Sermon - Young Adult Conference Matins - John 11:35

Jesus Wept – John 11:35

Our Lord Jesus Christ does many strange things.  At least, things that seem strange to us as we read about them.  He talks about hating your father and mother.  He turns water into wine.  He turns over tables in the temple.  He forgives those who crucify him.  So many of his words and actions break our expectations.  And this is part of the great treasure that is Jesus.

Here we have another one today.  Jesus weeps at the grave of his friend Lazarus. 

Jesus wept.  It’s the shortest verse in the Bible.  And maybe that’s as far as you’ve thought about it.  Maybe were one of those pesky kids who tried to get it assigned as your confirmation verse.  I’ve even heard more than one pastor joke about using it at the installation of another pastor.  That or the one about the donkey who spoke.

And at first blush you might not think that strange that Jesus would weep.  After all, weeping is what one does at a funeral.  Death is a sad thing, as anyone who has lost a loved one can tell you.  And John makes it clear that Jesus loved Lazarus.

But what makes it strange for us that Jesus would weep, is we know how where this story goes.  We already know the great surprise ending. And what’s even stranger, is that Jesus full well knows it too.  He knows he will raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet he still weeps.

It’s almost as if he planned it this way.  He hears of Lazarus falling ill, then intentionally delays two days before he leaves to see him.  He tells his disciples “this illness does not lead to death.  It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  He then tells his disciples,

“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

“I’m glad that I wasn’t there when he died!”  How strange!  Just as it is strange to us that he allows us to suffer all manner of things – sometimes even to get sick and die – sometimes he allows our loved ones to die, and yet he could surely have stopped it. 

Martha runs out to meet him, and she starts to sort of scold him, “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died…”  What took you so long Jesus!?  You’re late!  If you had been on time… well… none of this would have happened…. And she almost implies this is all his fault.  But then she catches herself. “Yet even now I know the Lord will give you whatever you desire”  Almost hedging her bets – she won’t mention the unthinkable, that maybe, just maybe, Jesus could bring Lazarus back even now.

“Your brother will rise again” Jesus tells her. 

“I know, I know, Jesus, he’ll rise at the resurrection” Yes, she confesses faith in the final resurrection – a hope we also share. 

“I am the resurrection and the life”  Jesus goes on, and lays a foundation of hope for Martha and for all Christians by these blessed words, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”  He asks if she believes. She confesses her faith in him.  We can add our own amen to Martha’s good confession.

But Lazarus… is still dead.

Now they call Mary, and she repeats, “Lord, if you had been here he wouldn’t have died!” There’s lots of crying.  And when Jesus sees all the weeping, he is deeply moved and greatly troubled, himself.

They go to the grave, and there, as John puts it so tersely, so matter-of-factly, Jesus wept. 

Some of the observers seem to think that Jesus is weeping like a normal mourner, because he loved Lazarus so much, and now he’s gone.  But that can’t fully explain this, because Jesus knows, through his tears, that he will be raising Lazarus momentarily.

Others, watching, seem to heap scorn on Jesus, asking why he didn’t prevent this?  After all, he even healed the blind man!  Couldn’t he have stopped Lazarus from dying?  They’ll give Jesus a little bit of miraculous credit, but they imply that even his powers are limited.  How sad for Lazarus.  How sad for Jesus.

So why then does Jesus weep?

Scripture teaches us that Jesus sympathizes with us in our weaknesses, being like us in every way, yet without sin.  John here shows us that it is the weeping of Mary and the many others that sends him over the edge into tears.  He weeps, never for himself, but always for us.  He bears our griefs and carries our sorrows, not his own.

I’m fond of saying that everything Jesus does he does for us.  From his incarnation to his suffering and death and resurrection.  His perfect keeping of the law, and flawless obedience to the Father.  He is baptized, not for himself, but for us.  When he prays, he prays for us.  Even when he prays for himself, he’s praying for our benefit – that he would do the Father’s will and complete his mission for us.  Everything he does – eating, sleeping, healing, working, resting, celebrating, suffering, even weeping – he does for us.  It’s all part of his incarnation and fulfilling of all righteousness.  He lives for you, and he dies for you.  Always, ever, for you.

And… Jesus weeps to show us that he knows the pain of grief.  He knows the sting of sins’ wages, though he had no sin of his own.  Jesus weeps to remind us that he is with us in the tears we shed in this valley of the shadows.  He goes with us, arm in arm, hand in hand, through that valley.  He never leaves or forsakes us.  He always consoles and comforts us. 

But he goes even further than this, though.  He’s not here just to feel what we feel.  He’s not content to share in our pain.  To give us a hug and send us on our way.  Rather, he takes on himself the full burden of our griefs and sorrows.  He shoulders up the cross, scorns its shame, and carries in himself all the sin that makes for death.  Therefore by his death on the cross he swallows up death in victory, nails sin to die forever, and gives us hope – a hope far above and beyond all grief and sorrow and a bright horizon across the valley of the shadow of death.

If you think weeping before the grave of Lazarus is strange – then look to the cross and see the strangest, most wonderful, most mind-exploding action of Jesus Christ and of God’s grace and mercy.  Jesus wept.  And Jesus died.  But it gets ever stranger.

But the same Jesus who knew Lazarus would rise, also knew of his own resurrection.  Three days in the tomb was all it took him.  But Christ lives, and therefore our resurrection is secure.  Christ has conquered death, and so we too are victorious – if we are in him.  He is the resurrection and the life, and whoever lives and believes in him will live even though he dies.  Weeping is turned to joy.  Sorrow is turned to rejoicing.

Lazarus would rest in the grave four days before Christ called him forth.  You and I will perhaps rest in the grave many more, maybe years or even centuries, but just as surely, Christ will call us forth.

And then, the same Jesus who wept for Lazarus will wipe away ever tear from our eyes. The same Jesus who appeared to his disciples – we too will see him as he is, face to face. 

This promise of resurrection in Christ is one of God’s great treasures.  And that Jesus wept is just another reminder of the comfort Jesus brings, by his life and death and resurrection. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.