Talk 7: The God Who Grieves

(Bo and Mon Reyes)

One Big Message: Jesus is your Resurrection.

We must do our little review again.

John talks about seven signs of Jesus.
The first six signs are…
Sign 1: Turning water into wine at Cana (2:1-12)
Sign 2: Healing of the official’s son in Cana (4:46-54)
Sign 3: Healing the paralyzed man in Bethesda (5:1-9)
Sign 4: Feeding the 5000 in Galilee (6:1-15)
Sign 5: Healing of the blind man (9:1-7)
Sign 6: Raising of Lazarus in Bethany (11:1-44)
Sign 7: ________________________
All six signs are pointing to the seventh sign—the greatest miracle—
The Resurrection of Jesus.
You’re A Beloved Friend Of Jesus
Today, we’ll explore the sixth sign. Before Jesus rose from the dead, He
raised a good friend from the dead.
Who is he? John assumes his readers have read the other Gospels, so
they’ll be familiar with Mary and Martha.
In Luke, the two sisters welcomed Jesus in their home, with Martha
busy preparing Him food while Mary sat at his feet to listen.
That’s what most people remember these women.
But in today’s story, we discover much more of their deep faith. And
Mary and Martha had a brother named Lazarus—and he was described as a
good friend of Jesus: “Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village
of Mary and her sister Martha. 2
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord
with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus
who was ill. 3
So the sisters sent word to him, saying, ‘Master, the one you
love is ill.’” (John 11:1-3 NABRE)
Oh my gosh. Read that last line again: “the one you love…”. Such
warmth. Such tenderness. John makes it clear that Jesus loved Lazarus. Later
on, when Jesus visited the grave of his friend, the shortest verse in the Bible
says, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35 NABRE), and when people saw that, they said,
“See how he loved him.” (John 11:36)
Why this emphasis? I believe John wants us to see ourselves in
Lazarus. He’s a placeholder of every God-Follower.
Can I preach this to you? You are a beloved friend of Jesus. Much more
than you can ever imagine.
Raising Up Lazarus Has A Costly Price
“When Jesus heard this he said, ‘This illness is not to end in death, but
is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through
it.’” (John 11:4 NABRE)
Friend, have you experienced losing a loved one? I have. I’m old
enough to experience this many times. And it is always painful. Yet today,
God is telling us that death is never the last chapter. There will always be a
happy ending.
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6
So when he
heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.”
(John 11:5-6 NABRE) Put your thumb on this verse—that Jesus stayed for two
days. We’ll go back to this point later.
“Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to
Judea.” 8
The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone
you, and you want to go back there?” 16
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to
his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.” (John 11:7-8, 16 NABRE)
Why did Thomas think they were going to die?
Because there was a big problem of going to Bethany. The people who
wanted to kill Jesus were in Jerusalem, and Bethany was only two miles
away. If Jesus raises up Lazarus from the dead, it will result in His own death.
His act of love was a death sentence. John was highlighting that this was a
sacrificial exchange: The life of Lazarus for the death of Jesus.
Jesus chose to embrace it for the sake of His friend.
I repeat. You are that beloved friend.
And He sacrificed His life for you.
God Is Never Late—He’s Always On Time
“When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the
tomb for four days.” (John 11:17 NABRE) Preachers like emphasizing how
Jesus didn’t act right away and remained for two days before going to
Lazarus. And thus, He was late.
But it says here that Lazarus has been dead for four days. So even if
Jesus didn’t wait, He would still have arrived two days late.
Perhaps John was underlining this point—that we think God is late to
act upon our difficult situation. Don’t we all have those days when we felt
God was absent? And He didn’t show up when we wanted Him to?
And later on, we’ll read the question of Martha: “Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21
NABRE)
(Share some real-life examples of this experience.)
But in truth, God is never late in your life.
Just like in this story, He will show up at the right time.
A Little Side-Note
“When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.” (John 11:20 NABRE) As always, Martha is the active
one, running to Jesus while Martha sat at home. I can imagine John winking
at his reader, reminding them of the Lukan story—where Mary was praised
for her more reflective nature vs. the action-oriented Martha.
But here, he says both are good. Yes, you can love God with your own
personality, whether you’re an extrovert or introvert or choleric or
melancholic or phlegmatic or diabetic (joke).
Let’s Go A Bit Deeper
 And I’m going to skip the most important conversation that follows—
we’ll read that later—and jump to what happens after that chat: “When she
had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The
teacher is here and is asking for you.” 29
As soon as she heard this, she rose
quickly and went to him. 32
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw
him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died.” (John 11:28-32 NABRE)
Ate called her younger sister (just my guess) but did you notice how
Mary just repeated the same question of Martha?
Here’s why. Are you ready to do a little Bible-Nerding? (Just a little.)
One of the tools that the Bible authors often used is symmetry.
What is symmetry? Your face has symmetry. At least, I hope so. 😊
Your face has a center—your nose—and on both sides are mirrored
parts—two eyes, two ears, two cheeks, etc.
In this specific story, John used symmetry. There’s a center, and the
start and end of the story mirror each other. Check it out. Do you see how
Mary’s and Martha’s statements mirror each other?
 Genuis, right? John is doing this so his readers know what he’s
spotlighting—the center of the story—which is that profound conversation
between Jesus and Martha…
Center: Your Deepest Grief Is Your Meeting Place With Jesus
So let’s read that central part (that I skipped a while ago): “Jesus said
to her, “Your brother will rise.” 24
Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in
the resurrection on the last day.” 25
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection
and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 26
and
everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27

She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah,
the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” (John 11:23-27
NABRE)
Jesus is your resurrection.
Friend, when we lose a loved one, or our job, or our health or our
relationships—the loss devastates us.
We experience deep grief.
 But it is in these painful moments when we experience God like never
before. Truth: Your deepest grief becomes your meeting place with Jesus.
(You may share a story of finding life in an experience of death or loss.)
Why Would Jesus Weep?
“When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her
weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, 34
and said, ‘Where
have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Sir, come and see.’ 35
And Jesus
wept.” (John 11:33-35 NABRE)
I couldn’t get this. Why would Jesus mourn? Wasn’t He going to raise
up Lazarus anyway?
That’s the point. Friend, when you suffer, God weeps. Even if He knows
there’s going to be a happy ending, at that moment, God mourns. Whenever
you experience the destructive power of death in your life, Jesus grieves
alongside you.
Even if God will, one day, turn your sorrows into joy, and your
mourning will turn to dancing, your suffering still breaks His heart.
And when you die, God will grieve too.
Because He doesn’t like death. Death was not part of His plan. It never
was. From the very beginning (see Genesis). God is not the author of death
(Wisdom 1:13); He is the author of life (Acts 3:15).
And just like Lazarus, Jesus will raise you up on the last day.
Death is a problem, and Jesus was on his way to defeat it.
Jesus Is Your Resurrection
“So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a
stone lay across it. 39
Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ 41
So they took away
the stone. 43
And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice,
‘Lazarus, come out!’ 44
The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with
burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them,
‘Untie him and let him go.’” (John 11:39-44 NABRE)
Later in the story, Jesus would also rise from the dead.
But there’s a huge difference between Lazarus and Jesus.
 Lazarus didn’t have power to raise himself from the dead. Someone
had to do it for him.
The stone had to be rolled for Lazarus to come. But when the disciples
investigated the tomb of Jesus, the stone had already been rolled away (John
20:1).
When Lazarus walked out, somebody else had to unwrap him from the
burial cloths (John 11:44). But when Jesus rose, the disciples found His burial
cloths had already been neatly rolled up (John 20:5).
After Lazarus was raised up, Lazarus died again. But when Jesus rose
from the grave, death had lost its sting.
He ascended to the Father and is now offering us His Divine Life, right
here, right now, and for all eternity.
Today, meet the One who loves you and calls you His beloved friend.
Meet the One who weeps when you weep.
And meet the One who will, one day, raise you up on the last day.

Jesus is your Resurrection.