The Exact Same Petition But Different Answers?

¹⁷ Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, ¹⁹ and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. ²⁰ So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” ²³ Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴ Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷ She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

²⁸ When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹ When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” ³⁸ Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” - The Bible, English Standard Version

It was the same petition that Martha and Mary presented before Jesus concerning their dead brother Lazarus but only Mary’s was answered. Why? Both of them said to Jesus that if he had been around, their brother would not have died (John 11:21, 32). In fact, it was Martha who went beyond this and even hinted at Jesus resurrecting Lazarus when she said that God grants to Jesus whatever he asks. In Chichewa, we say, wamkulu sauzidwa, that is you don’t have to spell everything out to a mature person because that person, hopefully, understands. On the other hand, Mary does not go beyond the same statement of trust in the fact that had Jesus been present, their brother would not have died.

So what exactly was the difference between Martha and Mary that evoked a different response from Jesus? Martha has her theology right but her expectation low. She rightly says that God hears Jesus’ prayers (11:22). She is on point when she says that Lazarus will be resurrected on the last day (11:24). And, to crown it all, she even believes when Jesus tells her that he is the resurrection and the life, to the point of spelling out his mission in the earth (11:25-27).  Bravo! Great theology! But when Jesus comes to the point of asking people to remove the stone that covered the tomb, Martha, in an act that betrayed her low expectation, protested that after four days there must be an odour. Seriously? Did she really expect Jesus to raise her brother from the dead as he had explicitly stated in their conversation (11:23)? No, she didn’t. She may have the right theology but her faith levels were on the lower side. 

Mary, on the other hand, seems to have this ability to evoke some deep emotions in Jesus that result in the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. When Martha tells her that the Teacher is here, she quickly goes to meet him (11: 29). She falls at his feet, weeping, and makes the same request as Martha (11:32, 33). This is just too much for Jesus who is more than “deeply moved” as the ESV says but is angry (that is the better translation of the word embrimaomai, which may mean to rebuke harshly). Probably he is angry at death and the sorrow he and his friends are experiencing over this death . Ultimately, it is death he came to abolish as he is the resurrection and the life (11:25, 26). So Jesus gives the instruction to take away the stone.

What is it about Mary that moved Jesus like this? I think it is the fact that Mary is a worshiper. She is the one who so worshiped Jesus that she anointed his feet with very expensive perfume (more than a year’s wage for a laborer) and wiped them with her hair (Mark 14:3; John 11:2; 12:1-3). She is the one who preferred to hear Jesus teach with the rest of the disciples to the point of being chided by Martha for not helping with the dishes (Luke 10:38-42). Mary, like all worshipers, seeks the face of God and not simply his hand. Worshipers of God like Mary have an intimacy with God that workers for God like Martha never attain. Worshipers touch the heart of God and release his power over situations that he wants to change in the earth. Indeed, God is looking for worshipers who spend time in his presence so that he can fill them to overflowing with his glory to the end that they can manifest his kingdom purposes in the earth. 

May today be that day that you resolve to move from being a worker for God to being a worshiper of God! May you seek his face and not just his hand today! May you find that secret place of intimacy with the Lover of your soul where it is just you and him in sweet communion! May you find that place tonight where other worshipers are gathering and expressing their love to the Lover of their soul! TGIF!