Yesterday I spoke on Lazarus. The idea was given to me by my 10 year old and as soon as she suggested it all the tumblers in my head clicked and the message spread out before me.
I noticed 2 things when reading John Ch. 11. The first thing is that Jesus came to give life. So often today, believers are depressed, anxious, worried and discouraged. There is no joy and no Life. No vibrancy. It's sad. I have been there myself. Life is hard yet God can sustain us. He came to give us life more abundantly. (John 10:10) Jesus went to Bethany and raised Lazarus back to life. What an awesome miracle.
The other thing that stood out to me was John 11:35, "Jesus Wept". He knew that He was getting ready to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knew the end result, the miracle that was getting ready to happen and yet He wept when Mary said He could have prevented Lazarus from dying. Why?
I believe it had to do with relationship. Jesus wants us to have relationship with Him. I think Jesus was feeling the pain of His friends. Pure and simple He cared! Relationships and Life are two themes that I see God weaving through my life right now. He wants me to have relationship with Him and with others. To share the Life He has given me with others.
Jesus truly is Lord, Life and Liberator!
2 comments:
Interesting, thanks.
The part of your post that struck me most was, "Jesus wept." It was something about how you described the scene that got me thinking about this differently. Because of the relationship Jesus wants to have with us, and because of His compassion for us (as you explain), "...he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled." as is recorded in John 11:33.
Maybe it's just a different way of saying what you have already said, but what came to my mind was this: Jesus wept partly out of compassion, but maybe also out of sadness. He may have been sad because He knew that the grief of Mary and the others was unnecessary. He saw the pain they were putting themselves through, and He knew it could have been avoided. If only they had the strength and peace that comes from complete faith in Him; the peace that goes beyond our understanding.
Thank you for a great post.
E.D. Jones
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