Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
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Assignment 2a: Devotional
John 11:17-32
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Reflect on this passage and Martha’s response when she first meets Jesus after the death of her brother. Discuss what emotion(s) you think Martha was experiencing. State any evidence whatsoever that she indeed experienced that or those emotions, or are you hypothesizing what you think she experienced and if so, what objective data is your hypothesis based on ? Include in the discussion any proof within the text for your position. Discuss whether your response is based in part on how you might have responded in such a case. Finally, if you were a counselor what would be the pros and cons of you assuming that Martha’s emotional responses were similar to your response.
Here is an example of what another student wrote that you can use as a guide!!!
Gabrielle Shahramfar
SaturdayOct 23 at 4:19pm
Based on the information in the passage, it is not possible to know definitively what emotions Martha was experiencing when she met Jesus after Lazarus’s death. I hypothesize there are many possibilities such as anger, sadness, disappointment, hurt, confusion, or relief. It is also possible she felt a combination of emotions. My hypothesize is partly based on her words and behavior, how I think I might respond, as well as my experience with grieving individuals. I think I personally would have experienced all of these emotions: anger, sadness, disappointment, hurt, confusion, and relief. Verse 21 can be interpreted that Martha is angry, sad, and hurt that Jesus did not come sooner because she knew He could have prevented Lazarus’s death. Sadness is a normal response to death and there were people that came to visit Martha and Mary to offer them comfort. She may have been confused because she knew Jesus loved Lazarus so it may be difficult to reconcile why he would not come sooner to heal him. It is also plausible that she was experiencing relief that Jesus arrived because she knew that He could raise Lazarus from the dead, since she said “I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (John 11:22, NIV). In the next verse, Jesus confirms that this will happen in the future, but Martha wants his resurrection to occur in the immediate future since she said she already knows there will be a great resurrection in the last days. After Jesus asks about what Martha believes about Him, she confesses that He is the Messiah. Immediately, she goes to get Mary, which leads me to believe, if she was hurt, angry, and/or confused, her discussion with Jesus comforted her.
It is never a good idea for counselors to assume that their emotional responses are similar to their clients. While it is important to empathize with our clients and try to place ourselves in their shoes, it is necessary to understand their inner world, which may be radically different from our own. People grieve differently and if you assume the way you grieve is the “correct way,” then you are more likely to judge those who have a different emotional reaction. However, our own emotional experiences can be similar to our clients, which can increase empathy and strengthen the therapeutic relationship. It is important to note if we were to experience the same event as our client, our predicted emotional reaction, may actually be different than what we would have actually experienced, even if in the past we had a similar experience.
Reference
The Holy Bible (2011). New International Version. Biblica, Inc.
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