John 11:1-45
“Jesus Wept”
By: Rev. Kenneth Sauer,
Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
www.parkview-umc.org
Our nation is at war and young Americans and Iraqis are being killed every day.
A judge, a bailiff and a court reporter have been shot and killed in a courtroom in Atlanta.
There are gangs and gunfights in our community.
Children are buying, selling and using illegal drugs—which will invariably rob them of their childhoods, and possibly ruin their entire lives.
There are many, many human beings who are living on the streets, without homes or family or friends…
…quite a number of these people suffer from some kind of mental illness.
Within our own families, our own congregation there is illness, mourning and death.
Often, we try not to notice…
…but sometimes we can’t help but notice…
…when the tragedy is as big as the New York skyline or as close as the passing of a loved one.
And then there is that awkward “I don’t know what to say” feeling that often causes us to send flowers instead of placing a phone call or stopping by to visit.
But, as awkward as it is, our Gospel Lesson for this morning forces us to take notice—as we are taken to yet another funeral.
Lazarus was dead and entombed.
Mary and Martha—sisters of Lazarus—were devastated.
Their family circle was broken and they were broken as well.
Their dearly beloved friend—Jesus—whom they knew and loved so much was far away from them and didn’t appear to be in a big hurry to come to their rescue.
The whole town of Bethany seems to have been in mourning as Jesus is finally seen coming down the road…
…a little too late to do any good.
Everything seems so mournful and sad.
We are sure that Jesus often came this way and stopped at the homes of Mary, Martha and Lazarus for refreshment and genuine friendship.
Had all that now ended…
…with Lazarus’ death?
It seemed like it.
But we know that there is more to this story and that this Scripture is called Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead…
…because it has to do with Jesus going to the tomb and calling Lazarus to come out.
The stone is removed and, sure enough, Lazarus comes out “his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.”
And now there is rejoicing instead of weeping!
Look what Jesus has done in the face of death itself!!!
Now Jesus didn’t come right away when He was told about Lazarus’ illness.
Why was this?
Why did Jesus allow all this sorrow to take place?
Why, why?
Could it be that Jesus wanted to show us that God is somehow bigger than the worst tragedy that can happen in human life?
Could it be that Jesus’ thinking was, let it happen and we’ll see what God can do?
Do we have faith as big as that?
Can we wrap our faith around our own human tragedies and believe that God can do something with them and through them? (some of these words and ideas are taken from “A Matter of Life and Death,” a sermon by Rev. John T. LeGault, Jr.)
We are told in verse 33 that when Jesus saw Martha weeping, “he 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.”
Could it be that one of the reasons that Jesus waited so long to come to Bethany is because as the Son of Man…Jesus had to experience human sorrow…
…He had to be able to empathize with the pain we struggle with when something horrible happens in our lives.
In Hebrews Chapter 2 we are told: “In bringing many sons [and daughters] to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering…
…Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity…
…Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
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 deeper into this passage we will find the heart of Christian care bound up in the character of Christ—Companionship, Comfort, and Compassion!!!
Now because the concept of someone who is the Son of God has been elevated to such a lofty state, we often forget that Jesus was also called the Son of Man.
And He liked that name. He used it a lot.
Jesus is the Son of God…but on earth He was also the Son of Man.
And He was a likeable person.
Jesus was a person that other people liked being 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.
The friendships Jesus made kindled hot in the hearts of those who loved Him…
…Because He first loved them---and better than they could ever love Him back!
If someone offered Jesus bread—He fed 5,000 persons to their fill.
If someone gave Him honor—He made them whole.
If someone trusted in Him—He gave them new life!!!
And He is still doing the same thing today!!!
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 His disciples, then we are His friends!!!
What a friend we have.
And the New Testament reassures us over and over again that Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God…
…the perfect resemblance, in human form, of the very character of God!
Therefore, these tears we read about in this mornings Gospel Lesson are a revelation!
They give us a look into the mind and nature of God.
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…
…desperate…
…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.”
The God Who created this universe…Who created everything…
…Who has the whole world in His hands…
… “wept.”
And the reason He wept was because He knew our pain!
“Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’”
And as we read this and think about the awesomeness of all of this…
…we cannot help but vividly realize that God still weeps with us…
…For God so loves the world!!!
Oh, how He loves us!!!
Through this passage we are able to see what God is really like, and how God feels when we are weeping!!!
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.” (This story and some other ideas were taken from a sermon written by Rich Hadley)
O that we would have hearts like that---That we would be Christ in the presence of the broken…and to help them cry!
We can never forget that it was the great Divine Compassion that motivated God to become a man---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.
John 11:35 may be just two words long, but I believe it’s one of the biggest verses in the Bible…
…because it shows us the heart of God.
It shows us that God fully understands our problems, and God is “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” by them.
Just as Jesus gazed upon Martha as she was deeply hurt, and wept with her…
…today, He is gazing into our hearts and crying over our hurts, our burdens, our sorrow.
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.
May God comfort us and give us true peace.
Amen.
