Jesus wept.
John 11:35
Jesus wept.
Two little words.
The shortest scripture passage in the
Bible and yet, so telling.
In two words, we feel Jesus’ compassion,
pain, loss, sympathy, empathy, sorrow and love - all of that emotion conveyed
in two little words.
Jesus was truly human.
Only a human
could feel the loss of a friend with so much depth and so much beauty.
And Jesus was truly divine.
Only a
Savior – only God – could raise a man from four days in the grave.
Jesus
called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with
strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
(John 11:43-44)
This story
of Lazarus’s resurrection is fascinating – not merely for the miracle and
foreshadowing of Jesus’ own death and resurrection – but because of the depth of
human emotion and love Jesus shows to Mary and Martha in their time of need.
These two
women were so disappointed in the Master they had come to love and to trust.
Where had he been when Lazarus, their brother, was sick and needed his healing
Where was Jesus when they wept as Lazarus took his last breath and succumbed to
the illness?
Where was he when they suffered their loss?
These
ladies felt abandoned and so very lost. When Jesus arrived, four days after
their brother had passed, they sought his comfort all while gently rebuking him
for not being where they thought they needed him.
When Mary
reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said,
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
(John 11:32)
They
believed in his power – but they could only see what they thought they needed. They
could not understand that Jesus is bigger and can do mightier things than our
finite minds can fathom.
Jesus knew
at the moment he entered Bethany
that he would raise Lazarus from the dead.
He knew that he would perform one of
his greatest miracles.
And yet, he met these ladies where they were in their
grief.
He was so human that he felt their sorrow as his own and he wept with
them.
So often we want Jesus to answer our
cries with what we can see as the perfect solution to our problem. But what we
have to learn from Mary and Martha is that Jesus’ healing – Jesus’ desire to
fulfill our true needs – is so much bigger than what we can see in our little
minds.
And sometimes, to prepare us for the miracle he has planned down the
road, he knows we need him to walk along side us in the midst of our suffering
and sorrow and we need him to weep with us.
And without that good cry, we will
never be ready to receive the blessing he has waiting on the other side of the
valley.
Scripture
Quote
If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.
Robert M. McCheyne
Question of the Day
When do you feel Jesus walking with you - sharing your sorrows and your burdens?
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