May 15 - Jesus Weeps for Us

May 15 – Jesus Weeps for Us

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So 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?” (John 11:17-37)

Jesus hadn’t raised Lazarus from the dead yet and Martha said, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah …”

This is the kind of faith we are called to have – the kind that shows up before Jesus has performed a miracle, the kind that believes He can do anything. 

If you read this passage, you get a different picture of the other sister, Mary.  When she sees Jesus, she falls apart and blames Him for allowing Lazarus to die.

Did Jesus berate her for her feelings or her accusation?  Absolutely not.  Her grief took Him to the point of tears.  He hurt for His friend.  He wasn’t angry that she didn’t have faith that trusted He would have done something.  He just wept.

I don’t think that we understand the incredible depth of compassion Jesus has for us in every circumstance that we face.  We can be angry and wounded without fear that Jesus will turn His back on us.  More than likely He will weep with us. 

You know, before I spent time in the passage, I thought that Jesus wept simply because his friend, Lazarus had died.  That’s not it at all.  He wept because of the pain that He saw in His friends.  He weeps for us when we hurt.  He loves us that much.