Martha's Faith—Knowing vs. Experiencing

Martha knew the truth. She could recite the creed. She believed in the resurrection on the last day. But Jesus wasn't just talking about then. He was also talking about the here and now.

Scripture Focus: John 11:21-26

"Martha said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?'"

Martha responds to Jesus after He says, "Your brother will rise again." She says, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

This is good. Martha knows the Old Testament. She responds with a known creed. She had likely memorized this truth from a young age. She knows Job 19:25-26: "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God."

Martha does indeed believe and affirm the truth of Scripture. But I want you to be mindful today of the reality that it is very possible to—well, let me put it to you this way: There is a significant difference between knowing the truth and experiencing the power of that truth in your life.

She did believe Lazarus would rise then, in the far-off future. But Jesus wasn't just talking about then. He's also talking about the here and now. She had faith, but her faith was like an antique in the attic. It has value, but we practically get nothing out of it.

Can I just ask you—is that your faith this morning? Like an antique in the attic? Affirmation of truths, but no real power, no experience of the truth that you confess?

If you go to church once a year on Easter, that's probably you. And if you're in the church every single week, twice on Sunday, once on Wednesday, in a Friday morning Bible study—that could also be you.

It's one thing to know the answers. It's another thing to experience the truth that they convey.

Martha says, "Yes, I believe in the resurrection."
Jesus says, "I am the resurrection."
Martha says, "I believe in life after death."
Jesus says, "I am the life."
Martha says, "I know we are all going to die."
Jesus says, "If you believe in Me, you will live even if you die."

And while Martha's doctrine was spot-on, so often we view doctrine through a depersonalized lens. So Jesus says, "I am the doctrine."

The truth of the resurrection isn't a precious antique that has value but we store it in the attic of our heart for one day a year. This is the very basis upon which you live your entire life.

Paul prays in Philippians 3:10, "Oh, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection." I want to know the power of His resurrection. Don't you? I want it to change my life. I want to know more of that power next year than I do today.

Stay dialed in