09.03.17 - Hope for the Hopeless - John 11
09.03.17 - Hope for the Hopeless -
3 Benefits of God's Waiting Room
2 I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing;
I have come into deep water,
and a flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
7 “Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?
8 Has his faithful love ceased forever?
Is his promise at an end for all generations?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
Selah
38 Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind. He said:
2 Who is this who obscures my counsel
with ignorant words?
3 Get ready to answer me like a man;
when I question you, you will inform me.
4 Where were you when I established the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Of course Jesus loved Lazarus, but I doubt that that was the basic reason Jesus wept. Of course Lazarus had been dead four days, but I doubt that death was the main reason Jesus wept. The evangelist had made it clear from the very beginning of this story that the illness of Lazarus would “not end in death” but would bring glory to God and to the Son of God (11:4).
Then what about Jesus’ weeping? The other places in the Gospels where such a depth of Jesus’ emotions were expressed are specifically places related to his mission: the places where he groaned over the failure of Jerusalem to come to him (cf. Matt 23:37–39; Luke 13:34–35), where he prayed for his disciples’ safety and future (cf. John 17:9–26), and where he wrestled with his death and the disciples’ weaknesses (cf. Matt 26:37–41; Mark 13:33–37; Luke 22:40–46; John 12:27–28). Accordingly, I would maintain that Jesus’ weeping here is directly related to the failure of his followers to recognize his mission as the agent of God. God’s Son was in their midst. They really missed the point. That fact becomes more evident in the next two segments of the story.
Yet in interpreting this text it is important for us not to rely on what other people have said about Jesus. Their evaluations may be skewed. Of course Jesus loved Lazarus, but I doubt that that was the basic reason Jesus wept. Of course Lazarus had been dead four days, but I doubt that death was the main reason Jesus wept. The evangelist had made it clear from the very beginning of this story that the illness of Lazarus would “not end in death” but would bring glory to God and to the Son of God (11:4).
Then what about Jesus’ weeping? The other places in the Gospels where such a depth of Jesus’ emotions were expressed are specifically places related to his mission: the places where he groaned over the failure of Jerusalem to come to him (cf. Matt 23:37–39; Luke 13:34–35), where he prayed for his disciples’ safety and future (cf. John 17:9–26), and where he wrestled with his death and the disciples’ weaknesses (cf. Matt 26:37–41; Mark 13:33–37; Luke 22:40–46; John 12:27–28). Accordingly, I would maintain that Jesus’ weeping here is directly related to the failure of his followers to recognize his mission as the agent of God. God’s Son was in their midst. They really missed the point. That fact becomes more evident in the next two segments of the story.