![]() ![]() Martha hurried back to the house and soon returned with her sister and many of the people from the village. “Yes Lord, I believe you are the Son of God, who has come into the world to save us.” “Martha,” said Jesus, “I am the one who will undo death and give life that lasts forever to everyone who believes in me. “Oh Lord,” sighed Martha, “If only you'd been here, my brother would not have died.” She found him not far away, coming down the road just outside the village. ![]() So Martha got up and went out to meet Jesus alone. Mary looked at Martha and shook her head, she didn't want to see him. “Sorry to bother you,” he said, gasping for breath, “But he's here, Jesus is coming.” But then on the fourth day, as Mary and Martha were preparing a meal, the same young man who'd gone to look for Jesus burst into their kitchen. She stayed silent the next day and the day after that. She couldn't understand why Jesus hadn't come, she couldn't believe he'd let Lazarus die. Martha spoke to everybody, thanking them for being there, but Mary didn't say a word to anyone. With the help of their friends they placed the body in a cave and rolled a huge stone across the entrance to cover it. The two sisters put special oils and spices on the body of their brother, then wrapped it in cloths from head to foot. Lazarus had a lot of friends, they were all sorry that he'd died and they wanted to do what they could to help Mary and Martha. Lazarus had stopped breathing, he was dead.Įveryone who lived in the village of Bethany came to the funeral. “It's too late,” came her sister's voice. Well, he knows what he's doing, I'm sure he'll be here soon.” “He said he would come, miss, but that it wasn't time yet.” “Yes miss,” he said, “I found him and I told him about your brother.” “At last,” Martha cried, “Did you find Jesus?” But with each passing hour Lazarus got worse and they had almost given up hope when the young man finally returned. With their message sent, all the sisters could do was wait and pray. The last they'd heard, Jesus was across the river Jordan, teaching the people there about God. Martha asked a young man from the village to find Jesus and ask him to come. “He's our only hope,” Martha insisted, “he will come, Lazarus is his friend.”Īnd so it was agreed. “But he can't come here,” Mary argued, “the last time he was here people tried to kill him.” “There's only one thing we can do,” Martha replied, “we're going to send for Jesus.” “What are we going to do?” sobbed Mary, “What are we going to do?” Martha put her arms around her sister's shoulders and pulled her close. Mary's face crumpled up and she began to cry. “I'm sorry,” he began, “there's nothing I can do, there's no earthly cure for this illness.” He stared at the floor with his head down, he couldn't look Mary and Martha in the eye. When he'd finished, the doctor came and stood in the doorway. The two sisters kept watch over their brother in silence until the doctor arrived, then they left him to examine Lazarus and waited in the kitchen. “Oh Lazarus,” she said sadly, “don't die, please don't die.” “Yes, he sent a message to say he'd get here as soon as he can.” Martha took hold of her brother's hand. Martha looked, her brother's face was pale, his skin stretched thinly across his bones, he looked like a ghost of a man. “It's come on so quickly,” Martha exclaimed, “he was fine at the weekend!” ![]() “He's burning up,” Mary told her, “the fever's getting worse.” She heard the door behind her opening it was her sister, Martha, coming into the room. Mary dipped the cloth into the bowl of water, then she rolled it up carefully and laid it across her brother's forehead.
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