"Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept." John 11:32-35 ESV
It had been four days since Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, had died. And the fountain of grief still covered both of his sisters. They were in the valley and couldn't find the way out. I can almost picture Jesus approaching the edge of town and a distraught and disappointed Martha running to meet him.
"Lord, if you had only been here 4 days ago my brother would still be alive." I can her as she stares into Jesus' eyes looking for some sort of hope. I can relate to the feeling of being out of control during a time like this. She is the same woman that had always been in control, ready for anything that might come her way. But in the face of her brother's death she was in a great deal of pain and doubt. And I feel that she was probably angry with Jesus for not being there any sooner. In her mind that must have meant that He didn't care about what had happened to her dear brother or the pain that she was going through right now. I mean wasn't Lazarus, Mary, and Martha good and close friends of Jesus? Why didn't He come sooner? She had seen Him do so many miraculous things for others that weren't even close to Him, yet when they needed Him he wasn't there. Or so she thought.
Jesus wept. Two of the most powerful yet overlooked words in the whole Bible in my opinion. Jesus wept shows the heart of our Lord torn with grief. It shows the "human" side of Jesus. In one of the most sensitive and impactful moments in Scripture Jesus shows both his godliness and his humanity. Jesus wept, not only for those that were suffering from the loss of a brother but also for the people that didn't believe. Jesus was the Messiah, their Savior, "the resurrection and the life."(John 11:25) No matter how much they had seen him do and how many times He had told them, they still didn't believe in him.
In the last two weeks I have experienced up close the death that comes to all of us. And through this whole ordeal I am even more resolved that I know without a doubt that death is not the final chapter and it does not have the last word. The story of Lazarus reminds me that it begins with the promise to those that believe in Jesus will never die. And the end of the story is my favorite part, it ends with our Savior being with them in their time of grief and loss.
Ever since December 8th at 3:09pm I have felt the Lord walk with me stronger than ever in my life. He has given me strength when I was weak and He has given me wisdom and words when I needed them. If you are experiencing the same sort of situation in your life trust me when I say this: Call on the Lord and He will draw near and comfort your soul.
It had been four days since Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, had died. And the fountain of grief still covered both of his sisters. They were in the valley and couldn't find the way out. I can almost picture Jesus approaching the edge of town and a distraught and disappointed Martha running to meet him.
"Lord, if you had only been here 4 days ago my brother would still be alive." I can her as she stares into Jesus' eyes looking for some sort of hope. I can relate to the feeling of being out of control during a time like this. She is the same woman that had always been in control, ready for anything that might come her way. But in the face of her brother's death she was in a great deal of pain and doubt. And I feel that she was probably angry with Jesus for not being there any sooner. In her mind that must have meant that He didn't care about what had happened to her dear brother or the pain that she was going through right now. I mean wasn't Lazarus, Mary, and Martha good and close friends of Jesus? Why didn't He come sooner? She had seen Him do so many miraculous things for others that weren't even close to Him, yet when they needed Him he wasn't there. Or so she thought.
Jesus wept. Two of the most powerful yet overlooked words in the whole Bible in my opinion. Jesus wept shows the heart of our Lord torn with grief. It shows the "human" side of Jesus. In one of the most sensitive and impactful moments in Scripture Jesus shows both his godliness and his humanity. Jesus wept, not only for those that were suffering from the loss of a brother but also for the people that didn't believe. Jesus was the Messiah, their Savior, "the resurrection and the life."(John 11:25) No matter how much they had seen him do and how many times He had told them, they still didn't believe in him.
In the last two weeks I have experienced up close the death that comes to all of us. And through this whole ordeal I am even more resolved that I know without a doubt that death is not the final chapter and it does not have the last word. The story of Lazarus reminds me that it begins with the promise to those that believe in Jesus will never die. And the end of the story is my favorite part, it ends with our Savior being with them in their time of grief and loss.
Ever since December 8th at 3:09pm I have felt the Lord walk with me stronger than ever in my life. He has given me strength when I was weak and He has given me wisdom and words when I needed them. If you are experiencing the same sort of situation in your life trust me when I say this: Call on the Lord and He will draw near and comfort your soul.
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