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| Jesus Wept by James Tissot |
John 11: 35 NKJ
Why did Jesus cry when He came to Lazarus' funeral? Was He crying because He loved Lazarus, (vs 36) and would miss His friend? Lets get into the story.
When He arrived in Bethany, Martha came to Him and said, "'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that what ever You ask of God, God will give You.' (21,22) Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.'" John 11: 24-27 NKJ Martha knew Lazarus would raise in the last day, but she was hurting now.
Then... when Mary came "she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died'. Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping,... He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, 'Where have you laid Him?' ... 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus wept." John 11:32-35 NKJ
"He groaned in the spirit and was troubled." John 11:33 The word for groaned is used to express anger and deep feeling. I wonder if He was upset over all the suffering and death that came upon all people when Adam and Eve sinned and ate the fruit? Was He angry at Satan and the misery he has brought to humanity? Did this further strengthen His resolve to go to the cross, seize victory over death and destroy Satan's power to control people?
Why did Jesus cry? Did He cry because His dear friend was dead? He did not cry for Lazarus at first, because He knew the joy at the end of the story... that very day Lazarus would live again and return to all of his loved ones. But when He saw the people weeping, He felt the pain we each feel when we lose someone we love. Jesus was made like us and in every way He suffered just like we do. He is merciful, He has a heart of compassion because He understands how we feel. (Hebrews 2:6, 14-18 and 4:14-16)
Have you ever lost someone that you love deeply? We have had 5 deaths in our family in this last year. It is really hard to process... that my three aunts are really gone, never to see them again in this life? They each left their families behind in grief. Now they live with the empty place at the table and the empty place their loved one occupied in each of their hearts. And a few months ago my brother passed. His kids and grand kids who saw him every day are still very sad and broken inside. In the grief we feel; it is helpful to look to the final future of all of us who love and believe in Jesus Christ. In our time on this earth, we will pass into heaven, a beautiful place... no more death, no more crying no more pain.
Jesus knows exactly how your feel. Look to Him. Look to God, His Father who is the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles. Jesus came as a human being. He felt our pain... He felt the same sorrow you feel when you lose someone you love. Now Jesus is with God on the right hand of His throne and when we believe in Him, we may "come boldly to throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." Hebrews 4: 16 NLT
Not only is God a merciful and compassionate God, but He sent His son Jesus, to be human like us. He felt our pain and was tempted in all ways just as we are tempted. Then He died on the cross and He was raised from the dead. He conquered death. He conquered Satan's power over us that causes us to sin!
Even if Lazarus remained dead that day, it would not have been the end of the story of Lazarus. Lazarus did eventually die, just as we will all die. But that is not the end of our story either. If you lost someone that you love, it is not the end of their story. It is only the morning, the beginning of a whole new day in a whole new life. It is the beginning of living forever in the glory of God for all those who truly believe in Him. You see:
Psalm 30:5 NKJ
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