Martha was mixed-up in her mind and heart, as most people are when their loved ones die.  The death of her brother, Lazarus, was a profound shock: so too was Jesus' apparent lack of interest, until He arrived four days after the funeral.  Nevertheless, Martha had been willing for Jesus to teach her about His power to raise the dead (John 11:21-27).  She said she believed that Jesus had the power to raise the dead.  Then came the test of her faith as they moved toward the tomb.

When they arrived at the burial place (a cave cut out of the rock and sealed by a heavy stone), Jesus was visibly emotional.  It was clear that He cared very deeply.  Perhaps He also thought about another tomb which would soon become His resting place, and those who would grieve over His dead body (John 20:11).  But of all the miracles Jesus performed, this would be the clearest sign of the purpose of His mission – to defeat death and the devil; sin, suffering and Satan – to give eternal life to those who believed in Him.   
 
Martha was on the brink of welcoming her dead brother home, alive and well.  But she could not imagine it, even after Jesus' teaching.  So, when He commanded that the stone be removed, Martha could only think about death and decay.  After four days the body would be unrecognisable and very smelly; and she did not want to add to her grief.  It was her way of asking Jesus to let death have the final word.  But the Lord challenged her with their previous conversation, shortly to be explained further; if she believed she would see God's glorious power (John 11:40).  She must have told Him that she did believe in Him, and that He could do whatever He chose to do, because John writes, "So they took away the stone."
 
Faith is easy until it is put to the test.  But when we are confronted by God's decision to take action, will we agree to cooperate with Him, or will we resist Him?  Are we going to let our circumstances have the last word, or trust Him to complete the work He has planned?  Jesus confronts our doubts, reminding us of God's authority and challenging us to believe what He has said.  But after the reminder, we must not delay.  The time has come for God to act and we must not stand in His way.  Indeed, He asks us to join Him in removing our objections so that we might see His power at work.