John 11:1-44
“BFF”
by: Rev. Ken Sauer, East Ridge UMC, Chattanooga, TN
Text messaging and emails have brought with them a whole new language.
For example, when two persons are exceptionally close, perhaps they are best friends, one will write to the other, “You are my BFF.”
Now what in the world does that mean?
You only need to ask a teenager to find out that BFF stands for “Best Friend Forever.”
Do you all have a BFF?
Perhaps this person is your spouse or a brother or sister.
Maybe your best friend forever is someone you met in elementary school, and have stayed in contact with for many years!
Sometimes our best friend forever is someone we have only known for a short time, but have become very close, very quickly.
Some people have only one person they consider to be a best friend.
Others have several.
I think that Jesus had many, many best friends…
…but high on the list was a man named Lazarus, his two sisters being Mary and Martha.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived in a town called Bethany.
It was a place that Jesus seemed to have spent a good deal of time.
He had friends there.
He hung out there.
He felt comfortable there.
It’s interesting to note that the word “Bethany” means, literally, “the house of the poor.”
It was a place where many poor, needy and sick persons lived.
And Jesus had a special affection for this place, and it for Him.
How amazing and wonderful it is to get a glimpse at the heart of God.
There’s a saying that if you want to get to know a person, just take a look at that person’s friends.
And the persons whom Jesus felt most comfortable around were on the low-end of the economic and social ladder.
And these were the folks who appeared to recognize and appreciate Jesus the most as well.
The sick, the sinner, the diseased, the marginalized…
…these are the people who were closest to Christ…
…and perhaps, these are the people who remain closest to Christ.
Anyhow, our Gospel Lesson informs us that Jesus had a BFF who was sick.
Lazarus’ sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
But instead of jumping on the road and heading to Bethany as fast as He could—Jesus stayed where He was for two more days.
And Mary and Martha, in Bethany, watched their beloved brother die.
What was Jesus doing?
From the rest of the story, I think we can tell.
Jesus was praying.
Jesus was wrestling with the Father’s will.
As we read later, this experience at Bethany caused the high priest to begin plotting Jesus’ death.
As so often, Jesus needed to be in prayer, exploring the Father’s will.
Only then would Jesus act.
So two days after receiving notification about Lazarus, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
In verse 16 we see that Thomas was determined to follow Jesus, putting one foot in front of the other at Jesus’ command…
…even as he speaks with heavy foreboding, “Let us also go that we may die with him.”
Of course, they don’t die with Him, or at least not yet…
…but Thomas definitely has the right response!
There is an awful lot that we don’t understand about this life, and our hopes and dreams often get thwarted.
But if we go with Jesus, even if it’s into the jaws of death, we will be walking in the light!!!
We are told in verse 33 that when Jesus saw Martha weeping, and those who had come along with her weeping, Jesus “was deeply moved in spirit and troubled…”
In verse 35 we are told, “Jesus wept.”
And in verse 38 we are told, as Jesus came to the tomb He was “once more deeply moved.”
In classical Greek, the usual usage for what is translated here as “deeply moved” is that of a horse snorting.
So it must mean that Jesus was seized by such deep emotion that Jesus let out an involuntary groan that wrung from His heart!
How much more proof do we need to understand that our Lord is one with us?
Throughout the Gospels we can feel that Christ’s glorious message of hope is not spoken by someone on the outside looking in…
…but by One Who was Himself touched by what life brings upon the rest of us.
The world around us is suffering…
…it’s crying…
…grieving…
…it’s falling apart in emotional turmoil…
…the pain is everywhere we look…
…so we look to the Word of God—into the Gospel of John—and ask: “Lord, how can I help the hurting that is all around me?”…
… “Where can I turn when I’m hurting?”
I think that if we look deep into this passage we will find the heart of Christian care bound up in the character of Christ—Companionship, Comfort, and Compassion!!!
There can be no doubt that Jesus was a likeable person.
Jesus was a person that other people liked to be around.
More than just the life of the party…
…more than just the Lawyer or Medical Doctor within a circle of friends who is bombarded with calls for free advice…
…Jesus wasn’t just the guy people wanted to be around—He was the guy people wanted around!
Built into the character of Jesus Christ is unconditional companionship!
Jesus is faithful to His friends in the face of danger—even to death on a Cross!
And my friends, if we are Jesus’ disciples, then we are Jesus’ Best Friends Forever or BFF!!!
In Christ’s tears, we are able to get some inkling of the wonder of God’s compassion…
…of the depth and certainty of God’s sympathy with those of us who are needy…
…desparate…
…hurting and heartbroken.
When Jesus saw His friends weeping…
…when He saw the pain in their hearts…
…Jesus was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled…
…Jesus wept.”
“Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’”
And as we read this and think about the awesomeness of all this…
…we can’t help but vividly realize that God still weeps with us…
…For God so loves the world!!!
A little girl was late coming home from school one day.
Her mother paced the floor until she finally arrived—15 minutes late.
“How many times have I told you—You are to come directly home from school!!!
I was worried sick!
Don’t you ever make me worry like that again!”
“No mommy,” said the little girl, “You don’t understand.”
“What don’t I understand?” asked the mother.
“Well, today was show and tell and Jamie brought a China Doll her grandmother gave her…”
“I don’t care how nice a doll Jamie had,” the mother interrupted, “You don’t stay to play. You come straight home!”
“No, no mommy. You don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“When we were walking home some boys were mean to us.
Jamie dropped the doll and it broke on the sidewalk…
…And I stayed to help Jamie…”
“Oh, honey,” the mother said, “That is so sweet that you stayed behind to help Jamie fix her doll—but you still need to come straight home…”
“No, no, no mommy! It was broken so bad we couldn’t fix it! I stayed to help Jamie cry.”
O that we would have hearts like that---That we would be Christ in the presence of the broken…
…and help them cry!
We can never forget that it was the great Divine Compassion that motivated God to become a human being---to offer Himself as the One final sacrifice for our sins…
…to come as the One Who can redeem us from the high cost of sin…
…to save us from death…
…to reconcile us back to Himself!!!
The compassion of Christ encompasses the whole human race…you and me and everybody!!!
In Galatians chapter 6 we are told: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ.”
We are to fulfill the Law of Christ by fostering new, strong friendships---and we are to pour our whole selves into these relationships—we are to be faithful to one another to a fault!
We are to get to know others, and allow others to get to know us.
We are to bring comfort.
We are to be caring and concerned and compassionate.
We are to weep when others weep and shout for joy when others are doing well!!!
We are to notice the heartbreaks and heartaches that surround us.
This is what Jesus does.
Jesus is moved by the sorrow of people.
Dear friends, Jesus understands us.
He understands the things that are hurting us—even now, at this very moment—and these things bring tears to His eyes.
Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Let us open the graves of our lives and let Jesus work in us.
Let’s ask Him to bring life from death.
Let’s get up out of our problems and walk into the Light and keep living for Jesus no matter what!!!
Let’s share our hurts with Jesus today.
Let’s open our hearts to Jesus and experience the healing power of His love.
You and me…all of us…We are Jesus’ BFF!!!
May we allow Jesus to comfort us and give us true peace.
Amen.
