Martha meets Jesus on the road, before he gets to the house, away from the crowd of sympathizers. It seems that she wants some time with him to express her grief privately. Martha’s words are a little difficult to interpret. Some see them as an accusation (as in, “Why weren’t you here to help?”). Other students see them as a statement of faith (as in, “If you had been able to come, I know you could have helped”). We note that the sisters sent word to Jesus when Lazarus fell ill, but Jesus purposefully