Martha alone goes forward to meet Him, and does not take her sister with her, because she wanted to see Him privately and tell Him about what had happened. But when the Lord aroused good hope in her, then she goes away and calls her sister. Previously she had not told her sister Mary about the Lord's coming in order to hide this from those who were with her. For if Mary had heard that Jesus was coming, she would have immediately gone to meet Him, and the Jews who had come would have followed her, but Martha did not want them to learn of Jesus' arrival.
Jn. 11:21. Then Martha said to Jesus: Lord! if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
Martha had faith in Christ, but not complete, not proper faith. Therefore she also says: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." She said this, undoubtedly, because she did not believe that He, if He had wished, could have prevented the death of her brother even without being personally present.
Jn. 11:22. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.
And further she reveals an even greater weakness of faith. For she says: "Whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Do you see, she considers Him to be some virtuous man who is pleasing to God. For she did not say "whatever You will, You shall do," but "whatever You ask, He will give You."
Jn. 11:23. Jesus says to her: Your brother will rise again.
The Lord, refuting such an understanding of hers, says: "Your brother will rise again." He did not say to her "yes, I will ask God, and He will give Me," nor did He agree with her words, but used a moderate expression.
Jn. 11:24. Martha said to Him: I know that he will rise again in the resurrection, at the last day.
Since Martha did not yet believe and had not understood the meaning of the words "your brother will rise again," she supposed that he would rise at the last resurrection (and that there would be a last resurrection, Martha knew partly from Divine Scripture, and even more from Christ's frequent discourses on the resurrection).
Jn. 11:25. Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, even if he dies, shall live.
And further He sets forth His power and authority much more clearly: "I," He says, "am the resurrection and the life."
So, since the woman still remained a woman, the Lord raises her up and rouses her faith, as though it had died, speaking more clearly: "You say to Me that God will give Me whatever I ask of Him. But I say to you plainly that I am the resurrection and the life, so that My power is not limited by place, but I am equally able to heal, whether present on the spot or from afar. For I bestow blessings not on behalf of anyone else, but I Myself am the resurrection and the life, I Myself have the power to raise and give life."
Jn. 11:26. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?
"He who believes in Me, even if he dies this bodily death, shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall not die a spiritual death. Therefore do not be troubled. For although your brother has died, he shall live. And why do I speak of your brother? Even you, if you believe in Me, shall not die, but shall be above spiritual death, which is far more terrible. And He who delivers from the most terrible death shall all the more easily deliver your dead brother from the less terrible death."
"Do you believe this?" the Lord asks Martha. And she, although she had heard such lofty words, nevertheless did not understand what the Lord said to her. I think that from grief she was also suffering from a lack of comprehension. For the Lord asks one thing, and she answers another. The Lord asks whether she believes that He is the resurrection and the life, and that he who believes in Him will never die, whether you understand this as spiritual death or bodily death. For of the faithful, on account of their hope in the resurrection, it is rightly said that they do not die.
Jn. 11:27. She says to Him: yes, Lord! I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who comes into the world.
And what does Martha answer? "I am convinced that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." Her answer is good and fair, but it is not an answer to the question. Nevertheless, she gained this benefit from it: the force of her grief was subdued and her sorrow was diminished.
Jn. 11:28. Having said this, she went and called Mary her sister secretly, saying: The Teacher is here and is calling you.
Martha "secretly" calls her sister; and she did this very wisely. For if the Jews who had come to them had learned that Mary was going to meet Christ, they would have left them, and the miracle would have remained without witnesses. But now the Jews thought that Mary was going to the tomb to weep, went along with her, and by necessity became obvious witnesses of the miracle.
Martha says to Mary: "The Teacher is calling you." But in the Evangelist it is not noted that the Lord called her. This can be explained in two ways: either the Evangelist passed over in silence that the Lord commanded Martha to call her sister, or she regarded the very arrival of the Lord as an invitation and said that the Teacher is calling you. For when the Lord came, should she not have gone to Him? Thus, the arrival of the Lord, which necessarily required Mary to go out and meet Him, the Evangelist called an invitation. "For the Teacher," she says, "has come and is calling you"; and since He has come, His very arrival serves as a call to you. For as soon as He came, it is necessary for you also to go out to meet Him.
Jn. 11:29. She, as soon as she heard, quickly rose and went to Him.
Mary, as soon as she learned that Jesus had come, did not delay, but quickly rose and went to Him. From this it is evident that Martha had not forewarned her beforehand, even though she knew that Jesus was coming.
Jn. 11:30. Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met Him.
But Jesus had not yet come into the village, for He was walking slowly, so that they would not think that He Himself was seeking an occasion for the miracle, but that He would perform it at their request.
Jn. 11:31. The Jews who were with her in the house and were comforting her, seeing that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she went to the tomb to weep there.