Jesus Wept (1)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 9/13/2020
Ella Wilcox once witnessed a strange phenomenon in the middle of a train car. Sitting quietly by herself, Ella noticed a woman near the front of the car who was crying. There was nothing subtle about it either. This wasn’t a single tear rolling down her check; rather, she was sobbing very noticeably. At first, Ella was a little bothered by the persistent weeping, but then she noticed another passenger in the car—an older gentlemen sitting near the rear of the car telling funny stories to the passengers sitting around him. Everybody smiled and chuckled along with the old man. After a while, some of the other passengers in the car started moving. They were getting up from their seats in the front, near the crying woman, and gravitating toward the back near the man telling the funny stories. Out of this experience, Ella Wilcox wrote the well-known adage: “Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Weep, and you weep alone.” Maybe you can relate.
Let's be honest. This year has been pretty hard on all of us. Between the coronavirus, the isolation, economic pressure, racial tensions, the rioting, the political divisions, disrupted routines, and the constant arguments over whether to wear masks or whether schools should be open, people are more stressed, anxious, and depressed than anytime I can remember.
All this garbage going on in the world just sort of eats away at us. People who have never felt anxious before are suddenly weighed down with worry, loneliness, uncertainty, and even hopelessness. According to the National Center for Health: In July 2019, 8% of adults showed signs of clinical depression and anxiety. In July 2020, that number jumped to 36%. A full third of Americans are wrestling with depression and anxiety. Maybe you're one of them. Maybe you've been struggling with disappointment, discouragement or depression in recent months. Maybe you've had days where you feel like breaking down in tears—sobbing uncontrollably in the middle of a train car.
Did you know there's a scientific reason why people cry?
Gregg Levoy, writing in Psychology Today, reports that crying can actually remove chemicals that build up during emotional distress. According to Levoy, the amount of manganese stored in the body affects our moods, and the body stores thirty times as much manganese in tears as in blood serum. Biochemist William Frey says that the lacrimal gland, which determines the flow of tears, concentrates and removes manganese from the body (Nelson 722). That's why crying often makes you feel better. I rather prefer M.R. DeHaan's explanation: "A tear is the distillation of the soul... From infancy to old age the record of every man's life is written in letters of tears" (Nelson 722). Of course, crying isn't very manly, is it? Statistically, women do cry about four times as frequently as men. But men—even strong manly men—still cry on occasion. In the words of Ron Swanson, "Crying is acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon."
It may surprise some of you that the Bible records three separate times that Jesus was so overwhelmed with emotion that he broke down in tears. He experienced the same inner turmoil and tension that we often experience in life. He faced real anxiety and anguish on many occasions. In fact, the shortest verse in the Bible tells us "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). And we're not talking about a single manly tear rolling down his cheek. Jesus wept bitterly and loudly at times. Jesus wrestled with soul-crushing despair. The tears that stained his cheeks and soiled his beard tell tales of sympathy, sorrow, and struggle.
It's my hope that perhaps you and I can learn something about ourselves and our struggles through the tears of Jesus. So, for the next few weeks, I'd like to dig into the Gospels and really unpack these tales of tears. What could possibly bring tears to the eyes of God? How did Jesus deal with discouragement and despair? And what can we learn from his experiences and example that could help us wipe our own tears away? Let's try to find those answers together.
The first time Jesus weeps is recorded in John 11. It's the story of Lazarus's funeral, a story that many of you are probably familiar with. In fact, I preached this very passage a few months ago in my series titled At His Feet. But I want to take a slightly different approach to it this time.
As you might recall Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, were dear friends of Jesus. So, when Lazarus fell gravely ill, Mary and Martha immediately send word to Jesus. Several days later, Jesus and his disciples arrive outside of Bethany. Before they even reach the city, they can hear flutes and the sounds of psalms pouring out from the broken-hearts of the grieving. Lazarus died from his illness. The funeral had already begun. The mourners wail with strained voices and tear-stained faces, everyone dotted with ash and dust from head to toe—a sobering sight to say the least. Bereaved and ash covered, beating their chests, ripping their clothes, wailing in gut-wrenching sorrow, broken in grief.
Martha was the first one to greet Jesus. She heard that he was coming and went out to meet him. As soon as she sees Jesus, Martha whimpers, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21 NLT). Remarkably, Mary says the exact same thing moments later when she greets Jesus: "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:32 NLT). If only you have been here. It's almost as if Mary and Martha are asking "Where were you, Lord!? Why weren't you here?" Hasn't that question passed through the synapses of your mind a time or two. When tragedy or catastrophe strikes, have you ever wondered, "Where is God!?" Where is God when bad things happen? Where is God when life sucks? Where is God when it hurts?
I think the touching tale of Lazarus's funeral answers that question for us. First, this story reveals that Jesus is coming.
• HE IS COMING
Jesus was across the Jordan River where John had been baptizing in the early days, when he receives word that his friend Lazarus, Mary and Martha’s brother, was very ill. The Bible says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. Then he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea’” (John 11:6-7 NIV).
The obvious question is, of course—why did Jesus stay where he was two more days? If he loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus, why didn't he immediately jump up and catch the next bus to Bethany? He intentionally waited two days before going to see his sick friend. Now to be fair, Jesus waited two days and then had a two day trip, but when he arrives Lazarus has been dead for four days, which means that Lazarus was already dead by the time Jesus got word he was sick. But still—Jesus knows the beginning from the ending. He could have been there. He chose not to be. He arrived too late. And everybody is asking, “Where were you? Why weren’t here? Why didn’t you do anything? How could you have let this happen?”
I think we find the answer in the conversation he has with his disciples along the way. When Jesus announces that it's time to go back Bethany, his disciples try to stop him. They remind him, as if he'd forgotten, "only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?" (John 11:8 NLT).
So, then Jesus tells them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” (John 11:11 NLT). The disciples reply, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” (John 11:12 NLT). Apparently, the disciples where like Drax the Destroyer—metaphors go right over their heads. So finally, Jesus tells them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him" (John 11:14-15 NLT). Another translation says, "I’m glad that I wasn’t there so that you can grow in faith” (John 11:15 GWT).
This tells us that Jesus knew all along that Lazarus would die before he arrived. That was part of Christ's plan. It may seem like Jesus didn’t show up on time. But the truth is—he showed up right on time. Like Gandolf the Grey, Jesus “is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.”
It was roughly six or seven days from the time Mary and Martha sent a messenger to tell Jesus Lazarus was sick to the time Jesus arrived. And don't you know that was probably the longest week of Mary and Martha's life. Each day felt like an eternity as they just waited for Jesus to show up.
Maybe you can relate. 2020 has felt like the longest year of your life, hasn't it? This whole COVID mess just seems to drag on and on, and you wonder if it's ever going to end. Maybe you're wondering, "When is God going to show up?" It feels like he's running a little late. You may even wonder if God has forgotten about you. But God will always show up in his own time. Not my time, or your time, but his time. God hasn’t forgotten you.
Even through pain and loss, God is working to develop your faith and help you grow. And sometimes that means arriving later than we want him to. So, where is God when it hurts? He's coming. We just have to trust that he will show up when the time is right. Furthermore, this story reveals that Jesus is caring!
• HE IS CARING
As I said before, Martha was the first to greet Jesus. She heard he was on the way and rushed out to meet him. Jesus comforts Martha by reassuring her that Lazarus would indeed rise from the dead—that she would get to see her brother alive again. But we'll circle back to their conversation in a few minutes.
Soon afterward, Mary heard that Jesus had arrived and she too rushed out to meet him. The Bible says, “When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there” (John 11:31 NIV). Mary was a mess. For four days, she had probably gone back and forth between the house and the tomb dozens of times, always seeking comfort but never finding it. This time, however, she wasn’t going to the tomb. She was going to Jesus.
Mary ran to Jesus seeking comfort and compassion. And that's what she found. When Mary reached Jesus, she immediately fell at his feet with tears streaming down her face. The Bible says, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit… Jesus wept” (John 11:33, 35 NIV). Jesus saw Mary's puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks and he felt her pain. He cared so deeply for her that he just wept with her. Her sadness, her sorrow and grief and heartache moved Jesus to tears.
Jesus cared deeply for Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He cares about you too.
Now more than ever, we live in a world of hurting people. Americans buy over 3,000,000,000 Tylenol® each year. Jesus knows every headache. According to the National Center for Health, over 100,000,000 Americans show signs of clinical depression and anxiety. Jesus knows every heartache. He knows and he cares. In fact, the Apostle Peter urges us, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).
I think this is exactly what Mary was doing when she fell at Jesus feet. And there in the velvety dirt moist with the tears of God, Mary experienced his care, his compassion and his comfort. So can you. If you're wrestling with the agony of death, divorce, disease, or any other kind of distress or despair, you can go to the feet of Jesus, cast all your anxiety on him and know that he cares for you. He loves you.
So where is God when it hurts? First, he's coming—carefully timing his arrival. Furthermore, he's caring—crying right there beside you. Finally, he's capable. Jesus is capable.
• HE IS CAPABLE
After taking time to weep with Mary, Jesus asked Mary and Martha to show him to the tomb—Lazarus's grave. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance, just like the tomb Jesus himself would soon occupy. The Bible says, "Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb" (John 11:38 NIV). Now standing before the tomb, an air of authority swirled around him as Jesus commanded: “Roll the stone aside” (John 11:39 NLT).
But Martha protested: “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible” (John 11:39 NLT). She had no idea what Jesus was about to do. She should have. Earlier, Jesus comforted her, saying, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23 NIV). Martha thought Jesus was talking about the resurrection at his Second Coming, but Jesus had something much more immediate in mind.
Before demonstrating his supremacy over death, however, Jesus paused and prayed. He looks up and says, "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" (John 11:41-42 NIV).
Then, full of conviction and confidence—the air around him crackling with power—the Bible says, “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 NIV).
Do you know why Jesus specifically named Lazarus when he called out in loud voice? Because if he has just said, “Come out,” every tomb in that graveyard would be empty. That’s the power of Christ—it’s the power of resurrection, the power of life!
Jesus is capable of bringing the dead back to life! If your marriage is dead, Jesus is capable of resurrecting your marriage. If your career is dead, Jesus is capable of calling your career out of the tomb. He's capable of breathing new life into your finances, your family, or your faith. But most importantly, Jesus is capable of resurrecting you! That’s why Jesus chose to arrive when he did—to prove that he really does have the power to raise us up from the dead and give us everlasting life!
No matter what you're going through, no matter how bad things get—the worst this life has to offer only amounts to an infinitesimal moment of misery compared to the everlasting, overwhelming love, joy and peace awaiting us in eternity.
The question is—do you believe this?
Going back to his early conversation with Martha, Jesus said, “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?” (John 11:25-26 NIV). Mary replied, “Yes, Lord… I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:27 NIV).
Martha believed in Jesus with her whole heart and her faith was well placed. Thanks to Jesus, Mary and Martha experienced a joyful reunion with their brother and the sadness and sorrow they felt just melted away. Jesus wiped every tear from their eyes and he can do the same for you.
Conclusion:
I think it's only natural to wonder at times: Where is God when bad things happen? Where is God when life sucks and the whole world seems to be falling apart? Where is God when it hurts? Mary and Martha must have wondered the same thing: "Lord, if you had been here…" But in the midst of their sorrow and suffering, these sweet sisters discovered…
Jesus is coming—carefully timing his arrival at just right moment
Jesus is caring—he wept right there beside them and with them
Jesus is capable—of raising the dead and giving everlasting life
Hopefully, their experience can help us as we struggle with discouragement, despair and darkness. Let's trust in God's timing. Let's cast our anxieties upon him. And let's turn to Jesus in faith for hope and healing.
Of course, this is just the first of three times Jesus wept in Scripture. Next week, we'll dig into Luke 19 when Jesus weeps over the fate of Jerusalem and her people.
Invitation:
In the meantime, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or lonely or heartbroken, I want to invite you to do as Mary did, and simply fall at the feet of Jesus. Go to him in prayer and cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Let's pray together…
Dear Lord, we all struggle with discouragement, disappointment and depression at times. It's comforting to know what Jesus too wrestled with soul-crushing grief. I want to lift up those who are struggling emotionally right now. Help them to see the light in the darkness—the light of Jesus. May we all find hope and healing in the tears of Jesus. Amen.
