I heard a sermonette the other day that touched me deeply. I drank in every word, hoping that I could later write it all down so I wouldn't ever forget it. I finally did. I will share it with you here, the story that took on new meaning for me. I hope it does for you too. Here it is in my own words:
John takes the time to describe an event in the life and ministry of Jesus… an event that had profound effects on many people and that ultimately led to the discussion of Jesus’ demise. But what we see as a wonderful miracle for Lazarus and his two sisters is actually a beacon of hope to many of us today.
Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha. They held a special place in his heart. He often visited their home in Bethany and found it to be a place of rest and refreshing. When Lazarus fell deathly sick, the sisters sent Jesus a message saying, “…he whom thou lovest is sick.” John often used this sort of title for people of special interest to Jesus. John chose to list himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Not only does John mention Lazarus as one that Jesus loved, but he repeats himself only two verses later saying, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” Okay, we get the point. They were his special peeps and he cared for them deeply.
But the story gets interesting from here. You’d think that upon hearing that his beloved friend was sick unto death, that Jesus would immediately rise up and go to see Lazarus to at least say goodbye! Or maybe even heal him. He could have even spoken a word like he did for the centurion, and Lazarus would have popped up out of his deathbed. But instead, Jesus just waited two more days.
What confusion this must have caused the disciples! They know how deeply Jesus cared for Lazarus and his sisters, and they know that the man is near to death’s door, and yet, Jesus seems to be oblivious to the pain and sorrow this was causing Mary and Martha. He seemed completely distant and uninterested… like the god that creates everything then just sits there watching and waiting while we wallow in sin, pain and loss.
When Jesus finally says, “let’s go,” he takes the time to tell his disciples that Lazarus is “sleeping” (i.e. dead). They think that’s fine and dandy until Christ then pops their bubble with “Lazarus is dead.” The disciples must have thought, “Boy, he took that well.” Still, no emotion on Jesus’ part is portrayed in the Biblical account. He appears stoic.
When Jesus arrives in Bethany, two grieving sisters greet him. Martha, who first meets Jesus, says, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.”
If… the word that we are all familiar with. “If God is real, why does He allow all this pain? If God really cared, I would never have suffered this injury. If God loves me, why did He allow me to be abused? If God is love, why all this? If, if, if… our deepest, most heart agonizing questions often are prefaced with the word if. We question God. We shake our fists at Him, saying” why”?
Mary had the same resentment and anger. She basically asked the same thing… “Where were you???” Where were you when I was diagnosed with a terminal illness? Where were you when I suffered through that loss of a loved one? Where were you when I endured ridicule, abuse and pain? Where were you, God? Why do you seem to sit silently on the bleachers while we are down in the arena being torn apart by life’s circumstances? How could you be loving? How could you even care? If you really cared, why didn’t you DO something???
“Jesus wept.”
The shortest verse in the Bible, and yet packed with far more meaning then we give it credit for.
Finally, we see emotion; we see grief. Jesus wept. In the Greek translation, it means that Jesus shed real, wet teardrops. This is one of the few instances in the Bible where Jesus shed tears. Jesus was moved by the sorrow and pain he saw in the faces of his beloved friends. Jesus wasn’t crying over Lazarus, for he knew what glorious miracle he would perform. No, instead, Jesus wept with those he loved. He shed humanity’s infamous tears. His divinity was shadowed as he wet his face with his own teardrops. His eyes probably got swollen; his nose may have started running; his beard got wet. He groaned and may have even wailed. He was truly weeping.
Jesus asked to be taken to the graveyard. He went to the place where everyone had given up hope. He found himself in the place where Mary and Martha’s broken dreams, shattered hopes and splintered trust were buried. He was in the graveyard where they had given up. Everything had died with Lazarus. Nothing was left but a tombstone as a memorial of their loss.
Where’s your graveyard? Where is the place where you gave up, where you felt totally helpless and alone? Where did you say, “I’m done. I give up. I can’t make it any longer. I’m hopeless. I just want to bury my dreams and hopes?” This is the place where you felt utter despair and hopelessness. Your trust was broken, your life was marred, your heart was scared, your dreams were shattered, your fire was extinguished, and your expectations were singed. You gave up trying. You threw your hands up in desperation and left your everything there in the grave, left with nothing but a gnawing and empty void.
Jesus has asked to see your grave. He knows your heartache and despair. He knows what you’ve been through. He’s seen it all. He’s wept with you and cried with you. He’s shed tears with you. It’s not because of your buried dreams. No, it’s just because he sees you in pain. He sees you ready to drown in hopelessness.
And yet, he sees a better tomorrow. He sees your dreams and hopes resurrected. He knows that the things restored will be sweeter after the grief of losing them. It’s at the time when you are ready to give up that he can resurrect your life. He can’t resurrect anything if it wasn’t first dead. He wants to make it a glorious dawning for you. He wants to take your life’s shattered bits and pieces and shape them back together. He wants to heal your broken heart, mending it tenderly so that you can be a living testimony of his loving care. He wants to take that which should have been ugly and make it something beautiful to behold.
Will you let him?
