Jesus Wept

Good Morning. My wife saw on the internet the other day a man at a gas station who promised to pay for people’s gas if they could recite 1 Bible verse. 6 people were challenged, and sadly all 6 failed. So, if you ever meet this person, today’s Gospel lesson is your easy button. Jesus Wept it’s John 11:35 btw.

Jesus weeping, and why he wept is in the middle of one of the most awesome miracles in the Bible, the resurrection of Lazarus. Some people who barely know the Bible have heard about Lazarus. It’s one of those stories that sticks in our minds because of the stakes Jesus lays out.

Like many stories, we don’t consider the stakes because of the Title! It’s the Raising of Lazarus. That’s not how the story started. Part way through it’s the story of the prophet who intentionally snubbed some of the people who had been kindest to him. After that, it’s the story of the man who stands yelling into the opening of a tomb, for a man who has been dead for 4 days, to come out of the tomb. That’s the point that boggles me. Imagine being there with Jesus for a moment, one of his disciples, with this great crowd watching him, as he yells into a tomb for Lazarus to come out. It would be terrifying to say the least.

Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha. They lived in Bethany, a little village two miles outside Jerusalem. Their home had become a second home for Jesus when he was traveling to Jerusalem. Luke also mentions the family, with the story of how Martha cooked while Mary sat at Jesus feet, causing a scene.

John 11 begins with Jesus getting an urgent message: Lord, the one you love is sick. Quick tangent, this could be it’s own sermon. “The One You Love!”

That’s any of us. John the disciple is also the one Jesus loved. God so loved the world, John 3:16, Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friend, John 15:13. That’s us, as he laid down his life for us. Every one of us can say that we are the one who Jesus loved.

Jesus loves Lazarus, but what does he do? He intentionally stalled before heading toward Bethany. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been dead four days. Now if you’ve prayed and waited for God to show up, and He doesn’t when you want Him to, you can feel Mary and Martha’s pain.

When he comes, as our lesson begins, you can see they aren’t interested in theological explanation, they don’t even want to hear good reasons he didn’t come, they wanted their brother. They wanted God to come when they asked Him.

“They were good to God, good to the prophet, God owes us. We can easily get that mindset ourselves. This is the Job mindset, and the book of Job answers it very well. We’re not God, God is never surprised, and the God of the Universe will always do good, even if it’s not what we want Him to do when we want it.

One possibility Jesus was late is that Jewish tradition held the soul hovered near the body for three days. After that, resurrection was considered impossible. By waiting four days, Jesus left no doubt. Princess Bride. This was no near-death revival. This was power over death itself. I think Scripture points us here.

When Jesus finally arrives, as our lesson began, Martha comes out to meet Him. You can almost hear both her grief and her faith mixed together:

Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Jesus answers, Your brother will rise again. She responds with the common Jewish belief in the general resurrection at the last day. But Jesus presses deeper.

He doesn’t just talk about someday. He makes it personal:

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

That’s the heart of the passage. John wants us to ask ourselves if we believe it because this is what defines the Christian faith. Not: do you believe in a vague spiritual afterlife? Not: do you believe in the power of positive thinking? But: do you believe that in Jesus, death is defeated?

St. Paul tells the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:17,19 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. With that in mind, though, if Jesus is raised, it’s important for us to realize that our whole mindset is wrong. Death is not something to fear, and this world is not our home.