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.
17 耶稣到了，就知道拉撒路在坟墓里已经四天了。 18 伯大尼离耶路撒冷不远，约有六里路。 19 有许多犹太人来看马大和马利亚，要为她们的兄弟安慰她们。 20 马大听见耶稣来了，就出去迎接祂；马利亚却仍然坐在家里。
彻底的绝望（四天之久）： “四天”在当时的观念中意味着死亡已不可逆转。这呼应了之前提到的“干旱疲乏无水之地”。当生命看起来完全枯竭、甚至被埋葬时，正是上帝准备彰显“丰盛与供应”的时刻。
安慰与局限： 许多人来安慰她们，但这种安慰是基于“失去”的。这提醒我们，世人的安慰往往像“破裂不能储水的池子”，无法提供真正的生命活水。
两种不同的渴慕姿态： 马大的“迎接”是主动寻求源头的行动，而马利亚的“坐”则可能代表了极度忧伤中的等待。无论哪种方式，她们都正面对着那唯一能让生命“从等待转向流淌”的救主。