A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                            A FAVOURED HOME PART XIV 

"I, Martha, am living in Bethany with my sister Mary and my now deceased brother Lazarus....Our very good Friend Jesus has come to see us with His twelve disciples.... We have gone to the tomb where Lazarus is buried.... He has been in it for four days now.... That means his body will be giving off a very bad odour.... Nevertheless, Jesus told us to remove the stone in front of the tomb.... But I told Him we should not do so under the circumstances.... Now Jesus has been around dead bodies but they were not dead for long periods.... I remember the widow's only son from Nain.... He was dead for just a few hours when Jesus raised him from the dead....And I remember Jairus' young daughter... She was not dead for very long either... In her case, Jesus went to the house... Her body was still on her bed.... Jesus simply took her hand and told her to get up... And she did!!... It was quite a miracle."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of the time that Jesus raised a young girl from the dead....

                    ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                             A FAVOURED HOME PART XIV

The second story Martha remembers is about a twelve-year old girl. Luke writes about it in Luke 8:40-42

Now when Jesus returned a crowd welcomed Him, for they were all expecting Him. Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with Him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

She died, in fact, but Jesus brought her back to life as you can read in Luke 8:53-55

They laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead. He took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" Her spirit returned and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

When Jesus brought this young girl back to life, she had only been dead a few hours and her body had, therefore, not yet started to decompose and give off a very unpleasant odour.

   

                           A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                 A FAVOURED HOME PART XIII

"I, Martha, am living in Bethany with my sister Mary and our now deceased brother Lazarus.... We have a very good friend named Jesus.... He had come to see us after our brother Lazarus had died.... We had gone with Him to the tomb.... Very likely, He had gone there with us to mourn the loss of our brother,.... Interestingly, while there He told us to remove the stone from the tomb.... I warned Him that He should not have the stone removed because of the terrible odour.... No doubt, Jesus would not have been aware of this problem even though He had been around dead bodies....One of them was the body of the only son of a widow.... Jesus had met the funeral procession when the mourners were on their way to the tomb to bury him..... The son of this widow would, therefore, have been dead only a few hours.... That would have meant his body was not yet giving off a bad odour... And Jesus at the very moment that He met this procession raised the young man back to life... Praise God.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Jesus raised the only son of a widow back to life a few hours after his death....

 

                   ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                               A FAVOURED HOME PART XIII 

The first story Martha remembers is about the widow's son who had been raised from the dead as you can read in Luke 7:11-15

Soon afterwards Jesus went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a large crowd went along with Him. As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out -  the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, "Don't cry." Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother."

Martha remembers that the son of this widow had only been dead for a few hours before Jesus brought him back to life. This would have meant that his body had no time to decompose so there had not yet been a terrible smell.

 

 

 

                                  A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                A FAVOURED HOME PART XII

"I, Martha, am the sister of Mary and the now deceased Lazarus.... We live in Bethany.... Our good Friend Jesus has come to us with His twelve disciples... We are happy that He is here with us... But we are sad that He did not come any earlier.... He could have prevented the death of our brother Lazarus if He had come earlier.... But He did not.... We have now all gathered around the tomb where we have laid Lazarus.... Many of our friends and neighbours are here with us... We do not quite know why Jesus wanted to go to the tomb.... Perhaps He wants to mourn the loss of Lazarus with us.... It seems He has something else in mind.... For He has told us to remove the stone in front of the tomb.... However, that is not a good idea.... Lazarus ha been in this tomb for four days already... I better explain to Jesus certain facts since He has never been around a person who has been dead for such a long time."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn why Martha decides she needs to explain some facts to Jesus....

                 ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                               A FAVOURED HOME PART XII

Once again, the ever practical Martha speaks up as you can read in John 11:39b

"But Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odour, for her has been there for four days."

Martha knows that the body of a person who has been dead for four days has decomposed already to such a degree that it will give off a terrible smell. Perhaps, Jesus does not realise that. After all, He has never been around a person who has been dead for such a long time. Every time that He has been around a dead peron that person had only been dead for a few hours and, in each case, He had brought that person back to life as Martha remembers from the stories she has heard.

 

               

                             A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES 

                                           A FAVOURED HOME PART XI

"I, Jesus, am in Bethany with My twelve disciples.... We arrived earlier today...In this villlage live our close friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus....I have just met with Martha and Mary.... It was not a happy occasion... Their brother Lazarus had become ill and had died.... As a matter of fact, he has been in the tomb for four days already.... Both sisters were upset when they saw Me... They had expected Me to come to Bethany earlier... But I know that I am here at the perfect time as directed by My heavenly Father,,, He is never too early or too late.... He is always on time.... And I am always on time as well.... We have just gone to the tomb... It is time for the stone in front of the tomb to be removed.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Jesus has gone to the tomb where Lazarus' body has been laid...

 

               ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                           A FAVOURED HOME PART XI

Mary's grief moves the Lord to tears. Afterwards He goes to the tomb where Lazarus' body has been laid. At His arrival he tells the people to remove the stone as you can read in John 11:38-39a

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said.

When Jesus arrives at the tomb, He has an unusual request.Everyone who has gone to the graveside with Him will have looked at Him with questioning eyes for they do not understand why He would want the gravestone removed.

 

 

         

 

                          A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                          A FAVOURED HOME PART X

"I, Mary, am living in Bethany.... I live here with my sister Martha and my brother Lazarus.... We have a very special Friend .... His Name is Jesus... He often comes over for a meal with His twelve disciples.... We love to see them.... .Not too long ago our brother Lazarus became ill.... We were confident that Jesus would come to us to heal him....But He did not do so.... Lazarus then died.... We had to bury him.... Friends came over to comfort us in our loss... They told us Jesus had finally arrived just outside Bethany.... Martha went to see Him... When she returned she told me Jesus wanted to see me....So I got up and went to meet Him.... The moment I saw Jesus I fell at His feet.... My tears started to roll down my cheeks... I told Jesus of my pain that Lazarus would have still been alive if He had been here.... Jesus understood my pain... He wept with me."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of Mary's encounter with Jesus...

             ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                       A FAVOURED HOME PART X

When Mary sees Jesus, she shows Him her grief using the exact same words her sister Martha used earlier on, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

However, she does not say these words to tell Jesus off, she says these words to share her deep felt pain with the Lord as you can read in John 11:32-27

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled."Where have you laid him?" He asked. "Come and see, Lord,"they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man kept this man from dying?"

Martha's words did not move Jesus to tears but Mary's words cause Him to weep with her.

 

                              A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                           A FAVOURED HOME PART IX 

"I, Mary, live in Bethany.... I live together with my sister Martha and my brother Lazarus.... We have a very special Friend.... His Name is Jesus..... He likes to come over for a meal with His twelve disciples.... We love to see them.... I love listening to Jesus..... Martha sometimes gets a little upset with me for not being helpful enough in the kitchen.... Recently, our brother Lazarus got ill.... Martha and I sent a message to Jesus asking Him to come over.... We just knew He would do so right away....But to our shock He did not come.... Our brother died... We were heartbroken.... I did not understand why Jesus had not come to heal him... I knew that He loved Lazarus....Jesus finally arrived in Bethany... Martha went to see Him.... But I could not... So I stayed home.... However, when Martha came back she told me Jesus wanted to speak with me..... I then got up and went to the place where Jesus was just outside Bethany... Our friends who had come over to mourn with us joined me... They thought I was on my way to my brother's tomb."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Martha tells her sister Mary Jesus would like to see her....

                  ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                 A FAVOURED HOME PART IX

Jesus' words to Martha bring her a measure of comfort so she goes home to tell her sister Mary that Jesus has arrived in the village and would like to see her as you can read in John 11:28-31

And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him.When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

Mary decides to go and see Jesus as well when she learns from Martha that Jesus is looking for her.

 

                                 A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                              A FAVOURED HOME PART VIII

"I, Martha, am living in Bethany.... I live here with my sister Mary and my brother Lazarus.... We have a very special Friend.... His Name is Jesus... He often comes over for a meal with His twelve disciples.... Recently, our brother Lazarus got ill....Mary and I asked Jesus to come over to heal him.... We were convinced He would do so.... But He did not!!.... Our brother then died!!... We had to bury him.... That should not have happened!1.... Our brother should not have died.... He should still be alive.... I could not really believe that Lazarus was no longer with us.... Everything in the house reminded me of him.... His seat at the dinner table... I could not stop crying.... But I had to.... There were chores to be done.... Meals to be cooked... We had many friends come over to share in our mourning.... I had to provide them with some nourishment... Some of them had, in fact, come over to tell us that Jesus had finally arrived in Bethany.... Jesus had arrived in Bethany!!... I knew I needed to see Him for I needed to let Him know how I felt about the fact that He had come too late even though I know that He is the Son of God.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn of Jesus' arrival in Bethany when Martha goes to see Him....

                     ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                    A FAVOURED HOME PART VIII

The ever practical Martha decides that she needs to tell Jesus off for not coming any sooner as you can read in John 11:20-27

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home. "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "If You had been here my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give You whatever You ask." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told Him, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

Having poured out her heart to Jesus, Martha is then ready to acknowledge that Jesus is none other than the Son of God.

 

                             A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                         A FAVOURED HOME PART VII 

"I, Martha, am living in Bethany... I live together with my sister Mary and my brother Lazarus.... We have a very special Friend.... His Name is Jesus.... He often comes over for a meal with His twelve disciples.... We always love to see them.... The other day our brother Lazarus became ill.... Mary and I sent a message to Jesus straight away.... We were expecting Jesus to come to us as soon as possible... In fact, we were absolutely confident He would do so.... But He did not!! And our brother got more and more ill.... Then the unthinkable happened!!... He died!!.... We had to bury him that same day.... That is  four days ago.... Many of our friends have come to mourn with us... No one dares to mention the Name of Jesus.... Like us, they do not understand why He has not come to us when we needed Him to.... If Jesus were to come now, it would be too late.... There really is no point for Him to come now.... What good could He do if He came now?.... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that by the time Jesus comes to Bethany, Lazarus has been dead for four days already....

                   ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                             A FAVOURED HOME PART VII

By the time that Jesus arrives in Bethany it  looks like He has come too late as you can read in John 11:17-19

On His arrival Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem and many Jews had  come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.

Lazarus has been dead for four days when Jesus comes to Bethany so there is not really any point to His visit it seems.