in Bethany, there lived two sisters Mary and Martha with their brother Lazarus
they all adored Jesus and Jesus was very fond of them also
one day while Jesus was visiting them Martha was busy cleaning the house and preparing food
she wanted to be sure that Jesus was well taken care of
instead of helping her sister Mary sat at Jesus's feet listening to him speak
the harder Martha worked the more upset she was looking at her sister
there were many others who were also sitting with Mary while Martha was preparing a meal
finally, Martha complained
Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself
please tell her to help me, Martha Martha!
you are worried and distracted by many things, there is need of only one thing
mary has chosen the better part
when he said this Jesus was ignoring the traditional role of women and encouraging Mary to think and learn
he did not say that Martha's role of service was unimportant
what he did say was that being a disciple and learning about the ideas he was explaining was even more important
one day Lazarus their brother fell ill Mary and Martha were worried
their brother was sick very sick the sisters knew Lazarus might die soon so they immediately sent a message to Jesus
Jesus was preaching in Jerusalem when he got the message
master, there is a message from Bethany Mary and Martha wants to meet you urgently
Mary and Martha?
yes master do you know them?
of course, I know them how can I forget sweet Mary who washed my feet with perfume
and then wiped them with her hair I wonder what could be the matter that she wishes to see me so urgently
the message says that your dear friend Lazarus is very ill and might die
hmm Lazarus is ill is he but he will not die because of the illness
in fact, this illness will demonstrate to the people the glory of God
Jesus did not go to see his friends for the next two days
and after two days told his disciples
come it is now time to go to Bethany
my friend Lazarus is sleeping and I have to go and wake him up are you sure you want to go back there master
have you forgotten that not too long ago the Jews there were ready to stone you to death
if Lazarus is sleeping he will soon wake up why do you have to go there
don't worry
people realize their mistakes at some time or the other and you have not understood what I meant
when I said Lazarus is sleeping I meant that he is dead
if he is already dead then why do you want to risk your life and go there my lord
I have told you this is an opportunity for everyone to see the glory of God
when I go to Bethany to wake up Lazarus
the disciples were all confused
they just couldn't understand what Jesus was trying to say however they did not question him any further
and accompanied him to Bethany which was very close to Jerusalem
on hearing of Lazarus is dead several Jews from Jerusalem had come to Bethany to be with Martha and Mary to comfort them
when news of the arrival of Jesus became known Martha rushed there to meet him leaving Mary at home
ah my dear Martha I'm happy to see you after so long
oh Jesus we sent word to you to come here quickly if you had come sooner
Lazarus would not have died but I still have faith and hope in you
I know that if you ask God will grant your wish
calm down Martha please calm down
have faith in me and God your brother shall soon be alive and with you
oh I know that he will come alive when everyone else will which will be on the last day
no Martha your brother will become alive now
what do you mean master he has been dead and in the tomb for four days now
Jesus looked at Martha calmly and placed his hand on her shoulder
look at me Martha and tell me do you not have faith in me and in God
Martha held Jesus's hand looked up at him and said
my lord how can you even doubt my faith in you I trust you with my whole being
well then let's go and see Mary where is she
I'm sure she will be waiting anxiously she is at home my lord come let's go there I want to meet Mary also
so Jesus accompanied by Martha and his disciples went to Martha and Mary's home
as soon as Mary saw him she rushed up to him and repeated what Martha had said
Oh Lord Jesus why did you not come as soon as we send word to you if you had our brother would be alive today
Jesus embraced her and told her what he had told Martha trust me and God and letters shall soon be alive and with you
Mary was as surprised as Martha had been when she heard this
their brother had been dead and buried for four days how could he become alive
but she did not say anything as her faith in Jesus was also very strong
come lead me too when my friend Lazarus sleeps
everyone was very curious
they all knew Lazarus had died so how could he become alive again
so along with Jesus and His disciples Mary and Martha
a lot of other people marched towards the cave where Lazarus had been buried
on reaching there jesus saw that the mouth of the cave had been covered with a big stone
this Boulder has to be moved so that Lazarus can walk out the people were all amazed
no one had ever witnessed a dead person become alive again they looked at each other wondering what was going to happen
my lord, it has been four whole days since our dear brother was buried
his body will be smelling very badly by now
Mary, you say you have total faith in me and trust in me then why do you keep doubting me
no, no my lord, please don't mistake me I do trust you
well then get someone to move that big stone from the entrance of the cave
a few people came forward and pushed the heavy stone away from the entrance to the cave
some of the people immediately covered their noses with cloth
expecting a dirty smell from the decaying body however Jesus's disciples and those who believed in him slowly moved forward
Jesus went up to the cave and called out
Lazarus come out my dear friend look your sisters have come to receive you
everyone stood in shocked silence as a figure draped in white strips came to the mouth of the cave
ah my friend Lazarus so you have woken up
there was stunned disbelief on the faces of the people gathered around
who were witnessing this remarkable miracle performed by Jesus
Martha and Mary had tears of happiness running down their faces
they rushed forward to embrace their dear brother Lazarus then went and fell at Jesus's feet
my master you came, you came how could I have not come to you my friend
Lord Jesus, you are truly the Messiah the son of God
the people who witnessed Lazarus come to life fell at the feet of Jesus also
there was no doubt now in anyone's mind that Jesus was indeed their Savior