"Do you believe this?" This is the question Jesus asks Martha at the tomb of her brother Lazarus. Two thousand years later, it reaches us right where we are: in sickness, in waiting, in prayers that seem to go unanswered. This sermon walks through John 11, one of the best known passages in the Gospels, to make one simple but demanding point: the God of Jesus Christ is a God of love and grace, and the real question of your life is not "Can God?" but "Do you believe he is good, even when he delays?"
This message is meant both for the person who has not yet placed their faith in Christ and for the believer walking through a hard season. Because the question "Do you believe?" does not stop at the day of conversion. It comes back with every trial, every silence from God, every prayer that seems to arrive too late.
Article outline
- Bethany, a family loved by Jesus
- "The one you love is sick": the prayer of trust
- Why Jesus waits two more days
- Three Greek words for love: phileo, storge, agape
- Receiving God's love so you can love
- "Lazarus has fallen asleep": the death of a believer
- Do you believe in the God of love and grace?
1. Bethany, a family loved by Jesus
The story opens in Bethany, in the village of Mary and her sister Martha. John is careful to note that Mary is the one who will later anoint the Lord's feet and wipe them with her hair (John 12). This family (Martha, Mary, Lazarus) is known to Jesus. They are not strangers. They are his friends.
One day, Lazarus falls sick. His two sisters send word to Jesus: "Lord, the one you love is sick" (John 11:3). They add no request. No instructions, no healing plan. They know the relationship is enough. Jesus knows them, Jesus loves them, he will do what is right.
There is something very beautiful in this prayer. It dictates nothing to God. It lays out the situation, recalls the relationship, and lets Christ decide.
2. "The one you love is sick": the prayer of trust
Martha and Mary could have written a more urgent, more detailed message: "Come quickly, heal him, do not delay." They do not. They know who they are speaking to. They trust his heart.
This is what God expects of you today. When you pray, you do not have to convince God to love you, nor negotiate with him to get him to act. You can simply bring him the situation and say, "Lord, you know. Do according to your will." Trust does not mean always getting what you ask for; it means believing that God, in his love, will choose what is best.
3. Why Jesus waits two more days
Jesus's reaction is puzzling. He says, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory, so that God's Son may be glorified through it" (John 11:4). Then he waits two full days before setting out. Two days during which Lazarus dies.
Understand this well: it is not indifference. The text states plainly that Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus (John 11:5). He loves, and he waits. Why?
Because God's love is not reduced to making the problem disappear as fast as possible. Our human logic says: "If God loves me, he must spare me the suffering." God's logic says: "Because I love you, I am going to let you go through this so that your faith becomes unshakable and my glory is made known."
You have probably already prayed about a situation that did not resolve as quickly as you hoped. Maybe God did not even answer the way you wanted. Looking back, many believers testify: "If God had answered me the moment I wanted, I would never have sought him so deeply." The delay is not abandonment. It is sometimes the very place where God is digging a sturdier faith into you.
4. Three Greek words for love: phileo, storge, agape
A detail from the Greek text sheds light on the whole passage. When the sisters say "the one you love," they use the verb phileo, the love of affection, of friendship, between close friends (the root of "Philadelphia"). It is a real love, but one shaped by connection, bond, and mutual fondness.
In the Greek world, there is also storge, family affection between parents and children, and eros, the love between a man and a woman. Each of these loves depends on a bond, an emotion, a reciprocity.
Then, when John tells us that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (v. 5), he switches verbs. He uses agapao, the root of agape, the love that depends neither on affinity, nor on mood, nor on merit. A love that gives without expecting anything in return. This is the love Paul describes in Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus does not love Lazarus because Lazarus deserves it. He loves him with agape, a love that stays steady when everything else collapses. And this is the love God wants you to know.
5. Receiving God's love so you can love
Here is what the preacher stresses strongly: our greatest enemy is our lack of love. You are called to love your neighbor, to love your enemies, to pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). Be honest: on your own strength, you cannot do it. At best, you can produce a phileo, a little sympathy, a bit of patience for those you get along with.
You cannot produce agape. You can only receive it. God gives it to you through his Spirit, and he gives it to you as you ask for it. This is where the spiritual battle is fought: not in "I must try harder," but in "Lord, fill me with your love, because I do not have enough for this person, for this situation, for this day."
Do not collapse in on yourself when you notice your heart is dry. Turn instead to the one who has love in abundance, and ask. He gives to whoever asks.
6. "Lazarus has fallen asleep": the death of a believer
Jesus tells his disciples, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up" (John 11:11). The disciples think he is talking about ordinary sleep. Jesus has to clarify: "Lazarus is dead" (v. 14).
This way of speaking is not accidental. In the Bible, the vocabulary of "sleep" to describe death is reserved for the righteous, for those who belong to God. Physical death still happens to the believer, but it is no longer true death, because resurrection is promised. Christ went first; those who belong to him follow.
That is why Jesus can say to Martha, a few verses later:
"I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)
This word is not a vague comfort. It is a promise tied to a person. It is not "believe a doctrine," it is "believe in me."
7. Do you believe in the God of love and grace?
Jesus's question to Martha is also his question for you today.
If you have never placed your faith in Christ, the question is direct: do you believe he is who he says he is? Do you believe his death and resurrection are enough to forgive you and give you eternal life?
If you are already a believer, the question comes back in another form: in this trial you are going through, in this prayer that seems unanswered, in this silence that drags on, do you believe God is still a God of love and grace? Do you believe he loves you with agape, even when you do not understand?
Martha answered, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God" (John 11:27). This is not a theoretical answer. She says it before her brother comes out of the tomb. She believes when she still sees nothing. That is faith.
Key takeaways
- Prayer is not a set of instructions handed to God; it is trust that lays out the situation and lets Christ decide.
- God's delay is never abandonment: he is often working out a greater glory through the waiting.
- God's love (agape) does not depend on your merit, your condition, or your spiritual performance.
- You cannot produce agape by your own strength. You receive it from the Father and let it flow through you.
- The death of a believer is a sleep: the resurrection in Christ permanently changes the face of death.
Personal application
- What current situation are you tempted to blame God for because he is "delaying"? Can you place it back in his hands, as Martha and Mary did?
- Where in your life are you trying to love by your own strength (phileo) when God is inviting you to ask him for his love (agape)?
- Is there someone you find impossible to love? Tell God clearly and ask him for his love for that person.
- Do you personally believe, today, the promise of John 11:25-26? What would concretely change in your week if you took it seriously?
- Who around you could you gently ask this question of Jesus: "Do you believe this?"
Verses cited
- John 11:1-4 · Lazarus's sickness and the promise of glory
- John 11:5-6 · Jesus loves and yet stays two more days
- John 11:11-14 · "Lazarus has fallen asleep"
- John 11:25-27 · "I am the resurrection and the life"
- Romans 5:8 · God demonstrates his love for us
- Matthew 5:44 · Love your enemies
FAQ
Why did Jesus wait two days before going to Lazarus?
Not out of indifference. The text explicitly states that he loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. He waits so that God's glory would be fully revealed through the resurrection, and so that the faith of those who witness the miracle would be strengthened. The waiting is part of his love, not a sign of his absence.
What does "do you believe this?" mean in John 11:26?
Jesus is not asking Martha whether she agrees with an abstract idea about resurrection. He is asking whether she believes in him as the resurrection and the life. Biblical faith is not first an intellectual conviction: it is trust placed in the person of Christ.
How can I love someone I cannot stand?
Start by honestly admitting that you are not capable of it. Then ask God for his love for that person. Agape is not a heroic effort on your part; it is a gift the Holy Spirit pours into your heart when you ask him for it.
to take notes and ask questions.