John 11:28-37

John 11:28-37

And after saying these things she went away and called to Mary her sister while saying to her sister, “The teacher is present and He is calling you.”  And when that one heard she rose up quickly and was going to Him.  And Jesus had not yet come into the village but He was still in the place where Martha went out to meet Him.  Therefore the Jews, who are with her in the house and who were comforting her, saw that Mary stood up quickly and went out.  They followed her after thinking that she goes away into the tomb in order to weep there.  Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was, after seeing Him she fell down at His feet while saying to Him, “Lord, if you were here my brother did not die.”  Therefore, when Jesus saw her while weeping and the Jews who had come out with her while weeping, He was indignant by the Spirit and He Himself was distressed.  And He said, “Where have you all put him?”  They say to Him, “Lord, come and see.”  Jesus wept.  Therefore the Jews were saying, “Look at how He loved him!”  But some out of them said, “Is not this one who opened the eyes of the blind man powerful enough to do in order that even this one should not have died?”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Mary hears from Martha that Jesus wants to see her and she goes immediately.  She doesn’t hold back now.  This is good to see, especially in light of what we spoke of a few days back.  Mary may not have gone with Martha, but when she does go she doesn’t delay.  When Mary comes around to seeing Jesus, she’s all in.  This is a great example for us.  As human beings we sometimes need time to process and think.  But when it comes time to follow Christ and go to Him, we need to be all in.

Are you all in for Christ?  What does that feel like for you?

Second Thought:

Jesus weeps.  The question is, why?  Jesus is not weeping over the fact that Lazarus is dead.  After all, Jesus hasn’t wept at all in John 11 and Jesus has known for the whole chapter that Lazarus is dead.  More importantly, Jesus knows that in a few moments Lazarus won’t be dead any more.  Why weep for a man who isn’t going to be in such a condition any longer?  It makes no sense from our perspective to think that Jesus is weeping for Lazarus, although I completely understand how the people in the moment could think in this way.  In fact, don’t lose sight of the verbs immediately preceding Jesus’ weeping.  The verbs are “to be indignant” and “to be distressed.”  Those are not verbs of sad mourning.  So why does Jesus weep? 

I think Jesus’ weeping is three-fold. 

• First, Jesus feels the pain of those around Him and weeps with them.  He can sympathize and empathize with us. 
• Second, I think Jesus weeps because He sees here another example of how human beings cannot see past the now.  Everyone is so caught up in “missing Lazarus” that they aren’t in tune with God and they certainly aren’t demonstrating that the resurrection from the dead gives them any hope at all!  So often those who wail and weep at funerals are terrible models of true Christian hope! 
• However, I think there is a third – and profoundly more deep – reason that Jesus weeps.  Jesus weeps because He knows that He is about to introduce Lazarus back into this world of sin and corruption.  I believe Jesus is weeping for Lazarus because Lazarus is going to come back to life.  In death, Lazarus is free from pain and suffering and merely waiting to be resurrected eternally into the presence of God.  But when Jesus brings Him back to life, Lazarus will endure the pain of rejection and suffering as a disciple of His Lord.  Granted, I’m sure it is a pain and suffering that Lazarus can handle and will embrace.  But Jesus knows what is about to happen to those who follow Him.  He knows the confusion, pain, and doubt that is about to come.  He knows the persecution that His followers will eventually face.  Jesus knows that Lazarus is about to go from the peace of death to the turbulence of life.

Are you surprised by any part of this explanation of why Jesus weeps?  Where are you challenged by Jesus’ weeping?  Do you see life in the same perspective as Jesus?

Third Thought:

As a bit of a less than important point – but still important to me – I want to talk about the description “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  It has been taught for a while now that this is John’s description for himself as the Gospel writer.  I don’t think that is correct – although I fully admit I could be wrong.  There are two reasons why I don’t think this is correct. 

• First, notice the end of John 11:36.  Jesus weeps, and the people think that Jesus is weeping for Lazarus.  So they marvel at how much Jesus “loves Lazarus.”  This is how nicknames get started.  I believe from this point on that Lazarus is nicknamed “the disciple that Jesus loved” because the Jews falsely conceptualize why Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb.
• The second reason is that the description “the disciple whom Jesus loved” never occurs in John until after this story.  It occurs in five places: John 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, and 21:20.  Furthermore, it also only ever occurs in John.  I think logically from a linguistic perspective that it makes far more contextual sense to understand this description in terms of Lazarus than John. 
• What it also does for John is to allow him to seem far less egotistical in his writing.  I also believe that this is true.  It has been my experience that truly following Jesus is a humbling experience, not an experience that grants one an ego.

Why might it be useful to see this description in this light?  Assuming I am correct, what can this teach you about Jesus’ love?  What can this teach you about nicknames and truth contained within them?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 11:38-44