Community Presbyterian Church, Charlestown IN -- Message 03/29/2020 JESUS WEPT

JESUS WEPT

John 11:1-45
I've been a Commissioned Ruling Elder (or lay pastor) on and off for about 13 years. In that time, I've

served Communion an untold number of times, written hundreds of messages, and married two couples.
I have also performed eight funerals. When I first started, a mentor asked me my favorite thing about being
a pastor. Of course, I love leading worship; it is almost always near the top of every pastor's list. 

But, I've found that over the course of the years that officiating funerals is where I feel I am most

helpful. Don't misunderstand me...it's not my FAVORITE thing to do as a pastor. I never look FORWARD

to anyone's funeral. But, they do allow a pastor to really show God's love and compassion in a time of

extreme emotional distress.

I was anxious before the officiating my first funeral. A friend of the family, who had no pastor, died
and I was asked to perform the service. Before the visitation, I was nervous about what to say to the family,
what not to say to the family, and just what I should do. I called a friend of mine who is a minister and told
him about my fears. He said, “Greg, there's no right or wrong way to handle this. You have to be prepared
for just about anything. At that funeral home, you are God's man. That may mean that the people will look
to you for comfort or they may become angry with you over why this death happened. You are God's man
in that place, and sometimes people will put God's face on you.”

I didn't understand my friend's advice at first. But after the burial, I began to grasp what he was saying. As
human beings, we want answers to the questions brought about by the death of a friend or a loved one:
Why did this happen? Why couldn't the doctors save him? Why were my prayers for her recovery ignored?
Where was God? As God's representative, a pastor is expected to have those answers. In a similar fashion,
this morning's Gospel passage from John gives us a glimpse at what God himself endured when his very
good friend died.

The Story of Lazarus
Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, fell ill in his hometown of Bethany. The sisters sent a message to
Jesus that their brother was very sick. Jesus told his disciples that the illness won't end in death. And
repeating words he said to them about the man born blind from last week's sermon, Jesus told them Lazarus'
illness “...is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” So he and his
disciples stayed where they were for two more days. Their location would be about one whole day's
journey on foot.

After two days, Jesus told his friends he wanted to go back to Judea. The disciples were stunned. Not long
ago, the people of Judea wanted to kill Jesus. The disciples wanted to protect Jesus from harm; but at the
same time, they knew their fate was linked to their Master's...there's a good chance they'd be killed as well.
Jesus told them Lazarus had fallen asleep...that's why they needed to go back. Thinking Jesus meant
Lazarus was slumbering, the disciples tried to reason with Jesus by telling him that if Lazarus was only
sleeping, he would eventually recover. But, then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your
sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Jesus and his disciples weren’t yet near Bethany but learned Lazarus had been dead four days. Bethany
was only about two miles from Jerusalem, so many of the Jews came to grieve with and offer comfort for
Martha and Mary. However, Martha heard Jesus was coming and ran out to meet him. Just like people at a
funeral, Martha told Jesus that had he been there, Lazarus would not have died. And in a subtle way, she
asked for the miracle: “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

Jesus assured Martha that Lazarus would rise again. As many Jews did, Martha believed in the resurrection
of the dead at the end of time. However, she had no idea just how soon that resurrection would come. Jesus
told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and
everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?” And Martha answered,
“Yes...I know that you are the Christ, the Son of God.” But instead of believing the resurrection and the
life standing right in front of her, Martha returned home to fetch Mary.

Upon hearing Jesus was waiting for her, Mary ran out of the house. The Jews there to console Mary
followed her, thinking she was going to mourn at her brother's tomb. Mary approached Jesus and fell at his
feet...either as an act of worship or from being overcome with grief. Mary repeated the same assertion to
Jesus as did her sister: “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would still be alive.” Jesus saw Mary
and Martha and Jewish mourners and was so moved in his spirit that he wept.

Arriving at Lazarus' resting place, Jesus asked to have the stone removed. With a body being entombed for
four days, Martha warned Jesus a strong stench would be released. Jesus looked her in the eye and said,
“Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” The stone was moved and Jesus
prayed aloud, “Father, I'm grateful that you have listened to me. I know you always do listen, but on account
of this crowd standing here I've spoken so that they might believe that you sent me.” 

Taking a deep breath, Jesus shouted, “LAZARUS, COME OUT!” And Lazarus came out. The burial
bandages hung from his arms, legs, and head. Jesus commanded those standing around to unwrap Lazarus
and let him go. And John tells us that many of the Jews who had come to mourn with Martha and Mary...
perhaps some of the same ones who wanted to stone him earlier...after seeing Jesus raise a dead man to life,
came to believe in him. Of course, we know this event will lead Chief Priest Caiaphas and the ruling Jewish
officials to plot the death of Jesus. If a man can raise people from the dead...or if people even believe that he
can...their hold on power would be seriously jeopardized.

Jesus Wept
But that's a tale for another time. Today's Gospel passage from John is, I believe, one of the most powerful
in the whole New Testament. This passage also contains, I believe, one of the most powerful verses in the
whole New Testament. And, it is the shortest verse in the entire English Bible...just two words: Jesus wept.
These two words have caused a lot of discussion and debate over just what Jesus cried about in this story.  

Early interpreters believed John was attempting to show his audience that Jesus was a human being…a
person who felt real emotions and cried real tears. Many Greeks understood God to be without feeling…
a neutral force in the cosmic universe. An emotional Jesus would be a foreign concept to them. But, it is
argued, John was writing this passage to get that exact point across to the Greek people: that Jesus was
human…just like us.  

We find support for Jesus’ personhood in Hebrews 2:14-17: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too
shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the
devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death…For this reason he had
to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in
service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

A second explanation, one which scholars recently have put forth, is the argument that Jesus wept because
of the unbelief of the people around him at Lazarus’ tomb. John uses the words “the Jews” several times in
this passage to describe the people who have come from Jerusalem to mourn with Martha and Mary over the
death of their brother Lazarus. This phrase “the Jews” will be used even more often by John to describe the
people who would later call for Pontius Pilate to crucify Jesus.

Martha’s conversation with Jesus indicates that although she believed Jesus was the Messiah, she had a more
difficult time believing that Jesus could raise her brother NOW, before the resurrection of the last day. But
Martha was more concerned about the stench of the corpse.  She was still unwilling to consider that The
Resurrection and The Life, Jesus, could bring life where there was death. 

Isn’t it understandable to think that Jesus would weep over the surrounding unbelief? In their presence, he
preached powerfully, fed thousands through the multiplying of bread and fish, cast out demons, and restored
sight to a man born blind. And yet, these people still did not believe that he was the one to conquer death for
them. I said earlier that a pastor is God’s representative at the funeral. Here, God Himself was standing in the
midst of the mourners and he could not ease their grief.

The Greek word for “deeply distressed” or “deeply disturbed” is used in only three other places in the
Gospels. It is used in Matthew 9:30 when Jesus sternly charged the blind men he healed to not tell anyone he
had given them back their sight. It is used in Mark 1:43 when Jesus sternly charged the leper not to tell
anyone Jesus had healed him. It is used in Mark 14:5 to describe how the people rebuked the woman who
anointed Jesus' head with expensive perfume because they considered that act to be wasteful. The word
means “to snort with anger”; “to have indignation toward”; “to murmur against.” Even though we may want
Jesus to be the compassionate, all-feeling friend we know he is, we may have to look somewhere other than
this story to find that Jesus.

A third argument for Jesus’ tears may have been because of the pain and sorrow and agony that death brings.
Most funerals I have attended were ones where the death was expected...older people who lived long lives or
others who had been diagnosed with a fatal disease. My grandfather lived in a nursing home nine months
before he died. No autopsy was done, but our family believed he suffered from Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s
disease. About a month before he died, we had prepared ourselves for his death. But, no matter how much
you think you are ready for a person’s passing, the emotions brought on by death do come.

Whether it is an elderly adult or a still-born child, death steals life. Joyful living gives way to weeping and
wailing. Smiles and laughter are put on hold in order to proceed through the grieving process. Serving God
and others stops for a time of mourning. As Jesus surveyed the scene at Martha’s and Mary’s house, he was
angered by what death does to people. Death should not be made for people…and Jesus’ calling would put
an end to those harsh emotions.

And it is at this point that we discover a fourth reason why Jesus was crying. Jesus looked around at the
scene: saw Lazarus' weeping friends; glanced down at a woman named Mary wailing at his feet; took in the
stone in front of the tomb; turned his eyes to heaven to pray to his Father. Jesus wept because he was peering
down the corridor of time...to a future not too far away.  Jesus was foreseeing his betrayal, his suffering, and
his death. And tears began to stream down his face. Feeling sorry for himself? No, that's not it...perhaps Jesus
realized at that moment just EXACTLY what he would endure...for us all. 

During the season of Lent, we too look down the same corridor Jesus did...to the Cross.  During the season
of Lent, we consider our sinfulness and repent. During the season of Lent, we see a brutal death...but one
that will lead to life. Not just for Jesus...but for us all as well. Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift in
Jesus Christ! Amen.