May 30, 2010

May 30 John 11:28-57
Have you ever had disappointment with God? Sure you have. You thought the Lord's glory was such that He would intervene in a certain way if you requested Him to intervene. Then He did not intervene. What happened? For some, the disappointment is so great that they walk away from the situation in disbelief. Mary and Martha were disappointed in Jesus. They had sent to Him for help when their brother Lazarus was sick and dying. Jesus delayed. Lazarus died. Mary expressed her disappointment with Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." It’s your fault God! If, if, if, if!!!
Jesus was not untouched by the emotion. Verse 35, the shortest verse in the Bible, says, "Jesus wept." Why did Jesus cry? After all, He had purposely delayed so that Lazarus could die. I think there are various reasons why Jesus cried:
1. He was pained by the fact that even His closest friends could not see beyond the terror of the moment and grasp His glory.
2. He really felt the agony of Mary and Martha as they mourned the deep loss of their brother.
3. He mourned that He was going to have to call Lazarus, His friend, back out of paradise into this world of pain. He knew that Lazarus would have to travel through the experience of dying one more time.
4. He cried for joy knowing that they would have opportunity to learn that He could raise them from the dead.

So, there are at least 4 reasons why Jesus wept. I think they were all part of this deeply emotional moment. Our Lord is deeply emotional. Have you ever thought of Him as having strong emotions and that those emotions are part of His glory? I tend to think of Him as a very stoic--what will be will be. But Jesus was alive with emotions. No, they did not over rule His intellect or His spirit but He felt strongly what He felt. The next time you are grieving over a loved one, remember He grieves for your loss probably more strongly than you do. But He also knows the joy that person is experiencing-if they knew Him. He simultaneously rejoices with them as He grieves for you. He strongly desires that you to see His glory in this situation. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John