Yes, Lord, I Believe

I Know He Will Rise Again

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Martha told Jesus, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). She said “I know” four days after her brother died. Long before Bethany, God had taught His people this hope.

Hannah's song. When God answered Hannah's prayer for a son, she sang that the Lord brings people down to the grave and brings them up again (1 Samuel 2:6). She knew that life and death are in God's hands.

Nothing too hard. Hannah had wept for years before God answered her. When she sang, she praised a God who can do what no one else can do, even bring people up from the grave.

Job's Redeemer. Job lost almost everything he had. Yet he said that he knew his Redeemer lives, and that He would stand on the earth at last. Job said that even after his body was destroyed, he would see God with his own eyes (Job 19:25-27).

What a redeemer is. A redeemer is a close relative who rescues someone and buys him back. Job trusted that God Himself would rescue him, even from death.

David's hope. David wrote that he would see God's face, and that he would be satisfied when he awoke in God's likeness (Psalm 17:15). Many Christians see this waking as a picture of rising from the dead.

Isaiah's promise. Through Isaiah, God promised that His dead would live and rise. He called to those who lie in the dust to wake up and sing for joy (Isaiah 26:19).

Even now. Martha also said, “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You” (John 11:22). Her brother had died, and she still trusted Jesus. Real faith can be honest about sadness and still say “even now.”

Hope in God. A psalm writer was so sad that he asked his own soul why it was cast down. Then he told himself to hope in God, because he would still praise Him (Psalm 42:5).

Talking to yourself. The psalm writer did not pretend he was happy. He told his own heart the truth about God. You can do that too when you are sad.

Hope in hard places. Hannah had wept for years, Job was in deep trouble, and Martha was near a tomb. In each hard place, God's promise gave them hope.

Why it matters. These believers held on to God's promise in hard places. Martha did too.

What we learn. God's people have always hoped in a God who gives life to the dead. That hope comes true in Jesus.

What to do. Learn God's promises now, while things are good, so that you can say “I know” when things are hard.

“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). Martha's hope did not begin at Bethany. God had been teaching it to His people for centuries.

Hannah (1 Samuel 2:6). Hannah sang that the Lord kills and makes alive, that He brings down to the grave and brings up. Life and death are both in His hands, so the grave is not beyond His reach.

A song after tears. Hannah sang this after years of weeping and prayer, when God gave her a son. She praised Him not only for one answered prayer but for who He is: the Lord who rules over life and death.

Job (Job 19:25-27). In the middle of terrible loss, Job said he knew that his Redeemer lives and would stand at last on the earth, and that after his skin was destroyed, in his flesh he would see God with his own eyes. The Hebrew word for Redeemer is go'el (say: goh-EL), the close relative who steps in to rescue and buy back. Job expected God to be his Redeemer beyond the grave.

David (Psalm 17:15). David said he would see God's face in righteousness and be satisfied when he awoke in His likeness. Many Christians see this waking as a picture of the resurrection.

Isaiah (Isaiah 26:19). God promised that His dead would live and that their bodies would rise, and He called those who dwell in the dust to awake and sing.

Even now (John 11:21-22). Martha's faith did not deny her grief. “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Both sentences were honest, and the second did not cancel the first.

Psalm 42:5. The psalmist asked his soul why it was cast down, and then answered himself: hope in God, for he would yet praise Him. Honest sorrow and real hope can sit in the same prayer.

Preaching to your own heart. The psalmist did not wait for his feelings to change before he spoke the truth to himself. Martha did the same with her “even now.” Faith tells the heart what God has said.

Application. Store up God's promises now. Read them, memorize them and talk about them with your family. Then, on the hardest day, you will have something to say, the way Martha did: “I know.”

You Are the Christ

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Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” She answered, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:26-27). Martha said out loud who Jesus is. That is called confessing Him.

The Christ. Christ means the Anointed One. Long ago, God's prophets poured oil on a king to show that God had chosen him. When God chose David, “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers” (1 Samuel 16:13). God promised a greater King, the Christ.

The Son of God. Jesus is not only a good man sent by God. He is God the Son, who came from the Father.

The One who was coming. God's people had waited a long time for the King He promised. Martha said that Jesus is that King, the One coming into the world.

Nathanael. When Nathanael first met Jesus, he called Him the Son of God and the King of Israel (John 1:49).

Peter. Jesus asked His disciples who they said He was. Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus said that His Father in heaven had shown this to Peter (Matthew 16:17). Peter's words and Martha's words say the same great truth.

A gift from God. No one figures out who Jesus is all alone. God opens our eyes to see Him. That is why we can ask God to help us know Jesus.

Confessing today. John wrote that whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he lives in God (1 John 4:15). To confess means to say openly what you believe.

Born of God. John also wrote that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God (1 John 5:1). Believing in Jesus brings a person into God's family.

Your answer. Jesus asks every person the question He asked Martha. You can answer Him in prayer with Martha's words: “Yes, Lord, I believe.”

What to do. Tell Jesus today what you believe about Him. Then tell one person who Jesus is.

“Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:26-27). Martha answered a question about resurrection with a confession about a Person.

The Christ. Christ means the Anointed One. In Israel, kings were anointed with oil as a sign that God had chosen them. When God chose David, “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers” (1 Samuel 16:13). The prophets promised a final Anointed King from David's line. Martha said Jesus is that King.

The Son of God. This title says more than chosen. It says who He is: the eternal Son, sharing the Father's nature. Martha put the two titles together, the promised King and the Son of God.

Who is to come. Martha also called Him the One “who is to come into the world.” God's people had long waited for the One God promised to send. She believed the waiting was over.

Nathanael (John 1:49). At their first meeting, Nathanael called Jesus Rabbi, the Son of God and the King of Israel. Like Martha, he named Jesus both the Son of God and the promised King.

Peter (Matthew 16:16-17). “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus told Peter that flesh and blood had not revealed this to him, but His Father in heaven. Seeing who Jesus is comes as a gift from God.

Confess (1 John 4:15). John wrote that whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. To confess is to agree out loud with what God says about His Son.

Born of God (1 John 5:1). John also wrote that whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Martha's confession is the confession of every child of God.

A confession in grief. Martha confessed Jesus near her brother's grave, four days after his burial. Faith that speaks on a day like that is faith that has learned who Jesus is.

Application. Faith is personal, and it is spoken. Tell Jesus in your own words who He is to you, and do not be ashamed to say it to others.

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