Lent 2022 • Week Four Jesus Weeps

Friday, March 25th, 2022

Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” — John 11:35-36

Bible Reading: John 11:1-44

“Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus ) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Jesus, knowing that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, grieved and wept. When Jesus encounters Mary, (sister of Lazarus) in her brokenness, Jesus breaks down and weeps with her. *“Jesus, the Creator of life, grieved sin’s theft of life in this family.” Quote from Asheritah Ciuciu, “Uncovering the Love of Jesus.” page 115.

It was not accident that Jesus was not with Lazarus when he died; the death and rising of Lazarus was to show God’s glory and Jesus’ divinity.

Jesus said to her (Martha), “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” John 11:25-26

Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus and He grieved with them. Jesus loves you too, He will be with you and comfort you as well.

LOVE that celebrates people’s joy but does not mourn their grief is not love at all—

Grief takes courage. It takes energy. It requires sacrifice, especially when joining in a sorrow that is not our own. Grief is also a gateway to joy, joy in knowing that someday Jesus will return and dwell with His people where there will be no more death, no more sorrow and no more tears.

I can say that until I experienced grief in its fullness, I never truly understood the depths of love. Each runs deep and I have been blessed because of love and loss, God is the great comforter and healer, Jesus knows the human pains of loss and will hold you through each and every step.

Challenge Question

🙏🏻 Do you have an area of your life that you haven’t allowed yourself to grieve?

🛐 Using Psalm 88 as a guide, lament the brokenness in your life, and let Jesus’ presence comfort you, even as He weeps with you.

A Prayer ~

Jesus, my heart breaks for the sin and wickedness that is happening all around the world. Help me to have courage to face the sins in my own life. Help me face the brokenness and mistakes of my past. Help me to accept forgiveness. Allow me to grieve my wrongdoings and to grieve the wrongs done to me. Please provide your comfort as I grieve, open your heart and ears to my prayers. Lord, teach me to weep with those who weep. Help me spread joy where there is none. Jesus, I ask all these things in your Holy Name. Amen. 🛐🙏🏻💚

Further Study

Genesis 50:20 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Genesis%2050:20&version=NIV

Psalm 18 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Psalm%2018:1-50&version=NIV

Psalm 44 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Psalm%2044:1-26&version=NIV

Psalm 56:8 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Psalm%2056:8&version=NIV

Psalm 88 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Psalm%2088:1-18&version=NIV

Ecclesiastes 3:4 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Ecclesiastes%203:4&version=NIV

Romans 8:19-23 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Romans%208:19-23&version=NIV

Romans 12:15-18 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Romans%2012:15-18&version=NIV

Revelation 21:3-5 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Revelation%2021:3-5&version=NIV

Friends, thank you for stopping by today. You are a blessing to me. You are loved by God, the Creator of all things, and that includes you. You are a gift! A precious child of God, created on purpose and with a plan. 🤗🙏🏻💚

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_wept

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4536