...And So We Wait

Cole Edwards • December 14, 2022

For some, waiting is filled with purpose and joyous expectation. 


They seem to understand, as Heinz proclaims, “Good things come to those who wait.” Patience is a fruit of the Spirit after all (Gal 5:22). Still, for others, waiting can feel a bit like the eternal refrain of the child's road-trip question: Are we there yet? Or perhaps, more fitting for this advent season: How many days until Christmas? But being impatient does not hasten the days.


For the Christian, the focus of Advent season is on preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ, both in the form of His birth and His Second Coming. But the definition of advent is not limited to the special meaning of Christ's birth and return. Indeed, the definition includes the arrival of a notable person (Jesus, of course, being the most notable). We see examples in Scripture where people were waiting for Jesus, waiting for His advent, even while He was walking the earth some 2000 years ago. 


One such instance is recorded in Luke starting at Chapter 8 verse 40. Jairus, a synagogue official, falls at Jesus' feet, imploring Him to heal his daughter. Can you imagine being in Jairus' position? Your daughter is dying and you ache for her to live. There's no hope, but then you remember Jesus. You remember that Jesus has healed others.


Jesus healed the paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof by his friends. Jesus healed the leper. Jesus even healed the Centurion's servant. A Roman occupier! Maybe He will heal your daughter. “Jesus! Come quickly!” You implore Him. Then, the crowd descends on Jesus. People are pressing in on Him from all angles and you can't get Him through the crowd. Then suddenly He stops. A woman apparently has touched Him and she has been healed. Jesus is talking to her. He takes the time to call her “daughter.” “But Jesus!” you think, “Time for my daughter is short. She's dying! Come quickly! Come, Lord Jesus!” But before you even finish the thought, while you are still waiting on Jesus, your servant comes and conveys the sad news. “It's too late,” you're told. “Your daughter has died.”  


What would you be thinking in that moment? Maybe, “Why Jesus? Why did You wait? Why did You delay? Why didn't You come? If only You had been there.” The Scriptures don't tell us what Jairus was thinking or what questions he wanted answers to. But we do see what Martha said to Jesus when her brother Lazarus died.  


The Bible records in John 11 how when their brother was dying—Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus saying at verse 3, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” Odd it seems then that the story continues in verse 6 with Jesus delaying, “So when He heard that [Lazarus] was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.” Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, were left waiting on Jesus to arrive, waiting for His advent. 


And while Jesus delayed, Lazarus died. After Lazarus' death, with Jesus on His way to see her and Mary, Martha went to meet Him. Martha expresses in verse 21 what many of us seem to frequently feel, “Lord, if You had…”. “Lord, if you had been here,” Martha states, “my brother would not have died.” Mary echoes this sentiment in verse 32. I'm sure it is something they discussed in the days since their brother died. “Lord, if you had been here, things would be different.” “If you had been here, I wouldn't be hurting.” “Lord, if I didn't have to wait for You…” We understand Martha's implied question because so often it is our question: Lord, where were you?


In one sense, it would be easy to see Mary and Martha rebuking Jesus, “Why weren't you here, Jesus?” And as we wait on the Lord, for His advent in any given situation, we must make sure our posture is appropriately reverential toward Almighty God. But Martha doesn't lose faith (see v. 22 and v. 27). She just doesn't understand the ways of God. 


Again, Martha serves as a placeholder for us. How can we understand God unless He reveals Himself to us? Whether it be through His creation, His word, or in the very advent of the Son at the incarnation, our understanding of God is dependent on God in all respects. And He is so far beyond what we can understand: 


[Isa 55:8-9 ESV] 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.


Just as Martha or Jairus may have felt, we might become frustrated believing that God should come when we want Him. We may feel like His advent should be when we think it best. We may demand to know why God did or did not do something. Of His advent, we may say, as Mary and Martha did, “Lord, if You had been here...” Why then does our Lord tarry? 


CS Lewis states, “I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless he sees that it is good for him to wait.” 


Consistently, we see God do things for His glory and our benefit. It is no different with Mary and Martha in this story. Of Lazarus, Jesus says that this sickness is “for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” (v. 4) And again, He tells the sisters in v. 40, “…if you believe, you will see the glory of God.” And God's glory is brought forth in glorious display as the dead find life again.


[John 11:41-44 ESV] 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (emphasis added)


Lazarus lived again. In the continuation of the story of Jairus, the synagogue official, we see that his daughter lived again too. And as we wait again for His advent, indeed because of His first advent at the birth of the Son, and because of His work, His death, His resurrection, and His glorious return, so will we. We too will live again, even after death. 


Why do we wait for the Lord? For His advent?


For His glory and our benefit.


God offers the means of reconciliation. One day we will be with Him as He desires and as He designed: without sin separating us—and so we wait.


We wait for that day of His glorious appearing, when our Lord will be supremely glorified and our ultimate benefit, eternal life with God, will be realized. “…Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:20)

Arm Yourselves

June 11, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 4:1-6 Prepare to suffer Is. 50:6-8a I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. The martial language indicates that discipline and grit are needed to live the Christian life, particularly in view of the suffering believers encounter. -Thomas R. Schreiner Some people won’t like you if you follow Jesus When a culture abandons biblical standards, when extramarital sex, cohabitation, and birth outside of marriage become normal, people attack the church for its moral snobbery and judgmentalism. Peter warns us that if we do take a stand, we need to expect slander, not applause. -Daniel M. Dorian This is one of the hardest things a new Christian has to face. Your friends liked you because you shared in “the same flood of debauchery.” It seemed great fun at times, but then you came to embrace Christ… But your friends have not… They will be surprised when you say “No.” -Juan Sanchez. Keep an eternal perspective Our outcome is glorious Suffering is good for us Let’s remember that suffering accomplishes God’s purposes. It exposes what or whom we are trusting (1 Peter 1:6–7). - Juan Sanchez Ecc. 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Discipleship Questions: Verse 1 tell us to arm ourselves by thinking as Christ did about suffering. How did Christ arm himself for and against sufferings? What does it look like for us to do that? Have you ever lost friendships (or had them change) because you were following Jesus? Do you fear that we (or our kids) will experience greater persecution in the future? If yes, how should we handle that fear?

I Believe That We Will Win

June 3, 2025
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Jesus suffered and died in order to bring us to God Jesus conquered death by his resurrection “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” —Martin Luther Problem #1 - he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison —Jesus preached through Noah to those who lived at that time (1 Peter 1:10–12) —Jesus proclaimed His victory to evil angels (see Genesis 6:1-4) Problem #2 - baptism now saves you —Scripture is clear - we are saved by grace not works —baptism pictures our salvation from God’s judgment through the resurrection of Christ “The waters of baptism, like the waters of the flood, demonstrate that destruction is at hand, but believers are rescued from these waters in that they are baptized with Christ, who has also emerged from the waters of death through his resurrection. Just as Noah was delivered through the stormy waters of the flood, believers have been saved through the stormy waters of baptism by virtue of Christ’s triumph over death.” —Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude —in baptism we are appealing to God for a good conscience "This appeal is an act of the heart looking away from itself and from all human instruments and calling on God, appealing to God, for grace to save.” —John Piper —in baptism we are pledging to God to live in a manner worthy of the gospel Jesus ascended to heaven and now reigns over everything “We can face suffering as Christians with confidence rather than panic, and hope rather than despair, because the road marked with Christian suffering is, no matter what its twists and turns are, the road to vindication and glory. The God who vindicated Jesus will vindicate you, and he will sustain your faith until that day.” –Juan R. Sanchez, 1 Peter For You Discipleship Questions: How does Jesus’ death and resurrection encourage us when we suffer? Why did we need Jesus to suffer and die to bring us to God? How does Jesus’ victory over death give us eternal hope? What are your thoughts regarding some of the problems in this passage? How does what Peter says about baptism elevate the importance of baptism? When were you baptized and how does this passage inform your understanding of baptism? How does knowing our victory is secured help us with all the things this life throws at us?

Who Can Be Against Us?

May 27, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:13-17 Nobody can (truly) hurt Christians Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? The train of thought is as follows: “No one will be able to harm believers on the future day if they are zealous for good” (v. 13). Indeed, even present suffering is not a sign of punishment but of blessing both now and especially in the future, on the day when God rewards his people with eternal life. -Thomas R. Schreiner Honoring Christ Erases Fear Share your faith with strength and gentleness Embrace balance Be prepared to share The truth of the gospel is a public truth that can be defended in the public arena. This does not mean, of course, that every Christian is to be a highly skilled apologist for the faith. It does mean that every believer should grasp the essentials of the faith and should have the ability to explain to others why they think the Christian faith is true. -Thomas R. Schreiner Be prepared to suffer “I’ve spent a number of years in India and Africa where I found much righteous endeavor undertaken by Christians of all denominations; but I never, as it happens, came across a hospital or orphanage run by the Fabian Society [a British socialist organization], or a humanist leper colony.” -Malcolm Muggeridge Be bold! We will likely suffer as Christians in this world, but that suffering is slight and temporary compared to the eternal inheritance that awaits us. The worst thing that can happen to us is that we die and receive our promised inheritance. Can you imagine how emboldened Christians would be if we only believed what Peter is saying? -Juan R. Sanchez Discipleship Questions: Does the fact that nobody can (truly) harm us comfort you? What would change if we lived like we really believe that? Are you a more confident person as someone who knows Christ? Does your security in Christ embolden you to take some risks in life, knowing that the worst that could happen is death? How equipped / prepared are you to give a reason for the hope that you have? What would grow your confidence and competence in that? Have you considered joining Michael Clark one day for evangelism at the harbor? Well….you should….
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