Jesus Wept

Among the most beautiful stories in all of scripture for me, is the story of Lazarus, or more accurately the story of how the Savior comforted Mary and Martha following the death of Lazarus and before he raised Lazarus from the dead.  Knowing that Lazarus was in failing health, Mary and Martha sent to the Savior, saying "Lord, behold, he whom thou loves is sick" (John 11:3).  But Jesus responded to these beloved sisters, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby" (John 11:4).  Surely, upon receiving these words, Mary and Martha must have assumed that Lazarus would be healed quickly.  They must have assumed that the Savior would come quickly and perform His healing work.  He had done it for so many others that seemed to be relative strangers, and Lazarus was counted among the Lord's choicest and most beloved earthly friends.  Above all, they certainly must have assumed that the Savior's words meant that Lazarus would not die.  The Master had promised it, and they knew, like Enos, that the Savior could not lie (see Enos 1:6).

But then something happened that Mary and Martha likely had not planned upon.  The Savior "abode two days still in the same place where he was" (John 11:6) before beginning to make His way back to Judaea where Lazarus was.  He waited, and while He waited, Lazarus died.  By the time that Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days (John 11:17).  Others had already been flocking to the home of Mary and Martha to offer comfort by the time that the Savior arrived.

It is here in the story that I pause to think about the thoughts that must have flooded the minds of Mary and Martha, these two faithful sisters whose goodness had been so great as to make their home a place where the very Son of God often took comfort and refuge.  They had been faithful.  They had done what the faithful do in times of trouble and called out to the Savior for help and they had received promises of Him which they had believed and trusted in.  And yet their brother had still died and it seemed as though the promises of God had fallen short of fulfillment.

Hearing of the Savior's coming, faithful Martha rushed to meet him, but Mary remained in the house. We don't know why Mary remained behind, but it is plausible to believe that for just a moment this righteous woman might have stayed behind in some pain with perhaps a few questions about the promises which the Savior had given.  At the very least, I know that I might have felt that way.  Rushing to the Savior's side, Martha verbalized the feelings of the sisters, saying, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."  But then with faith to temper her sorrow, she declared, "But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee" (John 11:21-22).  What a touching example!  She didn't understand why this promise had not been kept, but she retained her faith, full of hope that, at the very least, her brother would "rise again in the resurrection at the last day" (Luke 11:24).

The Savior responded to Martha's worries and to each of us in our moments of despondency, saying, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."  He then asked a critical question of each of us, "Believes thou this" (John 11:25-26)?  In other words, "Do you, in the depths of your sorrow and suffering, do you truly believe that I have the power to bring life and joy and happiness to you?"  Martha responded with unshaken faith that He was and is "the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world" (John 11:27).  No matter how painful the loss of Lazarus had been, Martha's faith in Christ's divinity and in His ability to fulfill each of His promises had remained unshaken.

Her faith renewed, Martha then went to her sister and said, "The Master is come, and calleth for thee" (John 11:28).  In this small act, Martha may have helped to renew the faith of her sister, who--whatever the cause of her remaining behind earlier--"arose quickly, and came unto him" (John 11:29).  In tears, Mary "fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died" (John 11:33).  She was heart-broken and filled with sorrow, and yet she still fell down at the feet of the Master and expressed her faith in His power.  And it is here, in this scene of sorrow, that we learn just how deeply His love for us runs.  For "he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him?  They said unto him, Lord, come and see.  Jesus wept.  Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved him" (John 11:33-36)!  The Savior knew full well that He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead.  The Savior knew full well why He had needed to wait and let Lazarus die, that there was a purpose in it.  And yet, the Savior took no joy in the sorrow of these beloved followers.  His knowledge of the final outcome of the trial did not diminish His compassion for these faithful sisters as they were in the midst of the trial.  Not only did he not take joy in their sorrow, He mourned with them.  He, who saw this situation perfectly, mourned because He knew and felt the pain that those who would not see perfectly were feeling in that moment.  There was no scolding or chastisement; no criticism of their lack of vision and understanding; not even a "Buck up!  Everything will be ok!"  He simply mourned with them.

Great as the subsequent miracle and witness of raising Lazarus from the tomb was to be, perhaps the more striking witness of the Savior was to be found in these tender tears preceding that miracle.  Most of us will not have occasion to have the Savior restore breath to one of our loved ones who has passed away.  But each of us will have occasion to experience loss.  And if we are faithful, each of us will have occasion to experience losses that seemed to go against the promises of the very God we trust in and worship.  In these moments, we can know a few things with the utmost assurance:  1) God is in control and He has a plan that He is carrying out perfectly.  2) We do not fully understand God's purposes or His plans.  3) It is ok for us to struggle with the pains and afflictions that we are called to pass through, but we must retain our faith.  4) Even while those moments of deprivation and sorrow are accomplishing God's plans, and even while He is rejoicing in the growth that comes to us through those challenges, He nevertheless understands our sorrow.  5) He not only understands our sorrow, He also mourns with us.  6) In time, the sources of our sorrows will all be healed.

In the Gethsemanes of our lives, each tear that we shed will be matched with tears of His own.  His our the tears of purest empathy and complete understanding.  They are tears that one can shed only out of charity, the pure love of Christ.  In time or in eternity, our own Lazaruses will be restored to life, our deepest losses restored to us, and our tears of sorrow replaced with tears of joy.  But for as long as we weep in heartfelt sorrow, we have the assurance that our Savior weeps and mourns with us.

Brett