John 11:17-27
Trusting Christ in Trials
Have you ever thought about the difference between a need and a want?
One day last week Annie turned to me and said she was having a pregnancy craving for Chinese food. Well we were stuck at home last week because we didn’t have a working car and the nearest Chinese restaurant was a mile and a half away – and uphill both ways. In my great wisdom I began to lecture her about the differences between wants and needs. I said things like often times spiritual growth comes by denying our wants – which you can probably imagine she was hanging on every word.
…..And so as I was walking to the restaurant I realized that I needed her to have some Chinese food.
Needs and wants. Martha and Mary wanted their brother to get better and not die, but, what they needed was to see a resurrection. The disciples wanted to stay away from Judea, but, they needed to go because they needed to see a resurrection. Often we want something and we pray and pray for it, but, God knows what we need.
Often Jesus did and said things that confused everyone around Him. Often we are confused about what the Lord is doing until He has done it. The hardest part may very well be the waiting - waiting until He is finished with His plan and we see clearly what He has done. Up until that point it requires our trust in Him, our waiting on Him, and our believing in Him.
In that time we may want Him to do things and pray for those things but find that our prayers go unanswered. We may not know why they are not answered, but, we can know that always He has our highest good in mind. We can know that what He is doing is the best thing that could possibly be done. We can say with Paul that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
When Jesus hears the news that Lazarus is sick, He doesn’t immediately go to him. Sometimes the Lord lets it get so bad before He makes it so good. Sometimes there is no way to see the good thing He is doing unless first we see how bad it really becomes.
Martha, Mary, and the disciples were learning to trust Jesus in the trials and dangers of life. Trusting and believing in Him is the point of it all. The word for “believe” occurs 8 times in this chapter. It occurs 100 times in this gospel. Believing in Jesus is the central message of John’s Gospel.
Where do you turn when hardship comes? Some people respond the right way – they go to God’s Word and to prayer and to mature godly believers. Some respond in the wrong ways – destructive behaviors like drinking, drugs, pleasure, escapism, horoscopes, worldly friends with worldly wisdom. They get bitter and cynical.
But today I want us to see in our passage today some key elements of Trusting Christ in our Trials. And to do that there are 4 things that we can trust about Christ.
#1: Trust that Jesus is Present with You (v20)
The first thing we ought to remember is to trust that Jesus is present. Verse 20 says that when Martha heard Jesus arrived she got up and went to Him. When she knew where Jesus was she went to go be with Him. What makes this so special is that Christ has made Himself available. He left Judea and went to Martha and Mary in order to be with them.
Jesus had been in Perea for a couple months. He hears the news of Lazarus being sick and He stays for 2 days before heading over to be where Lazarus was. Verse 17 says “On His arrival”. Jesus has arrived; He is present; and He comes upon a scene where there is intense sadness and grief.
Bethany was a small village so everyone knew each other and their brother. Everyone would have known Lazarus. And Lazarus seems to be the younger sibling as he is mentioned last in verse 5. Death struck this small town and descended on a young man who was dearly loved. We can hear the sad conversation of the people who were there: He was too young to die. It wasn’t his time. He had his whole life in front of him. It just isn’t right. There was no one in that small village that didn’t feel the loss of young Lazarus.
Now by the time Jesus gets there the mourning has carried on for 4 days. It was customary in Jewish culture for the mourning to last 7 days. Family and friends would stay and console the loved ones, and, they actually had professional wailers come in to cry and lament during this time.
When Jesus comes He comes into the territory where death has ruled.
I want to remind us here that our world is dominated by death. There are dead people everywhere; walking dead people who are dead to God. People may look at their money, or their success, or their pleasures and say to themselves “I am really living now” but the cold fact is they are as dead as a corpse. Their bodies are graves for their dead souls.
And when this Gospel tells us that Jesus came into the world what He was really coming into was a spiritual cemetery. He came to those who are dead in their sins; to those who do not know either the Father or the Son. He came to a town where death reigned and He came to a world where death had reigned. But Jesus came to reverse death’s work to show that He has life in Himself and that He has the power to give it.
You see, in verse 21 Martha tells Jesus that she knows that He could have prevented death. And that’s what many of His miracles had been proving all along. He healed sicknesses and prevented people from dying from those sicknesses. Martha knew and believed that He had power to prevent death, but, what she was going to learn was that Jesus had power to reverse it. Death would not prevail but the life-giving power of Jesus Christ would prevail over death.
Death, remember, is separation from God. And in order to bring mankind into His presence God must overcome death. I remind us again that before He came to the town of Bethany He came to the world. He became present in the world in the flesh. And if we can understand that the overarching purpose of God is to be with us, then we can see the significance in this small detail that Jesus came to be with Martha and Mary.
One of God’s chief purposes is to be present with His people. When speaking of the new heaven and new earth to come Revelation 21:3 says, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Three times that verse says God will be with men. After time is over, after the new heaven and the new earth have been made, and after history ends and eternity begins God will be a companion of man. And from Genesis to Revelation, God’s Word makes clear that His purpose is to make it possible for man to be with Him in His presence.
So when we see Jesus coming to Bethany, we see it in that context. God was coming near to those whom He loved. He wasn’t going to leave them alone.
And beloved, He doesn’t leave us alone either. He promises in Matthew 28 that always He will be with us from now until the end of the age. And in Hebrews 13 He promises never to leave us or forsake us. Can you find any greater comfort than to know that the desire of the Eternal Creator’s heart is to be with you? Who can say I am not loved when He loves you so much He would do all He did in order to be with you? Who could possibly feel of no worth when the most worthy person in all existence desires to dwell personally with you? Who can say He does not care when His grand design is the reuniting of Himself with you for eternity?
Jesus loved Martha, and, Martha loved Jesus, which is why she responded by going to Him. And that’s just it – we are able to go to Him as well. He has opened Himself to us. Always He is in our presence and always we are in His presence.
#2: Trust that Jesus Prays for You (v22)
First, Jesus is Present with us. Second, Trust that Jesus Prays for You. Notice verses 21-22, “’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.’” God will give you whatever you ask. Martha knew that if Jesus prayed for something God would answer. Can you think of anyone better to be praying for you than that?
The Bible says that Jesus is our High Priest before the Father and that as our High Priest He prays for us. Hebrews 7:25 says “Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” And Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
How much are you encouraged when you find out someone has been praying for you? How many times have you known that others were praying for you and you knew that you weren’t getting through your trial on your own? How precious it is when our brothers and sisters in Christ remember us before the Father in heaven.
And how much more precious the fact that Christ Himself remembers us before His Father in heaven as He is always praying for us. He did not just think of us while dying on the cross, but, He continues to this day to think of us and pray for us while He is in heaven.
Can you imagine how favorably the Father listens to Jesus Christ? -- His Son, His Only Son; His Son whom He loves and is well pleased? I cannot possibly grasp how deeply the Father’s heart is stirred by the sound of His Son’s voice. It is not the request being made, it is not the one who is being prayed for, but, the One making the request is who evokes the love in His heart.
Every time He hears the voice of Jesus Christ does He remember that moment 2000 years ago when He poured out all His wrath on Him – His Son, His only Son, Innocent and Pure and Holy? Looking upon Him and remembering the unimaginable pain that you have to be God to understand because only God could inflict such pain and only God could endure such pain!
And, to look upon Him now, alive, back from the dead, seated at His right hand; seated next to Him in glory. God has His precious and perfect Son back from the dead and He listens to Him as He utters prayers for us. Remember this verse in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” There is only one.
#3: Trust Jesus’ Promises to You (v23-24)
First, Jesus is Present with us. Second, Jesus Prays for us. And thirdly, Jesus Promises us. Notice verses 23-24, “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’”
The Jews believed in a resurrection because the Scriptures promised a resurrection. Jesus spoke about it in chapter 5. Daniel chapter 12 records the future resurrection of Israel, “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” This is a resurrection that will come at the end of the great Tribulation. When Christ returns the righteous ones of the OT will rise from the dead to everlasting life.
Notice here in verse 23 how Jesus affirms what the OT Scriptures say. They say a resurrection is going to happen, and Jesus assures Martha that that Lazarus will take part in the resurrection.
Do you see how the Word of God is so comforting? Jesus pointed Martha back to what the Scriptures taught and when she was reminded of the resurrection she was assured of the future. “I know” is what she said. In other words, she had certainty of what the Scriptures taught. That is the other important thing in this verse – Martha believed the Word of God and because she believed, it brought her comfort.
She was encouraged in the same way many of us are encouraged when a loved one dies in Christ. The same way that the promises of Christ brought hope to Martha is the same way the promises in Christ bring hope to us today. We can trust in His promises.
#4: Trust that Jesus Protects You (v25-26)
Lastly we need to Trust that Jesus Protects Us. Verses 25-26, “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?’”
Jesus protects us from death. He can do that because He is the resurrection and the life – that is, He has life in Himself and He gives that life to whomever He chooses.
These verses seem confusing, but, in both of these verses Jesus speaks of resurrection and life. Notice a difference between verse 25 and 26 however which helps us to understand. In verse 25 Jesus is speaking of physical resurrection. Jesus says if you believe in Him that though you may die physically, you will live physically again. You will come to life again physically. He’s talking about a physical resurrection from the dead that will happen at an appointed time in the future. How can we believe you Jesus? Because I’m about to give you a foretaste of that future resurrection right now with Lazarus. Here’s a sneak-peak of what it’s going to be like on the day I call everyone out of their graves.
So verse 25 speaks of physical resurrection, but, in verse 26 Jesus switches and He talks about spiritual resurrection, eternal life. You see, in verse 25 Jesus says physical death may come but physical death will not endure forever for those who believe. But in verse 26 He says that those who live – that is those who have spiritual life – will never lose that spiritual life. It will endure forever.
If you were to go hiking in California’s Sierra Mountains you might be surprised to come across 10-foot-high fences with barbed wire stretched around the top. You may think these fences are guarding some vital communication equipment like a radio tower. But they’re not. If you look in all you will see are a few gnarled trees, maybe just a twisted stump with a few needles.
You would also find a sign that reads like this: DO NOT ENTER. BRISTLECONE PINE PROTECTION ZONE. PLEASE PROTECT THESE TREES. They are the oldest living things on earth.
Pamphlets explain that these bristlecone pines were flourishing when Jesus walked on earth, and that the oldest were seedlings at the time of the Exodus from Egypt.
Eventually, though, regardless of how carefully they are protected, those trees will die. They are not destined to live forever. But Christians have the certainty of everlasting life. To be sure, our bodies will die. Yet by God’s grace and power, our souls will never perish. Our bodies will be raised up and, as Paul said, be changed from mortal to immortal (1 Cor. 15:53).
We are awed by the longevity of the bristlecone pines. How much more awesome is eternal life through Christ. We who believe in Him will live forever!
Conclusion
At the end of verse 26 Jesus asks Martha if she believes what He just said. In the beginning of the sermon I talked about needs and wants. All of us have to learn to determine what are the things we should buy that are needs and what are things that are only wants. The Bible says there is something that all of us need. It’s not a want. God says it’s a need.
And although we don’t have enough to buy this need, there is something each of us have that God will accept as payment. We talk about not being able to earn salvation as Christians, but, did you know that you can buy it? It’s not free – there’s something we have to give. Each of us have one thing and only one thing that God is willing trade with you on. Do you know what you have?
It is trust. God is willing to accept your trust in Jesus Christ as your payment for eternal life. It won’t cost you money. It won’t cost you a life of religious devotion. It won’t cost any good works. It costs you one thing and one thing only. The thing that really is most valuable to you. It will cost you your trust. Taking your trust and putting it into Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is what it will cost you for salvation. Until you give it all away to Him; until you invest every last ounce of trust in Him and believe in Him alone for the salvation of your soul, you will never possess eternal life.
Turn to chapter 20 verse 31. John says that believing that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God secures someone’s eternal life. What did Martha say about Jesus in verse 27? “I believe You are the Christ, the Son of God”. Does your heart believe the same way?
Trusting Christ in Trials
Have you ever thought about the difference between a need and a want?
One day last week Annie turned to me and said she was having a pregnancy craving for Chinese food. Well we were stuck at home last week because we didn’t have a working car and the nearest Chinese restaurant was a mile and a half away – and uphill both ways. In my great wisdom I began to lecture her about the differences between wants and needs. I said things like often times spiritual growth comes by denying our wants – which you can probably imagine she was hanging on every word.
…..And so as I was walking to the restaurant I realized that I needed her to have some Chinese food.
Needs and wants. Martha and Mary wanted their brother to get better and not die, but, what they needed was to see a resurrection. The disciples wanted to stay away from Judea, but, they needed to go because they needed to see a resurrection. Often we want something and we pray and pray for it, but, God knows what we need.
Often Jesus did and said things that confused everyone around Him. Often we are confused about what the Lord is doing until He has done it. The hardest part may very well be the waiting - waiting until He is finished with His plan and we see clearly what He has done. Up until that point it requires our trust in Him, our waiting on Him, and our believing in Him.
In that time we may want Him to do things and pray for those things but find that our prayers go unanswered. We may not know why they are not answered, but, we can know that always He has our highest good in mind. We can know that what He is doing is the best thing that could possibly be done. We can say with Paul that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
When Jesus hears the news that Lazarus is sick, He doesn’t immediately go to him. Sometimes the Lord lets it get so bad before He makes it so good. Sometimes there is no way to see the good thing He is doing unless first we see how bad it really becomes.
Martha, Mary, and the disciples were learning to trust Jesus in the trials and dangers of life. Trusting and believing in Him is the point of it all. The word for “believe” occurs 8 times in this chapter. It occurs 100 times in this gospel. Believing in Jesus is the central message of John’s Gospel.
Where do you turn when hardship comes? Some people respond the right way – they go to God’s Word and to prayer and to mature godly believers. Some respond in the wrong ways – destructive behaviors like drinking, drugs, pleasure, escapism, horoscopes, worldly friends with worldly wisdom. They get bitter and cynical.
But today I want us to see in our passage today some key elements of Trusting Christ in our Trials. And to do that there are 4 things that we can trust about Christ.
#1: Trust that Jesus is Present with You (v20)
The first thing we ought to remember is to trust that Jesus is present. Verse 20 says that when Martha heard Jesus arrived she got up and went to Him. When she knew where Jesus was she went to go be with Him. What makes this so special is that Christ has made Himself available. He left Judea and went to Martha and Mary in order to be with them.
Jesus had been in Perea for a couple months. He hears the news of Lazarus being sick and He stays for 2 days before heading over to be where Lazarus was. Verse 17 says “On His arrival”. Jesus has arrived; He is present; and He comes upon a scene where there is intense sadness and grief.
Bethany was a small village so everyone knew each other and their brother. Everyone would have known Lazarus. And Lazarus seems to be the younger sibling as he is mentioned last in verse 5. Death struck this small town and descended on a young man who was dearly loved. We can hear the sad conversation of the people who were there: He was too young to die. It wasn’t his time. He had his whole life in front of him. It just isn’t right. There was no one in that small village that didn’t feel the loss of young Lazarus.
Now by the time Jesus gets there the mourning has carried on for 4 days. It was customary in Jewish culture for the mourning to last 7 days. Family and friends would stay and console the loved ones, and, they actually had professional wailers come in to cry and lament during this time.
When Jesus comes He comes into the territory where death has ruled.
I want to remind us here that our world is dominated by death. There are dead people everywhere; walking dead people who are dead to God. People may look at their money, or their success, or their pleasures and say to themselves “I am really living now” but the cold fact is they are as dead as a corpse. Their bodies are graves for their dead souls.
And when this Gospel tells us that Jesus came into the world what He was really coming into was a spiritual cemetery. He came to those who are dead in their sins; to those who do not know either the Father or the Son. He came to a town where death reigned and He came to a world where death had reigned. But Jesus came to reverse death’s work to show that He has life in Himself and that He has the power to give it.
You see, in verse 21 Martha tells Jesus that she knows that He could have prevented death. And that’s what many of His miracles had been proving all along. He healed sicknesses and prevented people from dying from those sicknesses. Martha knew and believed that He had power to prevent death, but, what she was going to learn was that Jesus had power to reverse it. Death would not prevail but the life-giving power of Jesus Christ would prevail over death.
Death, remember, is separation from God. And in order to bring mankind into His presence God must overcome death. I remind us again that before He came to the town of Bethany He came to the world. He became present in the world in the flesh. And if we can understand that the overarching purpose of God is to be with us, then we can see the significance in this small detail that Jesus came to be with Martha and Mary.
One of God’s chief purposes is to be present with His people. When speaking of the new heaven and new earth to come Revelation 21:3 says, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Three times that verse says God will be with men. After time is over, after the new heaven and the new earth have been made, and after history ends and eternity begins God will be a companion of man. And from Genesis to Revelation, God’s Word makes clear that His purpose is to make it possible for man to be with Him in His presence.
So when we see Jesus coming to Bethany, we see it in that context. God was coming near to those whom He loved. He wasn’t going to leave them alone.
And beloved, He doesn’t leave us alone either. He promises in Matthew 28 that always He will be with us from now until the end of the age. And in Hebrews 13 He promises never to leave us or forsake us. Can you find any greater comfort than to know that the desire of the Eternal Creator’s heart is to be with you? Who can say I am not loved when He loves you so much He would do all He did in order to be with you? Who could possibly feel of no worth when the most worthy person in all existence desires to dwell personally with you? Who can say He does not care when His grand design is the reuniting of Himself with you for eternity?
Jesus loved Martha, and, Martha loved Jesus, which is why she responded by going to Him. And that’s just it – we are able to go to Him as well. He has opened Himself to us. Always He is in our presence and always we are in His presence.
#2: Trust that Jesus Prays for You (v22)
First, Jesus is Present with us. Second, Trust that Jesus Prays for You. Notice verses 21-22, “’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.’” God will give you whatever you ask. Martha knew that if Jesus prayed for something God would answer. Can you think of anyone better to be praying for you than that?
The Bible says that Jesus is our High Priest before the Father and that as our High Priest He prays for us. Hebrews 7:25 says “Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” And Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
How much are you encouraged when you find out someone has been praying for you? How many times have you known that others were praying for you and you knew that you weren’t getting through your trial on your own? How precious it is when our brothers and sisters in Christ remember us before the Father in heaven.
And how much more precious the fact that Christ Himself remembers us before His Father in heaven as He is always praying for us. He did not just think of us while dying on the cross, but, He continues to this day to think of us and pray for us while He is in heaven.
Can you imagine how favorably the Father listens to Jesus Christ? -- His Son, His Only Son; His Son whom He loves and is well pleased? I cannot possibly grasp how deeply the Father’s heart is stirred by the sound of His Son’s voice. It is not the request being made, it is not the one who is being prayed for, but, the One making the request is who evokes the love in His heart.
Every time He hears the voice of Jesus Christ does He remember that moment 2000 years ago when He poured out all His wrath on Him – His Son, His only Son, Innocent and Pure and Holy? Looking upon Him and remembering the unimaginable pain that you have to be God to understand because only God could inflict such pain and only God could endure such pain!
And, to look upon Him now, alive, back from the dead, seated at His right hand; seated next to Him in glory. God has His precious and perfect Son back from the dead and He listens to Him as He utters prayers for us. Remember this verse in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” There is only one.
#3: Trust Jesus’ Promises to You (v23-24)
First, Jesus is Present with us. Second, Jesus Prays for us. And thirdly, Jesus Promises us. Notice verses 23-24, “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’”
The Jews believed in a resurrection because the Scriptures promised a resurrection. Jesus spoke about it in chapter 5. Daniel chapter 12 records the future resurrection of Israel, “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” This is a resurrection that will come at the end of the great Tribulation. When Christ returns the righteous ones of the OT will rise from the dead to everlasting life.
Notice here in verse 23 how Jesus affirms what the OT Scriptures say. They say a resurrection is going to happen, and Jesus assures Martha that that Lazarus will take part in the resurrection.
Do you see how the Word of God is so comforting? Jesus pointed Martha back to what the Scriptures taught and when she was reminded of the resurrection she was assured of the future. “I know” is what she said. In other words, she had certainty of what the Scriptures taught. That is the other important thing in this verse – Martha believed the Word of God and because she believed, it brought her comfort.
She was encouraged in the same way many of us are encouraged when a loved one dies in Christ. The same way that the promises of Christ brought hope to Martha is the same way the promises in Christ bring hope to us today. We can trust in His promises.
#4: Trust that Jesus Protects You (v25-26)
Lastly we need to Trust that Jesus Protects Us. Verses 25-26, “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?’”
Jesus protects us from death. He can do that because He is the resurrection and the life – that is, He has life in Himself and He gives that life to whomever He chooses.
These verses seem confusing, but, in both of these verses Jesus speaks of resurrection and life. Notice a difference between verse 25 and 26 however which helps us to understand. In verse 25 Jesus is speaking of physical resurrection. Jesus says if you believe in Him that though you may die physically, you will live physically again. You will come to life again physically. He’s talking about a physical resurrection from the dead that will happen at an appointed time in the future. How can we believe you Jesus? Because I’m about to give you a foretaste of that future resurrection right now with Lazarus. Here’s a sneak-peak of what it’s going to be like on the day I call everyone out of their graves.
So verse 25 speaks of physical resurrection, but, in verse 26 Jesus switches and He talks about spiritual resurrection, eternal life. You see, in verse 25 Jesus says physical death may come but physical death will not endure forever for those who believe. But in verse 26 He says that those who live – that is those who have spiritual life – will never lose that spiritual life. It will endure forever.
If you were to go hiking in California’s Sierra Mountains you might be surprised to come across 10-foot-high fences with barbed wire stretched around the top. You may think these fences are guarding some vital communication equipment like a radio tower. But they’re not. If you look in all you will see are a few gnarled trees, maybe just a twisted stump with a few needles.
You would also find a sign that reads like this: DO NOT ENTER. BRISTLECONE PINE PROTECTION ZONE. PLEASE PROTECT THESE TREES. They are the oldest living things on earth.
Pamphlets explain that these bristlecone pines were flourishing when Jesus walked on earth, and that the oldest were seedlings at the time of the Exodus from Egypt.
Eventually, though, regardless of how carefully they are protected, those trees will die. They are not destined to live forever. But Christians have the certainty of everlasting life. To be sure, our bodies will die. Yet by God’s grace and power, our souls will never perish. Our bodies will be raised up and, as Paul said, be changed from mortal to immortal (1 Cor. 15:53).
We are awed by the longevity of the bristlecone pines. How much more awesome is eternal life through Christ. We who believe in Him will live forever!
Conclusion
At the end of verse 26 Jesus asks Martha if she believes what He just said. In the beginning of the sermon I talked about needs and wants. All of us have to learn to determine what are the things we should buy that are needs and what are things that are only wants. The Bible says there is something that all of us need. It’s not a want. God says it’s a need.
And although we don’t have enough to buy this need, there is something each of us have that God will accept as payment. We talk about not being able to earn salvation as Christians, but, did you know that you can buy it? It’s not free – there’s something we have to give. Each of us have one thing and only one thing that God is willing trade with you on. Do you know what you have?
It is trust. God is willing to accept your trust in Jesus Christ as your payment for eternal life. It won’t cost you money. It won’t cost you a life of religious devotion. It won’t cost any good works. It costs you one thing and one thing only. The thing that really is most valuable to you. It will cost you your trust. Taking your trust and putting it into Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is what it will cost you for salvation. Until you give it all away to Him; until you invest every last ounce of trust in Him and believe in Him alone for the salvation of your soul, you will never possess eternal life.
Turn to chapter 20 verse 31. John says that believing that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God secures someone’s eternal life. What did Martha say about Jesus in verse 27? “I believe You are the Christ, the Son of God”. Does your heart believe the same way?
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