The Gospel of John--from which all of our readings were taken today--was written so that people like you and me might read it and, in reading it, might come to believe in Jesus and find life in him.

We know that that’s the purpose of the book because that’s what the author tells us! Just before finishing the book, the author writes, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

It should come as no surprise, then, that, having just read the last and greatest of these aforementioned signs in the Gospel of John--the raising of Lazarus--we should see--not one, but two--people coming to faith in Jesus right before our very eyes! It should also come as no surprise that the whole point of writing this story down--and reading it in church today--is that you might do as they do!

“These are written--these stories of signs are written--so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” You! Today!

I’ve titled this message The Miracle(s) of Chapter 11. And, first of all, let me make clear that the Chapter 11 I’m talking about is most definitely not Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, the chapter permitting businesses and individuals to reorganize their debts. No, as I’m sure you know, the Chapter 11 I’m referring to is Chapter 11 of John’s gospel which we just finished reading.

And the miracle(s) contained therein? Well, that’s what I want to talk about!

The most obvious miracle in Chapter 11 is, of course, the raising of Lazarus itself. While Jesus is in semi-seclusion miles away, the sisters of Lazarus send Jesus word that, “He whom you love is ill.”

But, rather than go immediately to his friend’s side, Jesus deliberately stays where he is. Then, when he does decide to go, he knows that Lazarus has already died. Jesus goes anyway, praying that, by doing so, “the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

If only we were still reading from the King James Version of the Bible we could read one of my favorite passages! When Jesus finally reaches the tomb where, four days earlier, Lazarus had been buried, he asks that the stone be rolled away and the tomb opened. Lazarus’ sister, Martha, says to him--in the words of the King James Bible--“Lord, by this time he stinketh!”

The tomb is opened. And when Jesus cries out, “Lazarus, come out!” it’s like that moment in creation when God cries out, “Let there be light!” and there was light! Jesus cries out, “Lazarus, come out!” And, in the immortal words of scripture, “The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth.

Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

If you’re looking for a miracle--for a sign of who and what Jesus is--there you have one! And, sure enough, the last line of today’s reading gives the expected result. “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”

Of course, if you read on, you’ll see that not everyone who witnessed Jesus’ sign that day believed in him or found life in his name. In fact, as John’s gospel goes on, it’s said that the primary reason why Jesus was sought after, arrested, and crucified was because of the furor raised over the raising of Lazarus. As Pastor Harkness said in her sermon last week, seeing is not always believing! But many of the Jews who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Seeing is not always believing and, even more importantly, believing is not always based on what can be seen! Also near the end of the Gospel of John, Thomas--who will forevermore be known as the doubter--says he will not believe that Jesus has risen from the dead until he can see the mark of the nails in Jesus’ hands, and put his finger in the mark of the nails and his hand in Jesus’ side.

The very next week Jesus appears before Thomas and invites him to do as he has said. Thomas says, “My Lord and my God!” And, while that is one of the greatest confessions of faith recorded in the gospel, Jesus nonetheless says, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe! I credit our Wednesday morning Bible studies here at Good Shepherd for opening my eyes to the miracle of Martha’s faith in Chapter 11.

Martha and her sister Mary are perhaps best known for their appearance in the Gospel of Luke. Martha welcomes Jesus into their home and, while working tirelessly behind the scenes, making Jesus and their guests comfortable, sister Mary opts instead to sit at Jesus’ feet as his disciple and learn from him. When Martha has finally had enough and opens her mouth to protest this unfair sharing of responsibilities, Jesus gently chides her, saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Ouch! On behalf of all of us Marthas out there working for Jesus, that hurts! But the miracle of Chapter 11 could also be called, the revenge of Martha!

Once again, Martha has gone out of her way to show hospitality to Jesus. When she greets him, she says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”

For years, I read Martha’s words to Jesus as an attack on him. “Lord, if you had been here--like I asked you!--none of this would have happened! Where were you?” But that’s not right.

Martha believes in Jesus! She believes that Jesus has some mysterious power and control over even death itself! If Jesus had been there her brother would not have died. And, what’s more, even now Jesus has power even over death. “Even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him!” Jesus says, “Your brother will rise again.”

There are a lot of Marthas in church today. You may not have the same name but you do have the same faith. When Jesus says to her, “Your brother will rise again,” she assumes Jesus means what most Christians assume he means. At the end of time--or at the time of death--Jesus will take us heaven.

Isn’t that what being a Christian means? Martha assumed so. I bet all of us Marthas assume so! And so she said to her Lord, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Isn’t that what faith in Jesus means?

Because that is what Martha--and all the Marthas believe--Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

What is Jesus saying? To what deeper understanding of himself and resurrection is Jesus inviting Martha?

Resurrection--your resurrection--is not simply about what happens to you when you die. When Martha says her brother will rise again at the end of time Jesus does not say, “Right! And I’ll be there to raise him then.”

No. Resurrection--your resurrection--is now! Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life!” Resurrection isn’t just then; it’s now! It’s here! It comes from the one speaking to Martha--all the Marthas--through these words!

“I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus says. “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Do you? In Jesus’ name. Amen!