and manifesting himself to them. They shall never, indeed, take the measure of his perfections, and they adore him for this; but whilst their knowledge of him cannot be full, it may be most real; whilst it cannot be comprehensive, it may yet be sufficient for their life-journey. They may see enough of his glory to make them habitually humble and thankful and hopeful, to strengthen them for daily work, and support them under daily trial. How often may two persons be met with whose lives have been visited with much the same trials and enriched with much the same outward blessings, and yet as they approach the evening of their days you hear the one complaining that he was born under an unlucky star, that his steps have been dogged by an unkind fate, and that all is vanity and vexation of spirit; while the other is saying that goodness and mercy have followed him all the days of his life, and asking what he shall render to the Lord for all his benefits towards him! Whence the difference between the two? Is it not from this - that the one has lived without God in the world, whilst the other has sought for grace to walk in the light of his countenance? So much for the life that now is. But there is a larger fulfillment of this promise that belongs to the life to come. Here the glory of God can only be seen amidst the clouds and darkness of this storm-tossed world. The faith of his children, too, is not only tried by the long conflict between good and evil which rages around them, but by the unbelief of their own hearts and the weakness of their bodies of humiliation. "Now they see through a glass darkly." But this is not to last forever. This vision is only for an appointed time. And when the mystery of God has been finished, and the children of the resurrection open their eyes on the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, then shall each one of them learn the fullness of these words of Christ, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? " - G.B.

I. THE DUTY ENJOINED. Faith is —

1. A transaction between God and the soul.

2. A voluntary process.

3. Is to be exercised regardless of apparent difficulties.

4. Is to be employed in connection with corresponding works.

II. THE BLESSED RESULT. We shall see the glory of God in —

1. Nature.

2. Providence.

3. His Word.

4. The Resurrection.

(W. W. Wythe.)

Mark: —

I. MAN'S SLOWNESS TO BELIEVE. The words of our text may refer to some checking, on the part of the elder sister, of the expectation of a wondrous work to be done by Christ. She had said, "I know that even now whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee." She was doubtless no stranger to His wondrous power; and yet, now, when He is there, and her part should have been silent obedience, she must needs interpose, perhaps to prevent that very thing which, if effected, would be the consummation of their highest desires. And in this was she not a type of humanity? Will not men acknowledge that God can do all things, and yet interpose difficulties in the way of His doing that which would be most for their advantage? The fact is, man measures God by himself. He will not believe a thing can be done because he himself cannot do it, or because he cannot see how it can be done. Think rather of what He has done, and await what He may, and what indeed He promises to do.

II. MAN SHALL NOT LOSE BY BELIEVING. We are far from denying the possession of faith by the trembling, mourning sister of Lazarus. She knew that He had done great things. And now her faith and theirs was rewarded; for from that dark sepulchre he came forth whom they had so mournfully laid there; and had not the sister indulged the feeling that led her to interpose a check upon Christ's act, the event might have rewarded her even more. Think of the rewards which Abraham, the father of the faithful, received upon his faith. Must not the result of trusting the infinite God be a good one? If you honour Him, will He not be likely to honour you? A right course is sure to be attended with profit: to trust in God is a right course; therefore it shall be attended with profit. And, as it could be shown that to believe on the Son of God, even on Jesus Christ, is the most righteous course for man to take, so it is that one which is attended by the most profit. It is the means of obtaining righteousness in the sight of God — justification — present peace and future glory — the greatest possible blessings.

III. FOR GOD HAS CONNECTED THE SIGHT OF HIS GLORY WITH THE EXERCISE OF OUR FAITH. "Said I not unto thee," etc. Wilt thou, therefore, not desire to behold the light of God's glory — a light that eclipses the sun, and pours fresh life and joy into the souls of them upon whom it falls — a glory that shall know no gloom, no cloud, no night, and yet be always pleasant, always sweet — yea, a thousand times more so than that of our brightest morning of joy after a night of sorrow? Dost thou rejoice to see the light and feel the heat of the sun? and wilt thou not desire to look upon and be beneath the blessing of Him whose smile fills a thousand suns with light? The very love of this world thus becomes an argument for the love of that which is to come. But men seem willing to lose the last in their too eager efforts to gain the first. That was wondrous glory which lit up the dark tomb of Bethany, and" which poured the light of life into those sightless eyeballs; but a greater glory shall shine into and revive the frame of him whom the Saviour shall call forth into everlasting life. How appropriate will the words of our text be in his easel

IV. THERE IS SOMETHING IN MAN WHICH MAKES HIM LOOK FOR GREATER THAN PRESENT BLESSINGS, and this makes the exercise of faith suitable to him. Our life, to a great extent, is one of expectancy. Let our cup be full in the present life, yet are we not completely satisfied. If the Scripture asks for faith it is in harmony with the constitution of man's mind. The great future throws its shadow forward, and man is conscious of its coming. Rich in all good, it draws him, as the heavenly bodies act upon our earth; only too, too often, he supposes that future is bounded by the time of his physical death. Let him indulge the expectancy natural to his mind only in a larger degree, and let it have holier and better objects. Let him place his expectations in God and in heaven rather than in himself, his fellow creatures, or the world. Let him only transfer his faculty of trust to higher, or rather to the right objects, even to God and His promises in Christ Jesus. Consider, in conclusion, with what force and beauty the words of our text may be addressed to the faithful when they are surrounded by the scenes of heaven — when the promises of Scripture are more than fulfilled. The sceptic may look doubtfully on now, but he will look ruefully on then. Let us look forward with faith in Christ to that glory.

(A. Hudson.)

Man always desires to see in order to believing. Martha is called upon to give an example of the contrary process: of believing in order to see.

(F. Godet, D. D.)

Though the sun shines, yet if my eye is closed I am in darkness. If you meet a man in the spirit of unbelief, or scorn, or pride, he will not unbosom himself to you; and if you so meet God, neither are you fitted to see, nor will He disclose to you, His glory. The order is, If thou wilt believe, thou shalt see. We recognize this order throughout our Lord's procedure. "He could not do many of His mighty works there because of their unbelief." "All things are possible to him that believeth." What is needed is not so much a keen, strong intellect, that can fight its way through perplexities and falsehoods, that can cross-question witnesses, that can balance evidence — not this half so much as the spirit of a little child. This is heaven's law throughout the economy of grace, He that believeth shall see.

(J. Culross, D. D.)

I. FAITH REPROVED BECAUSE OF ITS WEAKNESS. Martha's was genuine, but weak, and Christ's delay was to strengthen it. God's dealings are mysterious, but gracious in design. Do not question Christ's power or doubt His word.

II. FAITH ENJOINED BECAUSE OF ITS WORTH.

1. It enriches the soul. "Rich in faith." "Precious faith."

2. It is the channel of Divine communications — pardon, purity, peace, joy, etc.

3. It is the eye of the soul, and sees things unseen and eternal.

4. It is necessary to the saint passing securely through the world and out of the world. "All things are possible to him that believeth."

III. FAITH ENCOURAGED BECAUSE OF ITS REWARD. "Thou shalt see." Death vanquished by Christ.

(J. Dobie, D. D.)

1. That which alone is worth seeing, which gladdens the soul, which Moses prayed to see, which holy men of old saw only in glimpses, which heaven and earth were intended to reveal, for the beholding of which our eyes were formed, for the appreciation of which our minds were made, for the revelation of which Christ lived and died, is "the glory of God."

2. Christ does not speak of God Himself, but of some visible display of His invisible excellencies. The glory of God is that which shows Him to be the glorious Being He is, and through it we reach the knowledge of Himself; but the special glory here is that of the bringer of life out of death. That Lazarus's resurrection was a signal display of Divine glory is evident from the greatness of the thing itself. To remove the penalty of death, to undo its work, to swallow it up in victory, are things in which man can have no share, and the glory God is to get from it is the greatest next to Christ's resurrection. One man raised was to show His glory; what will not myriads do?

I. GOD'S PURPOSE TO REVEAL HIS GLORY. Man may hide himself because he has nothing of his own; God cannot, because all His fulness is His own. For His own sake and the creature's He must show Himself. For the sun to withdraw its shining would not be half so terrible as God's refusal to reveal Himself.

II. CHRIST'S DESIRE IS THAT WE SHOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD. Sin had hidden the Father, Christ came to roll off the clouds. Love for the Father makes Him desirous of this, for He desires the Father's glory; and love to us, for He desires our blessedness; and all our life, consolation, holiness, heaven, lie in this.

III. UNBELIEF HINDERS OUR SEEING HIS GLORY.

1. It hinders Christ from working those works which show the glory (Matthew 13:58; Matthew 6:5, 6; Mark 9:23, 24).

2. It hinders us from perceiving the glory that is in the works even when they are wrought (John 6:26). To unbelief the miracles appeared only striking things in which there was little meaning; it was faith that drew aside the veil.

3. It hinders us from enjoying the glory even after we have in some measure seen it. We only get rays at intervals when we should see the whole sun continuously.

IV. CHRIST'S REPROOF OF UNBELIEF AND CALL TO FAITH. Let Christ's words shame us out of our unbelief. Trust Him in your sorrows as well as your joys, and you will see the glory of God in both.

(H. Bonar, D. D.)

An Evangelical clergyman, visiting the late Princess Charlotte at Claremont, Her Royal Highness said to him, "Sir, you are a clergyman; will you have the goodness to give me an answer to a question which I wish to propose to you?" The clergyman replied, "Most readily shall I answer any question your Royal Highness shall please to put to me." "Then, sir," said the Princess, "which is the way a sinner can be saved?" The clergyman modestly replied that Her Royal Highness must be informed upon that subject, and had frequent opportunities of knowing the opinions of eminent persons respecting it. Her Royal Highness said she put the same question to every clergyman, and their opinions being at variance, she requested to have his. He then replied, "Through faith in the sacrifice and work of the Lord Jesus Christ." Her Royal Highness then observed, "That is what my grandfather told me; he said, 'Faith in Christ is everything in religion.'"

(Religious Tract Society Anecdotes.)

Caiaphas, Didymus, Jesus, Lazarus, Martha, Mary, ThomasBethany, Ephraim, Jerusalem, JudeaBelieve, Believed, Believedst, Didn't, Faith, Glory, God's, Mayest, Promise, Replied, Says, Shouldest, Wouldest1. Jesus raises Lazarus, four days buried.
45. Many Jews believe.
47. The high priests and Pharisees gather a council against Jesus.
49. Caiaphas prophesies.
54. Jesus hides himself.
55. At the Passover they enquire after him, and lay wait for him.

John 11:40

     1193   glory, revelation of
     2024   Christ, glory of
     8352   thankfulness

John 11:1-44

     5285   cures
     9165   restoration

John 11:17-44

     5745   women

John 11:32-44

     2048   Christ, love of

John 11:38-44

     1416   miracles, nature of
     4366   stones

John 11:40-44

     1045   God, glory of

March 28 Evening
Our friend sleepeth.--JOHN 11:11. I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. But now is Christ risen from the …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 6 Morning
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.--COL. 3:4. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.--God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

March 11 Evening
Jesus wept.--JOHN 11:35. A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.--We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.--It became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.--Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

June 22 Evening
Behold how he loved.--JOHN 11:36. He died for all.--Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. He . . . liveth to make intercession for them.--I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again, and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also.--Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.--Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. We love him, because he first loved loved us.--The …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

May 30 Evening
Thou hearest me always.--JOHN 11:42. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.--Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.--Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.--Not my will, but thine, be done. As he is, so are we in this world.--This is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Christ's Question to Each
For the Young '... Believest then this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord.'--JOHN xi. 26, 27. As each of these annual sermons which I have preached for so long comes round, I feel more solemnly the growing probability that it may be the last. Like a man nearing the end of his day's work, I want to make the most of the remaining moments. Whether this is the last sermon of the sort that I shall preach or not, it is certainly the last of the kind that some of you will hear from me, or possibly from any …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Open Grave at Bethany
'Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying unto Him, Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Seventh Miracle in John's Gospel --The Raising of Lazarus
'And when Jesus thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, Come forth. 44. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin.'--JOHN xi. 43, 44. The series of our Lord's miracles before the Passion, as recorded in this Gospel, is fitly closed with the raising of Lazarus. It crowns the whole, whether we regard the greatness of the fact, the manner of our Lord's working, the minuteness and richness of the accompanying details, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Caiaphas
'And one of them, named Caiaphas being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.'--JOHN xi. 49,50. The resurrection of Lazarus had raised a wave of popular excitement. Any stir amongst the people was dangerous, especially at the Passover time, which was nigh at hand, when Jerusalem would be filled with crowds of men, ready to take fire from any spark …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Delays of Love
'Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was.'--JOHN xi. 5, 6. We learn from a later verse of this chapter that Lazarus had been dead four days when Christ reached Bethany. The distance from that village to the probable place of Christ's abode, when He received the message, was about a day's journey. If, therefore, to the two days on which He abode still after the receipt of the news, we …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Miracles no Remedy for Unbelief.
"And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? and how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the signs which I have showed among them?"--Numbers xiv. 11. Nothing, I suppose, is more surprising to us at first reading, than the history of God's chosen people; nay, on second and third reading, and on every reading, till we learn to view it as God views it. It seems strange, indeed, to most persons, that the Israelites should have acted as they did, age after age, in …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

A Mystery! Saints Sorrowing and Jesus Glad!
Jesus is talking of the death of His friend, let us listen to His words; perhaps we may find the key to His actions in the words of His lips. How surprising! He does not say, "I regret that I have tarried so long." He does not say, "I ought to have hastened, but even now it is not too late." Hear, and marvel! Wonder of wonders, He says, "I am glad that I was not there." Glad! the word is out of place? Lazarus, by this time, stinketh in his tomb,and here is the Saviour glad! Martha and Mary are weeping …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 10: 1864

Beloved, and yet Afflicted
We need not be astonished that the man whom the Lord loves is sick, for he is only a man. The love of Jesus does not separate us from the common necessities and infirmities of human life. Men of God are still men. The covenant of grace is not a charter of exemption from consumption, or rheumatism, or asthma. The bodily ills, which come upon us because of our flesh, will attend us to the tomb, for Paul saith, "we that are in this body do groan." Those whom the Lord loves are the more likely to be …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 26: 1880

Though He were Dead
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 …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 30: 1884

Even Now
"Even now."--John 11:22 I HOPE that there are a great many persons here who are interested in the souls of those around them. We shall certainly never exercise faith concerning those for whose salvation we have no care. I trust, also, that we are diligent in looking after individuals, especially those who are amongst our own family and friends. This is what Martha did; her whole care was for her brother. It is often easier to have faith that Christ can save sinners in general, than to believe that …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 38: 1892

Oh, How He Loves!
"Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!"--John 11:36. IT WAS AT THE GRAVE OF LAZARUS that Jesus wept, and his grief was so manifest to the onlookers that they said, "Behold how he loved him!" Most of us here, I trust, are not mere onlookers, but we have a share in the special love of Jesus. We see evidences of that love, not in his tears, but in the precious blood that he so freely shed for us; so we ought to marvel even more than those Jews did at the love of Jesus, and to see further into …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 56: 1910

The Welcome visitor
IT seems that Martha had heard of Christ's coming, and Mary had not. Hence Martha rose up hastily and went to meet the Master, while Mary sat still in the house. From this we gather that genuine believers may, through some unexplained cause, be at the same time in very different states of mind. Martha may have heard of the Lord and seen the Lord; and Mary, an equally loving heart, not having known of his presence, may, therefore, have missed the privilege of fellowship with him. Who shall say that …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 61: 1915

The Displeasure of Jesus.
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.--John xi. 33. Grimm, in his lexicon to the New Testament, after giving as the equivalent of the word [Greek: embrimaomai] in pagan use, 'I am moved with anger,' 'I roar or growl,' 'I snort at,' 'I am vehemently angry or indignant with some one,' tells us that in Mark i. 43, and Matthew ix. 30, it has a meaning different from that of the pagans, namely, 'I command with …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

The Disciple, -- Master, what is the Real Meaning of Service? is it that We...
The Disciple,--Master, what is the real meaning of service? Is it that we serve the Creator and then His creatures for His sake? Is the help of man, who is after all but a mere worm, of any value to God in caring for His great family, or does God stand in need of the help of man in protecting or preserving any of His creatures? The Master,--1. Service means the activity of the spiritual life and is the natural offering prompted by love. God, who is Love, is ever active in the care of His creation, …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

How to Make Use of Christ as the Life, when the Believer is So Sitten-Up in the Ways of God, that He Can do Nothing.
Sometimes the believer is under such a distemper of weakness and deadness, that there is almost no commanded duty that he can go about; his heart and all is so dead, that he cannot so much as groan under that deadness. Yea, he may be under such a decay, that little or no difference will be observed betwixt him and others that are yet in nature; and be not only unable to go actively and lively about commanded duties, yea, or to wrestle from under that deadness; but also be so dead, that he shall scarce …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Of the Intimate Love of Jesus
When Jesus is present all is well and nothing seemeth hard, but when Jesus is not present everything is hard. When Jesus speaketh not within, our comfort is nothing worth, but if Jesus speaketh but a single word great is the comfort we experience. Did not Mary Magdalene rise up quickly from the place where she wept when Martha said to her, The Master is come and calleth for thee?(1) Happy hour when Jesus calleth thee from tears to the joy of the spirit! How dry and hard art thou without Jesus! …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Peræa to Bethany. Raising of Lazarus.
^D John XI. 1-46. ^d 1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [For Bethany and the sisters, see p. 478.] 2 And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair [John xii. 3 ], whose brother Lazarus was sick. [The anointing had not yet taken place, as John himself shows. For a similar anticipation see Matt. x. 4. There are five prominent Marys in the New Testament: those of Nazareth, Magdala and Bethany; the …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Retiring Before the Sanhedrin's Decree.
(Jerusalem and Ephraim in Judæa.) ^D John XI. 47-54. ^d 47 The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council [called a meeting of the Sanhedrin], and said, What do we? [Thus they reproach one another for having done nothing in a present and urgent crisis. As two of their number (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathæa) were afterwards in communications with Christians, it was easy for the disciples to find out what occurred on this notable occasion.] for this man doeth many signs. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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