Jesus Wept (Gospel of John Part 34)
Text: John 11:28-44
So; if you remember from last time, Jesus had just spoken with Martha, and Martha was strengthened in her faith and she ended up making an amazing confession of faith in Jesus. And she left Him, in order to go get her sister Mary. And that’s where we pick back up this morning, and I want to get right into it, so please take your Bible and open them to the Gospel of John, chapter 11… John 11:28-44 (READ).
So Martha heads back home and tells her sister Mary that Jesus is nearby and that He’s calling for her. And you notice that Martha does this in private… that’s what verse 28 tells us; that she privately told Mary, “The Teacher is here, and is calling for you.” And we know why she would do that right? Last time Jesus was in this region, the Jews picked up stones and wanted to kill Him. So Martha is trying to keep this on the down low. She’s not wanting to cause a scene, and alert the enemies of Jesus, that He’s back in the area. And let me just say that sometimes… often times… discretion is the wise course of action. Not everyone needs to know every little detail of your life. Especially CERTAIN kinds of people. Now make sure you understand me. There’s a time to confide in others. People who are mature in their faith, and trustworthy, and who genuinely care about you. But often times, and among certain kinds of people, folks are just looking for drama, looking to interject themselves into things that they have no business, and no ability to deal with. Misery loves company, and drama loves its queens. Martha; being the older sister, being the more rational and logical of the two gets that and understands it, and tries to use discretion here. Unfortunately; Mary doesn’t pick up on the cue. She immediately jumps up and heads out the door.
Now; we can’t really blame Mary for this. She’s distraught. She’s upset. She’s just lost her brother. And she desperately wants to see Jesus. And again; there’s a principle there. When you’re grieving, when you’re suffering, when you’re going through something hard. Let’s be honest, often times, you don’t think clearly. You don’t think things through all the way. You need good counsel, and close friends. And again; I’ll say it, friends who are mature Christians who have your best interest at heart. Who will speak truth to you, in love.
Anyway… Mary gets up, she heads out the door and goes to Jesus. And if you remember; Jesus is probably on the outskirts of town, probably near the tombs. They didn’t put the tombs in town because of ritual purity laws. The tombs and cemeteries were usually, in most cases outside of town. That’s probably where Jesus is. And that’s where Mary was headed. And the crowds see her get up, and leave the house, and they think she’s going to the tombs to weep and mourn her brother there. So what do they do? Do they give her a little space and privacy? NOPE. They all get up and follow her.
Now why did they do that?
Well… there are probably some there who are really concerned about Mary. True friends. But I’d be willing to be that there were also some who were just there for the drama. It’s just the way that people are… some people watch NASCAR for the skill and competition, and some watch for the crashes. Some people watch the UFC because of the athletic talent, the skills and techniques of the fighters, and others just want to see knock outs. So just understanding human nature; there are probably some of these people who genuinely care about Mary, and then there are some who are secretly hoping she freaks out and causes a scene. And thinking through all of this is important when it comes to understanding what we see happen later on in the text. And we’ll get to that in a few minutes.
So Mary comes to Jesus, and she says the EXACT same thing that her sister Martha said earlier. “Jesus if You had been here, my brother would still be alive.” Now what she does different than Martha is that Mary falls at the feet of Jesus. In other words, Mary is overcome with grief and despair...
Put yourself in her shoes for a second… maybe you’ve been there… to that point where you’re overwhelmed? Where all you can do… and I mean ALL you can do is fall at the feet of Jesus.
This is an emotional scene. It’s real. It should tear at your heart. If you’ve been there you know what I’m saying. Mary’s world is upside down.
Or maybe… maybe you’ve been where Jesus is in this situation. You’ve got someone you love and care deeply about, and they are the one going through it. I don’t know about ya’ll but I’ve been in both of those positions. Where your heart breaks for that person, and you want to help them. You want to give them some kind of hope or assurance. But look at what happens here.
Look at verses 33 – 35 again (READ).
So Jesus looks at Mary, she’s seriously grieving, and He looks at Jews with her, they’re weeping (the word there literally means they were wailing and sobbing), and the text says that He was “deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled.” The Greek word that we translate as “deeply moved” is the word “embrimaomai” (pronounced: em-bri-mao-may), and it means to be angered, agitated, or perturbed in your spirit.
So what’s going on here? Some preachers have said that Jesus is upset with the spectacle of mourning being put on by the Jews, and there might be some truth to that, but I think it has more to do with something else. Remember; Jesus has already told Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And 1 Corinthians 15:26 tells us that death is an enemy of Christ that will be put under subjection. So I think the anger and agitation we’re seeing in Jesus here has to do with the fact that Jesus is angered by what sin has done to His creation. I think He’s angered by death, and what it does to families. I think He’s angered by how sin destroys life, because He’s the resurrection and the life. Death is His enemy, and Sin is His enemy. And Jesus sees what’s going on. He sees the pain and anguish it’s caused His friends Mary and Martha. He sees the people who are also sad and trying to console the sisters… He also sees the people who are just there for the drama or the spectacle, or maybe they’re getting involved in this because they’re hoping to gain something out of it… you know, be named in the will or something. They want to profit off of the suffering of others.
But the point is – Jesus sees ALL of this, and it’s ALL the result of sin in this world. All the hurt, all the sadness, all the suffering. It’s all caused by sin… and the wages of sin is death. So even the death of Lazarus itself… it’s all because of sin being in this world, and corrupting God’s creation. And it makes Him angry! Because He is good! And Just! And righteous, and holy! And Jesus sees this enemy of God’s original design, and of God’s created order… He sees death, and it appears that it has a temporary victory. And He’s indignant towards this. He’s angry with this. But look again at the text and see what He does; let’s see… take a look at verses 34 and 35
(READ John 11:34-35).
Jesus sees all the trouble that this enemy -- “death” has caused His friends, and He takes their grief, and sadness, and sorrow upon Himself, and He cries… “Jesus wept.” Now that word “wept” is not the wailing and sobbing like the crowds were doings… that word is the Greek word “dakryo”… it means to cry deeply and softly. Jesus personally shares their grief.
So what this text does for us is show us an amazing picture of who Christ is… it shows us His deity, and humanity… He is angry because He is good, and just, and holy… He weeps because He is compassionate, and loving and kind. He knows what we’re going through. He understands our pain and suffering, and sees the effects and consequences of sin in our lives and in this world. That’s why He came – to deal with it once and for all… the defeat sin, and death, and give us the victory over those things. To fix what was broken by sin, and restore all things to His Father. He came to seek and to save what was lost, all for the glory of God.
And that’s what He does here isn’t it?
Remember what Jesus had said to the disciples prior to coming to Bethany? He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, and so that the Son will also be glorified.”
Now listen to me… sometimes, when you’re going through hell on earth, it’s good, and beneficial, and wise to stop for a second and ask yourself, “How can I bring glory to God in this?” And to remind yourself that God has a plan and purpose for all things, and that even in those hard times, or those trying times, or those sad times… God can work it together for good and for His glory.
So… They take Him to the tomb, they roll away the stone, and Jesus speaks with all the authority and power of God – “Lazarus come out!”. Or if you prefer the old King James: “Lazarus come forth!” And out he comes, wrapped up like a mummy. Dude was probably hopping because his feet and legs are wrapped up. And you all have probably heard other pastors say, that Jesus had to command Lazarus to come forth, because if He had just said, “Come forth” every dead person in the tombs would have come out. And that may have been the case.
Jesus Christ is Emmanuel – God with us. He is God in the flesh. He has the power to call the dead to life because He is the resurrection and the life.
So let’s stop right there, and let me ask you… What is that thing that you’re going through right now? Or that thing that your family member or friend is going through? I want you to know that Jesus cares about that issue, because He cares for you. It doesn’t matter how big or small it seems. He knows what’s going on. He understands it, better than we do. And so I want to encourage you to not lose hope. Because He can bring you through it. But also understand that sometimes, He takes us through that hard thing, so that we will see that we need to do what Mary does; fall down before Him. I know that in my life, there have been times when I was too proud to pray, too proud to kneel before Him… and so thankfully I was brought to the place where I had to fall before Him, and to that place where all my strength, and all my knowledge, and all my abilities were completely insufficient, and I had to fall before Him, so that I could really and truly see that JESUS IS THE ANSWER! That Jesus is enough! That Jesus is the prize! That He is both Savior and Lord.
So this morning, I want you to cling to Him. To come before Him, and fall at His feet. I want you to know that Jesus is the answer, and that He loves you with an everlasting love, and He knows what you’re going through, and He can get you through it.
CLOSING
