JESUS WEPT
John 11:17-40
In May 1897, the great American humorist, novelist and social critic Samuel Clemens — best known by his pen name, Mark Twain — was in London. It was one of the stops on a round-the-world speaking tour he’d embarked on in 1895. He hoped to use the fees from speaking engagements to pay off the considerable debts he owed in the United States, due to a series of unsuccessful investments and publishing ventures. While Twain was in London, someone started a rumor that he was gravely ill. It was followed by a rumor that he had died. According to a widely-repeated legend, one major American newspaper actually printed his obituary and, when Twain was told about this by a reporter, he quipped: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. ”
Our text today is infamously known for having the shortest verse in the Bible. But, when you look beyond the brevity of one verse, you find deeper meaning and insights. Death always brings about a myriad of emotions and reflection. And Scripture reminds us, “…everyone must die once and be judged” – Hebrews 9:27 NCV.
In our society, we have sanitized death. Funeral directors go to great length to make death pretty – with embalming, cosmetology and flowers – but death is never pretty. 1 Corinthians 15:26 states that, “The last enemy to be destroyed will be death.”
Our text today is one of the most important explorations on the subjects of life, death, and resurrection found anywhere in Scripture . The key figures in this encounter with Jesus are, Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus. These three were very close friends of Jesus. Others even commented on how Jesus loved Lazarus. Their home in Bethany was often a getaway retreat for Jesus.
The story begins with Lazarus being very sick and the sisters sending word to Jesus to come quickly. Many of you have received one of those calls to come quickly to the bedside of one you love, so you know the intensity involved here. Despite sending word, Lazarus dies.
And we see that Jesus had other plans – plans that came from the Father in heaven rather than the plea from his friends. Jesus intentionally delayed going to Bethany in order to bring glory to God. The events that unfold is a marker event in the ministry of Jesus as well as the history of the world.
Jesus knows that there will be sorrow as the story unfolds, but he knows that God will use this painful life situation to reveal his glory to those who believe. After deliberately waiting, we find Jesus telling his disciples that it is time to go to Bethany after waiting two days.
So, on the fourth day after Lazarus has been dead, we find Martha rushing to Jesus when she sees him and expresses faith as well as scolding him for not coming sooner. And then just moments later we find Mary encountering Jesus and says exactly the same thing. Two sisters and exactly the same words. But, notice that Jesus’s response is remarkably different.
He almost argues with Martha as she presses the issue of his delay. “If” is the operable word here – how often has that word been used in modern times?
• If she would have just listened to the doctor.
• If I had insisted that he go to the ER.
• If…If…If.
How futile it is to imagine what might have been, if—! A word that is often used, but never affects the real outcome.
Martha chastises, “You came too late” and Jesus responds, “I am the resurrection and the life.” In other words, “With me it is never too late.” She sees nothing but despair and grief, but he pushes against these. He rebukes her doubt and gives her hope.
But with Mary, his response is different. Jesus shows true compassion and enters Mary’s grief. He asks where the body has been laid as he too weeps. In these encounters we see his wisdom, his humanness and his character and identity.
The place of his burial gives us a glimpse into the status of this family. The very poor would have taken a dead body almost immediately to an open area outside the city and dug a grave and buried the body. Those of middle or upper class had the means to afford a tomb carved out of soft sandstone or a cave for burial.
In the warm climate of Palestine, a dead body would decompose quickly, so a person's body was often buried the same day of death. Four days places Lazarus well beyond what anyone might call a "near death" experience. When Jesus and the disciples arrived in Bethany, many Jews from Jerusalem had gathered to console Lazarus's family, and some of those who had arrived were religious leaders.
In Jewish society, prolonged mourning for the dead was considered an essential part of every funeral. It was convenient for many Jews to be there because Bethany was a village on the outskirts of Jerusalem .
In this story, we see Jesus reacting to Martha rather stoically and with Mary very vulnerable. It shows clearly that Jesus was both God and man. With Martha he underscores his deity. With Mary he demonstrates his incarnation.
By His teaching, His miracles, and His own resurrection, Jesus clearly taught the resurrection of the human body. He declared once for all that death is real, that there is life after death, and that the body will one day be raised by the power of God. This sets Jesus apart from every other prophet or teacher who ever lived. In this story we have deity joined to human vulnerability .
I’ve heard some people say that Jesus was 50% God and 50% human, but that is not an accurate description of who Jesus was. More realistically – he was simply God/man. From human view that is hard to comprehend. And, no other religion agrees with this. No religion other than Christianity believes that the transcendent Creator, the author of life, became a weak, limited mortal who felt the full horror of death .
With Martha, I can picture Jesus grabbing her by both shoulders and saying, “Listen to me! Don’t despair. I’m here. Resurrection. Life. That’s what I am. Do you believe me?” With Martha it is about truth and reality.
With Mary, it’s about presence and tears. She needed consolation and he stepped into her sorrow with complete sincerity and integrity. For us today, sometimes the best thing we can do in consoling the grief-stricken, is to just be there – without platitudes.
We don’t always respond to grief the way we should because we do not have the insight that Jesus had. He knew exactly how to be strong when he needed to be and also to be tender when it was called for. It is this paradox – God and man – that gives Jesus that special appeal.
As we saw in his encounter with the woman at the well and Nicodemus, Jesus is gentle and approachable to the weak and direct and confrontational with the strong. Timothy Keller writes, “He has tenderness without weakness. Strength without harshness. Humility without the slightest lack of confidence. Unhesitating authority with a complete lack of self-absorption.
Holiness and unending convictions without any shortage of approachability. Power without insensitivity .”
Look at the account of the grieving sisters once more: “Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, 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. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Translators have glossed over v. 38. Jesus was much more than ‘deeply moved.’ In the original language this phrase means “to bellow with anger.” Almost every commentator on this section of scripture indicate that Jesus was absolutely furious.
He was not angry with Mary and Martha. Jesus is furious with death. Everyone reacts differently to death. One time, a patient died when I was in his presence while his wife had gone to eat. When she returned she beat on my chest and in a fury demanded, “Why, did you let him die?” Even when we know death is eminent it can bring various emotions.
But why is Jesus mad. Here, is God’s Son and he is not mad at God or himself, but he is mad that death is the result of sin and not a part of God’s original design and it has claimed a very close friend. And, if Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, why didn’t he just wipe out all of the sins that cause death?
Jesus did not come with a sword in his hands. He did not come to bring judgment but to bear the judgment of God. And in the crux of this miracle we see the jealousy and resentment of the religious elite begin to show because in v. 53 it says, “So from that day on they plotted to take his life.”
Jesus knew that if he raised Lazarus from the dead that the religious establishment would try to kill him. It is ironic, but we know that by raising Lazarus from the dead he was bringing about his own death. If he was going to save us – he was going to have to die for our sins and bear the judgment we deserve.
So, as he approached the tomb of Lazarus, we see why he was so angry – so upset – so emotional – so demonstrative … he bellowed, “Lazarus, come out.”
The witnesses there that day marveled, “See how he loved him!” For people today, we marvel at “Oh, how he loves us!” God in the flesh through Christ became mortal, vulnerable, and submissive even to death, all out of love for us.
Some of you probably remember when the Russians put a man in orbit in 1961. Nikita Khrushchev boldly declared, “Our cosmonaut didn’t see God on any orbit of the earth.” It was not very good logic and there are still those today who doubt the existence of God.
We don’t find God by exploring space. His creation and His Word are constantly speaking if we will but take the time and effort to listen and apply the truth that is all around us. And, God is so much more than mere information.
He has looked in love into our world – the very world He created – and saw humans destroying themselves and others through willful sin and rebellion and rejection. In fact, it did not take long after creation for God to look at mankind’s rebellion and sin as we see in Genesis 6:6 when it says, “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.”
The magnanimous heart of God and his love for the very people he created sent his very own Son to the cross to die in our place. He knew that we could never extricate ourselves from the traps of temptation and the snares of sin – so He made the ultimate sacrifice – the sacrifice of His own Son, on our behalf.
The experience of Lazarus is a good illustration of what Jesus can do. For us today, we have a vivid description of what Jesus can do for us. The Apostle Paul writing to the Ephesians said, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Do you possess that free gift of salvation this morning? The ransom for your sins have been paid by God’s own Son. Jesus may have bellowed at death – but he beckons you with love and grace today. No matter what your past . . . your future can be different. Right now, we extend the invitation of Jesus, won’t you respond as we sing a song of encouragement.
Resources used in this sermon:
http://www.thisdayinquotes.com/2010/06/reports-of-my-death-are-greatly.html
The College Press NIV Commentary – John
Warren Wiersbe, (BE Series) - New Testament - The Bible Exposition Commentary, Volume 1Life Application Bible Commentary - Life Application Bible Commentary – John.
Timothy Keller, Encounters with Jesus, Dutton, New York, 2013
