John 11 - The Easy Impotence of Earthly Expectations

Most people are familiar with the phrase “the soft bigotry of low expectations,” often used in discussions of education politics. Its origins are uncertain, from what I can tell, but the concept isn't: if you don't expect a person to perform well, for whatever reason, you can be reasonably sure that they will not, in fact, perform well. Thus, the initial prophecy of failure fulfills itself, and the apparent solution is to set a higher level of expectation. Awhile ago now, as I was getting ready to lead a Bible study, it struck me that we can do a very similar thing with God. The passage for that study, which I'd like to refer to, is a familiar one: John 11, the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus and the repercussions thereof.

To recap it, Jesus had a friend named Lazarus, who lived in a village near Jerusalem called Bethany. At the time of this story, Jesus was on the other side of the Jordan River, avoiding a premature execution at the hands of the rather unhappy religious establishment. While there, He received word that Lazarus was gravely ill, but despite this, to the dismay of many, Jesus remained where He was for two more days before heading to Bethany. In this interim, Lazarus died. And, thus, it was likely with a mix of sorrow, anger, and hope that Lazarus' sister Martha met and confronted Jesus on His way into town, in verses 20-22, where we'll pick the story up from.

Martha greeted Jesus by laying out the obvious, which didn't make Jesus look good: Lazarus was dead, Jesus could have prevented it, and He didn't. Then, probably realizing how that sounded, Martha hastened to add that her faith in Jesus remained firm (v. 22), even though this round hadn't worked out how she had hoped. From the text (no cheating by reading ahead!), Martha was upset but resigned to the situation; it wasn't what she wanted, but God must have had a plan, so she was going to persevere through the disappointment in faith and hope.

Jesus' answer to this honest statement was of little comfort; “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23) was quite true. The Pharisees and Sadducees fought on the point, but Jesus clearly supported the idea of the final resurrection of the dead, and so there was hope in that. In fact, in so stating, He helped her put it all in perspective. Martha, though sad and perhaps a little disappointed, accepted this, and was willing to take it and soldier on.

And, of course, this is where the story ends. Except that, of course, it doesn't, because that wasn't quite what Jesus meant.

Martha, in her grief and from her limited perspective, misunderstood what was going on and why Jesus was there. Christ hadn't come to give her a hug and help her move on. Rather, He was there to raise the dead man! Martha had a hard time understanding this, in fact not apparently getting it until Lazarus walked out of the tomb in verse 39. At that point, she discovered she'd gotten a whole lot more than she'd expected, or even thought possible!

I'm afraid that oftentimes we make the mistake of Martha, looking at the impossible situations in our lives in the light of our own human abilities, and in so doing forgetting to consider that the all-powerful God of the universe is also present. This factor, logically, yet, in the moment, shockingly, changes everything. The end of Martha's mourning was but a question away!

Jesus had a lot to say about faith, and the power available to those who will believe. The statements are bold – “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7) – and come from a trustworthy source. But, even so, it's hard. That's why Jesus nowhere condemned Martha for not making an absolute leap of faith. In fact, lest we take the argument too far, it's not true that God will always give us what we ask for in faith (see, for instance, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Both can be the case because it's not faith that makes things happen, but the God-man in Whom that faith is placed. For Martha, this took the form of Jesus' statement: “I am the resurrection, and the life”! (v. 25) God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,” (Eph. 3:20) so it is hardly untoward to be bold in asking. God requests the faith required to ask the question – He can take care of the rest.

One important note, lest this be taken wrong, is that, whichever way God's will points, He requires our obedience. Martha had no idea what was going on, and a lot of what Jesus asked her to do probably didn't make any sense. But, even so, she obeyed Him. Asking for miracles takes a lot of faith, but simple obedience requires only a small bit of it at each step. Martha wasn't in a state to ask for what she needed, and certainly couldn't see it coming, but because she obeyed, she got it anyway.

This is written as much to me as to anyone else. If God can and is willing to, in fact, “do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think”, then our practical system of world-level expectations begin to look rather pathetic and foolish. Perhaps instead, as we obey God in the issues of life, we should consider asking Him for a God-level answer. Maybe, just maybe, He'll let us “see the glory of God.” (v. 40)