John 11:1-44 | What's a lesson for the original audience?

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
-John 11:25-26

It is without a doubt that the word of Jesus' healings were widespread. People would flock to Him from town to town when He entered in. They were breaking open roofs to get their family members healed. They were just trying to be able to simply touch His garment in the hopes of being healed. In this passage, Martha notes that if Jesus had been there, she would have been healed.

I want you to consider the audience of the day. The resurrection of Jesus is widely known today, but then the word was just spreading. The initial response to something like a resurrection seems ludicrous. Everyone would prefer to have Jesus physically present with them. They want their things dealt with.

So Martha confesses her belief that if Jesus was there, Lazarus would have been healed. Jesus tests the waters of her faith. He confesses that He is the resurrection and the life. All that is required is one believe in Him. And then He asks if she believes it.

The question is naturally posed to the reader as well. Do you believe this? Was this believed by the original audience? Is Jesus truly the solution to where we see the dead rise? Martha makes a bold confession in response to this.

27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
-John 11:27

The narrative plays on and she sees the evidence with her own eyes that Jesus truly is the resurrection and the life and Lazarus raises from the grave. The question that sits for the reader is whether or not they believe the same concerning Jesus.

What lesson are you seeing for the original audience?