John 11:27

Joh 11:27. She saith, Yea, Lord — I am fully persuaded of the truth of thy declaration; for I believe that thou art the Christ, &c. — Here we have Martha’s good confession, the same with that for which Peter was commended, Mat 16:16-17, where see the notes. Dr. Campbell reads, I believe that thou art the Messiah, the Son of God, he who cometh into the world; observing that the passage contains three titles, which should be distinctly marked as three different denominations, or descriptions, by which the same great personage was distinguished; and that the last two of them are improperly compounded into one in our translation. He observes, also, that the last-mentioned title is not properly, he who should come, but, he who cometh. By replying, that she believed him to be the promised Messiah, Martha intimated that she confided implicitly in every thing he said, and that there was no instance of power whatsoever, which he was pleased to claim, that exceeded her belief. Probably she began to entertain some confused expectation of her brother’s immediate resurrection; although afterward, when she considered the greatness of the thing more deliberately, many doubts arose in her mind concerning it, Joh 11:39.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John

CHRIST’S QUESTION TO EACH

For the Young

Joh 11:26 - Joh 11:27.

As each of these annual sermons which I have preached for so long comes round, I feel more solemnly the growing probability that it may be the last. Like a man nearing the end of his day’s work, I want to make the most of the remaining moments. Whether this is the last sermon of the sort that I shall preach or not, it is certainly the last of the kind that some of you will hear from me, or possibly from any one.

So, dear friends, I have felt that neither you nor I can afford to waste this hour in considering subjects of secondary interest, appropriate as some of them might be. I wish to come to the main point at once, and to press upon you all, and especially on the younger portion of this audience, the question of your own personal religion.

The words of my text, as you will probably remember, were addressed by our Lord to Martha, as she was writhing in agony over her dead brother. Christ proclaims, with singular calmness and majesty, His character and work as the Resurrection and the Life, and then seeks to draw her from her absorbing sorrow to an effort of faith which shall grasp the truths He proclaims. He flashes out this sudden question, like the swift thrust of a gleaming dagger. It is a demand for credence to His assertion-on His bare word-tremendous as that assertion is. And nobly was the demand met by the as swift, unfaltering answer, ‘Yea, Lord,’ I believe in Thee, and so I believe in Thy word.

Now, friends, Jesus Christ is putting the same question to each of us. And I pray that our answers may be Martha’s.

I. Note, first, the significance of the question.

‘This.’ What is this? The answer will tell us what are the central essential facts, faith in which makes a Christian. Of course the form in which our Lord’s previous utterance was cast was coloured by the circumstances under which He spoke, and was so shaped as to meet the momentary exigency. But whilst thus the form is determined by the fact that He was speaking to a heart wrung by separation, and as a preliminary to a mighty act of resurrection, the essential truths which are so expressed are those which, as I believe, constitute the fundamental truths of Christianity-the very core and heart of the Gospel.

Turn, then, but for a moment, to what immediately precedes my text. Our Lord says three things. First, He asserts His supernatural character and divine relation to life: ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life.’ Next, He declares that it is possible for Him to communicate to dying and to dead men a life which triumphs over death, and laughs at change, and persists through the superficial experience which we christen by the name of Death, unaffected, undiminished, as some sweet spring might gush up in the heart of a salt, solitary sea. And then He declares that the condition on which He, the Life-giver, gives of His immortal life to dying men, is their trust in Him. These three-His character and work, the gifts of which His hands are full, and the way by which the gifts may be appropriated by us men-these three are, as I take it, the central facts of Christianity. ‘Believest thou this?’

The question comes to us all; and in these days of unsettlement it is well to have some clear understanding of what is the ‘irreducible minimum’ of Christian teaching. I take it that it lies here. There are two opposite errors which, like all opposite errors, are bolted together, and revolve round a common centre. The one of them is the extreme conservative tendency which regards every pin and bolt of the tabernacle as if it were equally sacred with the altar and the ark. And the other is the tendency which christens itself ‘liberal and progressive,’ and which is always ready to exchange old lamps, though they have burnt brightly in the past, for new ones that are as yet only glittering metal and untried. In these days, when it is a presumption against any opinion, that our fathers believed it {an error into which young people are most prone to fall}, and when, by the energy of contradiction, that error has evoked, and is evoking, the opposite exaggeration that adheres to all that is traditional, to all that has been regarded as belonging to the essentials of the Christian faith, and so is fearful, trembling for the Ark of God when there is no need, let us fall back upon these great words of the Master, and see that the things which constitute the living heart of His message and gift to the world are neither more nor less than these three: the supernatural Christ, the life which He imparts, and the condition on which He bestows it. ‘Believest thou this?’ If you do, you need take very little heed of the fluctuations of contemporary opinion as to other matters, valuable and important as these may be in their place; and may let men say what they will about disputed questions-about the method by which the vehicle of revelation has been created and preserved, about the regulation of the external forms of the Church, about a hundred other things that men often lose their tempers and spoil their Christianity by fighting for, and fall back upon the great central verity, a Christ from above, the Giver of Life to all that put their trust in Him.

Let me expand this question for you. ‘We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God’-’believest thou this?’ ‘We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ’-’believest thou this?’ ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish’-’believest thou this?’ ‘The Son of Man came . . . to give His life a ransom for many’-’believest thou this?’ ‘Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’-’believest thou this?’ ‘Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept’-’believest thou this?’ ‘I go to prepare a place for you’-’believest thou this?’ ‘Where I am there shall also My servant be’-’believest thou this?’ ‘So shall we ever be with the Lord’-’believest thou this?’ That is Christianity; and not theories about inspiration, and priesthood, and sacramental efficacy, or any of the other thorny questions which have, in the course of ages, started up. Here is the living centre; hold fast, I beseech you, by it.

Then, again, the significance of this question is in the direction of making clear for us the way by which men lay hold of these great truths. The truths are of such a sort as that merely to say, ‘Oh yes, I believe it; it is quite true!’ is by no means sufficient. If a man tells me that two parallel lines produced ever so far will never meet, I say, ‘Yes, I believe it’; and there is nothing more to be done or said. If a man says to me, ‘Two and two make four,’ I say, ‘Yes’; and there my assent ends. If a man says, ‘It is right to do right,’ it is quite clear that the attitude of intellectual assent, which was quite enough for the other order of statements, is not enough for this one; and to merely say, ‘Oh yes, it is right to do right,’ is by no means the only attitude which we ought to take in regard to such a truth. And if God comes to me and says, ‘Thou art a sinful man, and Jesus Christ has died for thee; and if thou takest Him for thy Saviour thou shalt be saved in this life, and saved for ever,’ it is just as clear that no mere acceptance of the saying as a verity exhausts my proper attitude in reference to it. Or to come to plainer words, no man will really, and out and out, and adequately, believe this gospel unless he does a great deal more than assent to it or refrain from contradicting it.

So I desire to urge this form of the question on you now. Dear brethren, do you trust in ‘this,’ which you say you believe? There is no greater enemy of the Christian faith than the ordinary lazy-what the philosophers call otiose, which is only a grand word for lazy-assent of the understanding, because men will not take the trouble to contradict it or think about it.

That is the sort of Christianity which is the Christianity of a good many church and chapel-goers. They do not care enough about the subject to contradict the ordinary run of belief. Of all impotent things there is nothing more impotent than a creed which lies idly in a man’s head, and never has touched his heart or his will. Why, I should get on a great deal better if I were talking to people that had never heard anything about the gospel than I have any chance of getting on with you, who have been drenched with it all your days, till it goes over you and runs off like water off a duck’s back. The shells that were hurled against the earthworks of Sebastopol broke away the front surface of the mounds, and then the rubbish protected the fortifications; and that is what happens with many of my hearers. You have heard the gospel so often that the debris of your old hearings is raised between you and me, and my words cannot get at you. ‘Believest thou this?’-not in the fashion in which people stand up in church or chapel and look about them and rattle off the Creed every Sunday of their lives, and attach not the ghost of an idea to a single clause of it; but in the sense that the conviction of these truths is so deep in your hearts that it moves your whole nature to cast yourselves on Jesus Christ as your Saviour and your all. That is the belief to which alone the life that is promised here will come. Oh! brethren, I have no business to ask you the question, and you have no need to answer it to me! Sometimes good, well-meaning people do a mint of harm by pushing such questions into the faces of people unprepared. But take the question into your own hearts, and remember what belief is, and what it is that you have to believe, and answer according to its true significance, and in the light of conscience, the solemn question that I press upon you.

II. Now, secondly, let me ask you to think of what depends upon the answer.

In the case before us-if I may look back to it for an instant-there is a very illuminative instance of what did depend upon it. Martha had to believe that Christ was the Resurrection and the Life as a condition precedent to her seeing that He was so. For, as He said Himself before He spoke the mighty word which raised Lazarus, ‘Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?’ and so her faith was the condition of her being able to verify the facts which her faith grasped. Well, let me put that into plainer words. It is just this-a man gets from Christ what he trusts Christ to give him, and there is no other way of proving the truth of His promises than by accepting His promises, and then they fulfil themselves. You cannot know that a medicine will cure you till you swallow it. You must first ‘taste’ before you ‘see that God is good.’ Faith verifies itself by the experience it brings.

And what does it bring? I said, all for which a man trusts Christ. All is summed up in that one favourite word of our Lord as revealed in this fourth Gospel, which includes in itself everything of blessedness and of righteousness-life, life eternal. Dear brethren, you and I, apart from Jesus Christ, are dead in trespasses and sins. The life that we live in the flesh is an apparent life, which covers over the true death of separation from God. And you young people, fix this in your minds at the beginning, it will save you many a heartache, and many an error-there is nothing worth calling life, except that which comes to a quiet heart submissive and enfranchised through faith in Jesus Christ. And if you will trust yourselves to Him, and answer this question with your ringing ‘Yea, Lord!’ then you will get a life which will quicken you out of your deadness; a life which will mould you day by day into more entire beauty of character and conformity with Himself; a life which will shed sweetness and charm over dusty commonplaces, and make sudden verdure spring in dreary, herbless deserts; a life which will bring a solemn joy into sorrow, a strength for every duty; which will bring manna in the wilderness, honey from the rock, light in darkness, and a present God for your sufficient portion; a life which will run on into the dim glories of eternity, and know no change but advancement, through the millenniums of ages.

But, dear brethren, whilst thus, on condition of their faith, the door into all divine and endless blessedness and progress is flung wide open for men, do not forget the other side of the issues which depend on this question. For if it is true that Jesus Christ is Life, and the Source of it, and that faith in Him is the way by which you and I get it, then there is no escape from the solemn conclusion that to be out of Christ, and not to be exercising faith in Him, is to be infected with death, and to be shut up in a charnel-house. I dare not suppress the plain teaching of Jesus Christ Himself: ‘He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not the Son hath not life.’ The issues that depend upon the answer to this question of my text may be summed up, if I may venture to say so, by taking the words of our Lord Himself and converting them into their opposite. He said, ‘He that believeth . . . though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die.’ That implies, He that believeth not in Christ, though he were living, yet shall he die, and whosoever liveth and believeth not shall never live. These are the issues-the alternative issues-that depend on your answer to this question.

III. And now, lastly, let me ask you to think of the direct personal appeal to every soul that lies in this question.

I have dwelt upon two out of the three words of which the question is composed-’believest thou this?’ Let me dwell for a moment on the third of them-’believest thou?’

Now that suggests the thought on which I do not need to dwell, but which I seek briefly to lay upon your hearts and consciences-viz., the intensely personal act of your own faith, by which alone Jesus Christ can be of any use to you. Do not be led away by any vague notions which people have about the benefits of a Church or its ordinances. Do not suppose that any sacraments or any priest can do for you what you have to do in the awful solitude of your own determining will-put out your hand and grasp Jesus Christ. Can any person or thing be the condition or channel of spiritual blessing to you, except in so far as your own individual act of trust comes into play? You must take the bread with your own hands, you must masticate it with your own teeth, you must digest it with your own organs, before it can minister nourishment to your blood and force to your life. And there is only one way by which any man can come into any vital and life-giving connection with Jesus Christ, and that is, by the exercise of his own personal faith.

And remember, too, that as the exercise of uniting trust in Jesus Christ is exclusively your own affair, so exclusively your own affair is the responsibility of answering this question. To you alone is it addressed. You, and only you, have to answer it.

There was once a poor woman who went after Jesus Christ, and put out a pale, wasted, tremulous finger to touch the hem of His garment. His fine sensitiveness detected the light pressure of that petitioning finger, and allowed virtue to go out, though the crowd surged about Him and thronged Him. No crowds come between you and Jesus Christ. You and He, the two of you, have, so to speak, the world to yourselves, and straight to you comes this question, ‘Believest thou?’

Ah! brethren, that habit of skulking into the middle of the multitude, and letting the most earnest appeal from the pulpit go diffused over the audience is the reason why you sit there quiet, complacent, perhaps wholly unaffected by what I am trying to make a pointed, individual address. Suppose all the other people in this place of worship were away but you and I, would not the word that I am trying to speak come with more force to your hearts than it does now? Well, think away the world and all its millions, and realise the fact that you stand in Christ’s presence, with all His regard concentrated upon you, and that to thee individually this question comes from a gracious, loving heart, which longs that you answer, ‘Yea, Lord, I believe!’

Why should you not? Suppose you said to Him, ‘No, Lord, I do not’; and suppose He said, ‘Why do you not?’ what do you think you would say then? You will have to answer it one day, in very solemn circumstances, when all the crowds will fall away, as they do from a soldier called out of the ranks to go up and answer for mutiny to his commanding officer. ‘Every one of us shall give an account of himself,’ and the lips that said so lovingly at the grave of Lazarus, ‘Believest thou this?’ and are saying it again, dear friend, to you, even through my poor words, will ask it once more. For this is the question the answer to which settles whether we shall stand at His right hand or at His left. Say now, with humble faith, ‘Yea, Lord!’ and you will have the blessing of them who have not seen, and yet have believed.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 11:27. Ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα, I have believed and do believe) Martha replies with ready mind, I have taken up this faith.—σύ) Thou, who art come into the world, art the Son of God. This knowledge of the truth concerning Jesus Christ includes all the rest. [She testifies that she has faith in the word of Jesus, even though she did not fully understand it. This forms the analogue to the faith of Peter; ch. Joh 6:68-69, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life: and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”—A faith much more serene, than if one were to say, I believe whatever the Church believes.—V. g.]—ἐρχόμενος) Present; Mat 11:3.[299] For as yet He was only becoming known.

[299] σὺ εἷ ὁ ἐρχόμενος; the Comer: He that should come.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_11:27-28. Marthas answer affirms the question, and gives the reason for the affirmation; for to Messiah alone could and ought thanks to be due for that which is mentioned in Joh_11:25 f.[83]

ἘΓΏ] With the emphasis of conscious assurance.

ΠΕΠΊΣΤΕΥΚΑ] I have convinced myself, and believe. Comp. Joh_6:69.

Ὁ ΧΡΙΣΤῸς, Ὁ ΥἹῸς ΤΟῦ ΘΕΟῦ] The second predicate, although conceived by Martha still in the popular theocratic sense, and not yet understood in its essentially divine import (comp. on Joh_1:50), satisfactorily expresses her faith in the divinely-conferred ἐξουσία of her friend, and is correlative to the Ὁ ΕἸς Τ. ΚΌΣΜ. ἘΡΧΌΜΕΝΟς, and to be connected with it. The present ἐρχόμενος is employed because she looks for the advent of the Messiah as close at hand. Compare on Mat_11:3; Luk_2:25; Luk_2:38.

Joh_11:28. That Martha called her sister at the bidding of Jesus, is clear from καὶ φωνεῖ σε; and any doubt as to whether He actually commissioned her to do so is baseless (Brückner, compare Tholuck; Hengstenberg, after Chrysostom).

ΛΆΘΡΑ] not ΦΑΝΕΡῶς, that is, whispering these words to her secretly, so that the Ἰουδαῖοι in Joh_11:31 who were presentthese men so hostilely disposed towards the beloved Teachermight not observe what she should say to her, in order that they might not disturb the further consolation and elevation which she now, with the faith in her heart that she had just so decidedly expressed, expected for her sister and herself from Jesus.

ὁ διδάσκ.] This designation, which had probably been customary in the family, was sufficiently intelligible to her sister; she did not need to mention His name, nor does she mention it, for the sake of secrecy. Compare Mar_14:14.

[83] The simple and full affirmation of what was asked is contained therefore in ναὶ, κύριε, and ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα is not a Confiteor in response to the question freely formed by Martha (Godet, after Lange); on the contrary, her Confiteor is contained in the words ναὶ, κύριε, and the further words πεπίστευκα, etc., express the holy foundation on which her ναί rested in her heart.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 11:27 . Martha believed this, as implicitly included in her belief in Jesus as the Messiah, Ναὶ , Κύριε … ἐρχόμενος . Resurrection and life were both Messianic gifts, but it is doubtful whether Martha fully understood what our Lord had said. Rather she falls back on what she did understand and believe. She will not claim to believe more than she is sure of; but if His statement is only an elaboration of His Messianic function, then she can truly say: Ναὶ , Κύριε . ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα , I have come to believe, I have reached the belief.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Yea, . . . I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, &c.--that is, And having such faith in Thee, I can believe all which that comprehends. While she had a glimmering perception that Resurrection, in every sense of the word, belonged to the Messianic office and Sonship of Jesus, she means, by this way of expressing herself, to cover much that she felt her ignorance of--as no doubt belonging to Him.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 27. Yea, Lord: I believe] πεπιστευκα, I have believed. Either meaning that she had believed this for some time past, or that, since he began to teach her, her faith had been considerable increased; but verbs preter, in Greek, are often used to signify the present. Martha here acknowledges Christ for the Messiah promised to their fathers; but her faith goes no farther; and, having received some hope of her brother's present resurrection, she waited for no farther instruction, but ran to call her sister.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Yes, Lord. To prove that she believes what she had heard Christ say about himself, that he is the resurrection and the life, Martha replies, that she believes that he is the Christ, and the Son of God; and indeed this knowledge includes the sum of all blessings; for we ought always to remember for what purpose the Messiah was promised, and what duty the prophets ascribe to him. Now when Martha confesses that it was he who was to come into the world, she strengthens her faith by the predictions of the prophets. Hence it follows, that we ought to expect from him the full restoration of all things and perfect happiness; and, in short, that he was sent to erect and prepare the true and perfect state of the kingdom of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(27) She saith unto him, Yea, Lord.—This is her assent to the question He asked. She believed all that He had told her. It is not that she expresses her belief, in answer to His question, in the remainder of this verse. The answer is simply “Yea, Lord.” Then she proceeds to give the foundation on which that answer rested.

I believe that thou art the Christ.—The word means, “I have believed, and do now;” “I have convinced myself, and do believe.” But this being so, convinced that He is the Messiah, she has in that conviction the ground for believing all that He has now taught her of Resurrection and Life.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. I believe] Literally, I have believed, i.e. I have convinced myself and do believe.

that thou art the Christ] She cannot have known the full import of her confession. With the Apostles she shared her countrymen’s imperfect views of the character and office of the Messiah. See on Joh_9:38.

which should come] Literally, that cometh. Comp. Joh_6:14; Mat_11:3; Luk_7:19; Deu_18:15. She believes that He has the powers mentioned in Joh_11:25-26, because He is the Messiah. How these powers will affect her own case she does not know, but with a vague hope of comfort in store for them all she returns to the house. See on Joh_1:9 and Joh_18:37.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when she had so said,.... Had expressed her faith in Christ in such terms, as the apostles themselves did, Mat 16:16 Joh 1:49.

She went her way; from Christ, being ordered by him to go to her sister Mary, and fetch her to him:

and called Mary her sister secretly; either beckoned her to come to her, or whispered her in the ear privately, as Nonnus paraphrases it, that the Jews, who were enemies to Christ, might not hear:

saying, the master is come; near the town; is not a great way off: she might use the phrase, "the master", for greater privacy, that should she be overheard, it would not be who she meant; and because it was an usual appellation by which Christ was called in that family, and by which he was well known; and was expressive of honour to him, and subjection in them as his disciples:

and calleth for thee; to come to him; Christ asked after her, desired to see her, and ordered her to come to him; which was an instance of his respect for her.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

Ver. 27. I believe that thou art the Christ] What could Peter say more? Mat 16:16. Damaris may be as dear to God as Dionysius, a woman (of no note otherwise) as an Areopagite, Act 17:34.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Yea, Lord - This was a noble confession. It showed her full confidence in him as the Messiah, and her full belief that all that he said was true. See Mat 16:16.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. Martha breaks out into an act of perfect faith. See Chap. i. ver. 49. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

This is the nearest to the confession of Peter, Mat 16:16, which our Saviour calleth, the rock upon which he would build his church, of any that we have in Scripture; yea, and more full than that, for those words, which should come into the world, are not in Peter’s confession. The sum of this is, Martha doth here profess a full assent to our Saviour as the Messias, the Son of God; he who was prefigured, prophesied of, promised, as he who should come into the world.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Yea… thou art the Christ—The even-minded Jewess can hardly ascend the height of these lofty hopes; but she believes in Christ, and all he promises is sure. The quiet and consoled confessor leaves and returns to her sister and her cares.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

She saith unto him: Yea, Lord. The reply admits the touto ; Many seem to think that Martha falls back on theocratic technicality after a high flight of faith, and leaves the solution of her deepest anxieties to the Lord. I have believed, not now for the first time, that thou art the Christ of all our highest hopes and of our prophetic Scripturesthe Son of God in the sense in which Nathanael, and the healed blind man, and the heroic Peter, and John the Baptist have regarded thee, not now dawning on the world as an unexpected apparition, but long since awaited even he that cometh into the world, the Hope of all, in fact, the Resurrection and the Life because the Christ, and the Christ because the Son of God. In her great faith these deeper truths, just announced, are implicitly involved.

A good confession.

Martha of Bethany, if we may judge from the little recorded of her, was an interesting and admirable character. She was not only warmhearted, frank, and practical, but one who thought clearly, and professed her faith with boldness and with no hesitation, no qualification. Where shall we find a confession of faith concerning Jesus more sound, more full, more ardent than this uttered by the sister of Lazarus of Bethany?

I THE CHARACTER AND EXTENT OF MARTHA"S FAITH IN JESUS. Observe the language which is indicative of this how it proceeds from point to point.

1. She calls Jesus "Lord." This would seem to be simply a title of courtesy, of respect, of rever ence. In itself the word may imply no more; when applied to Jesus it may be the acknowledgment of a special authority.

2. She calls him "the Christ." This sounds natural enough to us; but, coming from Martha of Bethany, how much does this designation involve! How hard it must have been for one of Jewish birth and training to recognize in the Prophet of Nazareth the foretold Anointed of God, the Deliverer of Israel, the Savior of mankind!

3. She calls him "the coming One," i.e. the Being foretold in Hebrew prophecy, possessing the nature, the authority, the offices, belonging to the Commissioned of God.

4. She calls him "the Son of God." This is, indeed, a lofty flight of faith; justified, it is true, by the fact, yet exciting our amazement and admiration.

II THE GROUNDS OF MARTHA"S FAITH. We cannot give a perfect account of these; but we can form a fair judgment as to the reasons and motives which led this woman to make a confession so remarkable and so just.

1. What she had seen Christ do. It is not credible that, intimate as were the members of her household with the Lord Jesus, she should never have witnessed any acts of Divine power such as he was wont to perform in every place where he discharged his ministry.

2. What she had heard Christ say. She too, like her sister, had often sat at the Master"s feet, and heard his Word. The teaching of him who spake as never man spake, produced upon her mind a deep and abiding impression; for such a Teacher her reverence could not be too great.

3. The impression she had received of his character. As Guest at Bethany, Jesus had afforded Martha many opportunities of judging of his nature; and her reason and her heart alike assured her that he was indeed Divine. It was a just judgment, and wisely formed.

III THE RECOMPENSE OF MARTHA"S FAITH. Her ardent and loving confession was not unrecognized or unrewarded. It brought her:

1. The sympathy of the Savior with her in her bitter sorrow.

2. The help of Jesus in her trouble help bestowed readily and graciously, help taking a form miraculous and glorious.

3. The encouragement of the Savior in her own spiritual life. His companionship became the means of strengthening her beautiful faith, and intensifying her ardent love. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

world

kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield "Mat 4:8").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, 1. The full confession which Martha makes of her faith in Christ: Thou art the Christ the Son of God, which should come into world. A confession which comes nearest to that of St. Peter (Mat 16:16.) of any that we meet with in scripture: nay, it seems more full than Peter’s confession; for those additional words, Which should come into the world, are not in his confession; the sum is, she believed Christ to be the very Messias who was typified and prefigured, prophesied of, and promised to, the Old Testament saints, as the person that in the fulness of time should come into the world for the redemption and salvation of it. Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

Hence learn, That Christ is never rightly believed in, nor regularly depended upon, for salvation, except he be owned and acknowledged to be the eternal Son of God. Martha was now fully persuaded of Christ’s divine nature, of which the best of the disciples, till after our Saviour’s resurrection, had but a faint and uncertain persuasion.

Observe, 2. How earnest and intent our Saviour was to dispatch the errand he came upon, namely, to raise Lazarus from the grave, and to comfort the two mournful sisters: he would not so much as enter the house, till he had effected his work: and therefore he goes straight to the grave, which probably was the place where Mary met him: Lord! It was thy meat and drink to do the will of thy Father: it was thy meat and drink by day, thy rest and repose by night. How unlike are we to thyself, if we suffer either our pleasures or our profits to divert us from our duty!

Observe, 3. What haste and speed Mary makes to attend upon our Saviour: she arose quickly, and came unto him. Mary’s love added wings to her motion. The Jews observing her hasty motion, have a loving suspicion that she is gone to the grave to weep there; but their thoughts were too low; for whilst they supposed that she went to a dead brother, she was waiting upon a living Saviour. And she that used to sit at Jesus’s feet, now falls at his feet, with an awful veneration: the very gesture was supplicatory. And her humble prostration was seconded with a doleful lamentation, Lord, hadst thou been here, any brother had not died: full of affection, but not free from frailty and infirmity; however Christ takes no notice of her errors and infirmity; but all the reply we hear of, is a compassionate groan, which the following verses acquaint us with.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. I believe that thou art the Christ, etc. He asks about her faith. She responds by the good confession that embraces all, Martha's creed, Peter's creed, the true “Apostles' creed,” the only creed of the Apostolic church.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

She said to him

"Martha said to Jesus"

Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God ... coming into the world

Martha believes that Jesus is Lord, the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of God.

Son of God

This is an important title for Jesus. (See: Translating Son and Father)

she went away and called her sister Mary

Mary is the younger sister of Martha. AT: "she went away and called her younger sister Mary" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Teacher

This is a title referring to Jesus.

is calling for you

"is asking that you come"

translationWords

lord

believe

Christ

Son of God

world

Mary (sister of Martha)

teacher

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

27. ναί, κύριε. With these words she accepts Christ’s declaration respecting Himself, and then states the creed which has enabled her to accept it. The change from πιστεύω (the natural answer) to ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα is remarkable: I, even I whom thou art questioning, have believed; i.e. have convinced myself and do believe; comp. Joh 6:69; 1Jn 4:16; 1Jn 5:10. The full meaning of her confession she cannot have known: like the Apostles she shared the current imperfect views of the character and office of the Messiah. see on Joh 9:38.

ὁ εἰς τ. κ. ἐρχόμενος. (Even) He that cometh into the world: comp. Joh 6:14; Mat 11:3; Luk 7:19; Deu 18:15. She believes that as the Messiah He has the powers mentioned Joh 11:25-26. How these will affect her own case, she does not know; but with a vague hope of comfort in store for them all she returns to the house. Ἔρχεσθαι εἰς τ. κόσμον is frequent in S. John (Joh 1:9, Joh 3:19, Joh 6:14, Joh 9:39, Joh 12:46, Joh 16:28, Joh 18:37): as applied to Christ it includes the notion of His mission (Joh 3:17, Joh 10:36, Joh 12:47; Joh 12:49, Joh 17:18). Not in the Synoptists.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27.] Her confession, though embracing the great central point of the truth in the last verse, does not enter fully into it. Nor does she (ver. 40) seem to have adequately apprehended its meaning. ὅτι μὲν μεγάλα περὶ ἑαυτοῦ εἶπεν, ἔγνω· πῶς δὲ ταῦτα εἶπεν, ἠγνόησε· διὰ τοῦτο ἕτερον ἐρωτηθεῖσα, ἕτερον ἀποκρίνεται,

ἐλώ, I, for my part: πεπίστευκα, have convinced myself, and firmly believe.’

ὁ ἐρχ.] Who should come: see reff.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. Martha’s reply is a confession of Jesus as the Messiah. It hardly goes farther; although, in terms, it embraces all that Jn. hopes his readers will reach, sc. that full faith which leads to life (20:31). She hastens to summon Mary, who may be expected to understand the mysterious sayings of Jesus better than she (cf. Luk 10:39).

Ναί. Cf. 21:15, 16 and Mar 7:28. She acquiesces in the truth of what Jesus had said, because she believed Him to be the Christ.

κύριε. See on v. 3.

ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα. With the perfect tense cf. 6:69 and 1Jn 4:16; ἐγώ is emphatic. Certainly Martha accepts the word of Jesus as true, for she has believed for some time past in His Messiahship. ὃτι σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός For the form of the confession σὺ εἶ, cf. 1:49, 6:69, Mar 8:29, Mat 16:16.

ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ—a recognised title of Messiah. See on 1:34 for its usage and significance. Cf. the note on 6:69 for the confession of Jesus as the Christ by Peter; and see further on v. 40. Note that the exact terms, ὁ χριστός, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, appear together again at 20:31, where Jn. defines the faith which he aims to inspire in his readers.

ὁ εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐρχόμενος. This is the way in which the coming Prophet was described in popular discourse (see 6:14, Mat 11:3). Jesus used the expression of Himself more than once (9:39, 16:28, 18:37).

Mary, Being Informed of Jesus’ Presence, Hastens to Speak to Him (vv. 28-32)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I believe [πεπιστευκα] . Literally, I have believed. The perfect tense. So Rev. Martha goes back to her previous belief, which consists in the recognition of Christ as her Lord. Whatever faith she has in this new revelation of Christ rests upon the truth that He is the Anointed, the Son of God, even He that cometh into the world.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 27. “She says to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

To see in this confession of Martha, as some have done, only a simple avowal of a want of understanding with reference to the preceding words of Jesus: “I do not comprehend all these profound things of which thou art speaking to me, but I hold thee to be the Messiah,” is strangely to depreciate its significance. This meaning would give to this scene which is of so grave import a character almost ridiculous. By her answer: Yes, Lord, Martha certainly appropriates to herself all that which Jesus has just affirmed respecting His person. Only, she does not feel herself in a condition to formulate spontaneously her faith in the things which are so new for her, and she makes use of terms which are familiar to her in order to express the thought that Jesus is to her all that which is greatest, and that, whatever He may affirm respecting His person, He will never say too much for the faith of her who speaks to Him. The Christ: the end of the theocratic revelations and dispensations; the Son of God:evidently something else than the Christ, unless there is an idle tautology here: the personage in whom God manifests Himself as in no other, and who is in an intimate and mysterious relation with God. The expression: who comes into the world, is not a third title, but an apposition explanatory of the two others. The present participleἐρχόμενος, who comes, is the present of idea: the one who, according to the divine promise, should come, and in fact comes. The world: the foreseen theatre of his Messianic activity. There is a great psychological truth in this reply of Martha: by designating Him thus, she implicitly acknowledges that He is indeed all that which He has said:the resurrection and the life. — ᾿Εγώ : I whom thou art questioning; πεπίστευκα (perfect): this is a conviction which I have gained.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.