Jesus received from Martha that night, and he received from Mary. Both worshiped in their ways, giving the Lord a rare blessing. In their working together, supporting each other, Martha and Mary’s love and honor to Jesus was multiplied.
Gospel of John: Emergency Council Meeting
Faced with the same evidence, some were moved to belief, and some were hardened in unbelief. And yet God’s purpose for Messiah still advanced. Even with free will, no person can alter God’s divine plan. As one commentator put it, Nothing people can do will thwart or alter the sovereign will of God, and nothing God does ever sets aside the free choice of people.
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Gospel of John: Belief on the Line
Faith involves doing hard things. And obedience to God reflects belief in God and God’s word. Martha would have to put her belief on the line in front of her sister, in front of all those religious dignitaries, in front of all their extended family and people who had come down from Jerusalem.
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Gospel of John: Jesus Wept
Each change is loss of what was as we move into what is, and face what it seems must be.
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Gospel of John: Revelation to Martha
Or are we living in active faith that Jesus is powerfully at work within our inward beings, transforming us, and is also at work in our physical world, bring shalom to all those around us, including the earth itself?
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Gospel of John: Delays Are Not Denials
But there are dimensions to our problems that you and I cannot imagine, but which God sees clearly. When I pray, I can see God’s wisdom in a situation, that the Lord’s vision is much bigger than mine. Jesus can solve any problem, fix any mess, bring good out of any disaster, he is God. But Jesus will do it in a way that glorifies God and strengthens my faith.
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Gospel of John: Let Us All Go
Jesus had received a message from Mary and Marth of Bethany, Lazarus was gravely ill. But rather than come to them, Jesus sent word back that Lazarus’ illness was not to death but to God’s glory.
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Gospel of John: I and the Father are One
As Jesus spoke, the men before him must have looked unsatisfied and perturbed. Jesus was giving them no new answers, his words still seemed cloaked in metaphor and veiled meanings. To be told they were not of Jesus’ sheepfold seemed at the same time ambiguous and obvious. No, they did not believe Jesus, and no, he had no jurisdiction over them.
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Gospel of John: Election
From the human standpoint, we become Jesus’ sheep by believing, BUT from God’s standpoint, we believe because we are Jesus’ sheep.
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Gospel of John: Are You the Messiah?
Then the Judeans surrounded Jesus and said to him, “Until how long are our spirits [to be] in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us openly with confidence!”
