The Funeral Where Even Wept.

April 10, 2011

John 11:35, Jesus wept.

It’s not unusual to see someone cry. Even the strongest people can be overwhelmed by circumstances, and their emotions get to them. But you wouldn’t expect God to cry, would you? After all, He’s in complete control of everything. Yet we read the shortest verse of the English (though not of the Greek or Hebrew Bible), “Jesus wept.” At two other funerals Jesus told people, “ Stop crying.” But at this one He cries. Today consider The Funeral Where Even Jesus Wept. 1. The Delay . Actually Jesus set this funeral up. By delaying, Jesus had let Lazarus die. He is about a day’s journey away when He gets , “Lord, the one You love is sick” (verse 3). Does Jesus rush right over? No. Jesus is never in a hurry, always sure of Himself. He hangs around two more days, and in the meantime Lazarus dies Everybody knew He could have prevented it. First says it: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (verse 21); then a short time later Mary says the same thing. Even the by-standers in verse 37 express surprise that Jesus couldn’t have kept Lazarus from dying, since He had opened the eyes of the blind man in John chapter 9, and they were right: Lazarus could not have died in Jesus’ presence. But Jesus stays away and lets him die, and He says to His disciples, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake glad I was not there, so that you may believe” (verses 14-15). Jesus wasn’t glad Lazarus was dead , but glad He was not there. Because, as He had stated in verse 4, “It is for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” It was more glorious raising the dead than healing the sick. The miracle Jesus was about to perform would make a greater impact in convincing His disciples. So not only does He let Lazarus die, but He delays so that Lazarus would be in the grave for parts of four days. 2. The Weeping . Jesus had set it up. He was in complete control. But then He comes to the funeral and He cries. What sense does that make? Why did Jesus weep? I just don’t buy the answer that’s often given: Jesus was fully human, and He felt sorrow at the loss of His friend. I don’t buy that, because Jesus knew that in just a few minutes He was going to bring His friend back to life. It’s the same with the explanation: Jesus wept out of sympathy for Mary and Martha’s loss. Again, He knew their tears would soon be gone. Why feel sorry for them over their loss? Rather, the explanation must have something to do with faith and salvation. When verse 33 says, “He was deeply moved and troubled in spirit,” the word “deeply moved” suggests anger, rebuke, as if He thinks Mary and the others are going too far in their grief. The Bible speaks against immoderate grief, against grieving “like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). There’s nothing wrong with crying at funerals, but excessive displays of grief might show that faith is weak, or absent. It’s interesting that the word used for “Jesus wept” is used only this one time in the Bible, and it indicates a silent shedding of tears, a controlled weeping. The word used for Mary’s weeping, as well as for the weeping of the mother at Nain (Luke 7) and the mourners at Jairus’s daughter’s death, means a loud wailing and carrying on. When Jesus sees this , He’s upset. I’m convinced that Jesus’ weeping was because of the unbelief of His people, even His own disciples and friends. He wept because that unbelief forced Him to perform a miracle to prove Himself. Seven chapters earlier Jesus had lamented, “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe” (:48). This poor Lazarus has to die and go to heaven and then be brought back just because of people’s unbelief, to prove to people that Jesus is Lord. And later people would plot to kill Lazarus as well as Jesus. Perhaps Jesus wept also because He knew that this miracle would lead to His final rejection. This is the one that led directly to His final conflict with the authorities. Maybe we could also say that Jesus wept because of the ravages of sin and death. He was appalled at what the world had come to. He was Lord of Life. This was a slap in Jesus’ face, that death could run rampant over the earth – His earth. Jesus wept because He knew He was going to be held responsible for all that sin and death, and on the cross identify with the sorrow that comes from sin. So Jesus wept. And we’re glad. It might seem ungodly of Him. But isn’t this exactly the kind of God we need and want? In Greek mythology, the gods would weep when they get wounded, but they didn’t get emotional about our problems. Jesus wept because He was concerned about people – about their faith, and their eternal salvation. He also wept over a short time later (:41). He could have just as easily said, “Forget it: If these people don’t believe in Me after all I’ve done, I’m through with them.” Instead He wept. Don’t be ashamed if your involvement in this fallen world leads you to weep. The wickedness and merriment around you might bring tears to your eyes, as you think about the spiritual condition of the people you’re in contact with. When Jesus was on earth, not once does the Bible say, “He laughed,” or even, “He smiled.” Only once does it say He rejoiced (Luke 10:21). But He comes in contact with people of weak faith at a grave, and He weeps. Jesus was the Man of sorrows. Don’t be surprised if you find your self weeping, as one of His followers. But at the same time rejoice, because you have a God who loved you so much that He wept for you. His heart goes out to you. He’s concerned that nothing weakens or takes away your saving faith in Him. 3. The Resurrection . You know the story doesn’t end with Jesus weeping. You know the outcome. But picture yourself there: Jesus says, “Take away the stone” (verse 39), and Martha protests that her brother has been dead four days, and there is a bad odor (I like the King James Bible’s classic translation, “He stinketh.”) Did Jesus really intend to attempt a resurrection? Never before had He done anything quite like this: In the case of the young man of Nain and the daughter of Jairus He had brought them back shortly after death, before burial. Lazarus, however, had been gone four days. Picture yourself waiting with bated breath. Is Jesus crazy? Or drunk with His own success? “Lazarus, come out!” What if nothing happens? Will Jesus fail and make a fool of Himself? Wait….You hear something. Something’s coming out of the grave. After four days – It’s Lazarus! That shows a lot. It shows Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life (verse 25). This is not just an isolated instance of compassion, but a symbol of Jesus’ total conquest of death. A skeptic was once speaking to an audience, debunking the Bible. His theory was that Lazarus was not really dead, but that Lazarus and Jesus had collaborated to make it look as if Jesus was raising him from the dead, and the sign that they had arranged was for Jesus to say, “Lazarus, come out!” In driving this point home, the skeptic asked his audience, “Why do you think Jesus said, Lazarus , come out?” He wanted someone to say that this was the signal Jesus and Lazarus had arranged, so Lazarus would know when to come out. Instead, an elderly man in the back of the audience stood up and said, “Because if my Lord had not specified Lazarus , everyone in the cemetery would have jumped out of their graves.” And it’s true: Jesus is Lord of all . This incident also proves that Jesus Himself did not have to die. He prevented others from dying, and could have escaped death Himself. But it was necessary for us . He died for our sins, to give us life. For us, it was more glorious to have Jesus die and come alive than never to die in the first place. And – hard to believe – it is more glorious for us to die ourselves, and then come alive again, than never to die in the first place. The name “Lazarus” means, “God is his help.” Each of us can say the same thing: “God is my help.” He will stand at our graves and reach into our caskets, after four days, or four centuries, or four millennia, and pull us back, and take us to a place where we will weep no more.