v.22 “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” This statement by Martha is curious to me. What did she have in mind? The following statements show she wasn’t expecting him to come back to life right then.
I think Jesus shows so much mercy by not deliberately telling Martha what is about to happen. If He would have said to the disciples or Martha “I’m going to raise Lazarus from the dead right now.” they would have laughed or scoffed or somehow fully shown their unbelief.
Rather than force them to indite themselves, Jesus carries them along slowly. He hints that Lazarus is asleep, then that HE IS the resurrection, and then that everyone who believes in Him will live… God slowly builds us towards revealing Himself, because He knows if we got it all in one shot it would be too much for us to bare. (proof that this ISN‚ÄôT true is time when Jesus blew people away w/ His presence. i.e. Peter in the boat falling on his face, etc.)
One time Mary Poplin asked Mother Theresa to pray that God would show her what He was going to do with her life. Momma T said “No Way! If God would have shown me all of the stuff that I was going to do with my life, I would have gotten scared and quit at the very beginning!”
God is merciful with us, carrying us along, not giving us more than we can bear, but also not holding back if we seriously need to get a move-on in our faith/life.
