John 11:17-27, 38-45 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Fifth Sunday in Lent Sunday, March 22, 2026 “Jesus Is the Life”
Have you ever had a “Lord, if you had been here” moment? I know you probably wouldn’t have called it that, but I suspect you can relate to having a moment of doubt or fear or misunderstanding. I’m talking about moments that are unexpected and powerful, and not in a good way. Maybe it’s when your reliable car is suddenly not available or reliable to you. You need it now, and the tire is flat, the window has fallen into the door, the windshield is cracked, or the transmission is shot. And you just can’t help but wonder why this is happening right when you need to get going. Maybe you think the interview went very well for the job that you really want, but a day later you learn that you aren’t in the company’s plans going forward. And you had your hopes up and feel deflated. Or maybe your situation is so very similar to that of Martha in today’s Gospel, and a loved one, someone you care about deeply, has been taken away from you by death. Those moments can come when it just feels like God had a better plan and things were going in a good direction and it would have been really great if he just let you enjoy it, but he let something else get in the way instead. “If only,” you say. “If only God would have listened to what I wanted.” “If only he would have given me better options.” “If only you would have been here, Lord.” That’s what Martha said when Jesus arrived on scene after the death of her brother, Lazarus. If we would have read several verses ahead of our text, we would have reminded ourselves that when Jesus was told that Lazarus was ill, he waited two days before going to Bethany. If we would have read the section in between the two portions of John 11 that we did read, we would have seen how Mary’s reaction was quite similar when she first saw Jesus. Did those sisters know that Jesus had delayed intentionally? Were they simply expressing their frustration? Or perhaps they were sincerely expressing their faith. If Jesus had chosen to act, if he had determined to do so, he could have prevented the situation they were in. The situation was their brother was dead. He had been in the tomb for four days. There was no mistaking the situation. This was not a misdiagnosis. Lazarus was dead. There seemed to be nothing to do except to mourn. But Jesus had other plans. Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Jesus had a promise. He had power. The situation was far from hopeless. And Martha seemed to understand, to an extent. Her response: “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the Last Day.” What a beautiful confession! What amazing confidence! In the midst of her mourning and frustration and uncertainty, she was still certain of God’s promises. Believers in the Lord would be raised to life. This was a truth believers knew even before Jesus fully revealed everything he came to do, even before he fulfilled all the prophecies that spoke of a Savior and salvation. But that was not all that Jesus had in mind, at least on this occasion. What Jesus had in mind on this occasion was a special display driving home this truth. The resurrection, he would show, was not only a future hope. It was a present reality. It was a reality because of him. In fact, it was a reality so completely connected to and wound together in Jesus that he could identify himself as life and resurrection. That’s what Jesus did for Martha. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish.” Jesus doesn’t just cause life. Jesus doesn’t just give life. Jesus is life. And God wants us to believe this. Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” And for the second time, Martha launches into a most beautiful confession. “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” What took so many around Jesus way too long to realize and recognize, Martha knew and believed. He was the one