“Jesus wept.” John 11:35
I have experienced grief in a more acute manner recently. Within the past two and a half years I have had the responsibility of planning the funeral and burial of both my mother and my father. They lived in our home for the last five to seven years of their lives. It has been hard to watch them age, become frail, and then pass into eternity. Though at times it was extremely difficult and carried many challenges, I can say now that it was worth every moment. Having them near and caring for them in their latter years was a tremendous blessing. There were many trials, but there are many more precious memories. The grief of losing my mom and dad has been tougher than I expected, because they were with me daily in the last few years of their lives. God is now using this season to teach me more about grief.
Grief never completely goes away; it is a continual state. Grief is like the waves of the ocean flowing back and forth, they are always moving. They will flow slowly at times and other times they are more forceful and ferocious. This is how grief is, it stays with us, and its intensity fluctuates. The Lord is using the gravity of losing my parents to teach me more about how closely grief is connected with sin. Our sin is why we have grief, and grief can be good when it brings us to see our need for Jesus. Matthew 5:4 2 Corinthians 1:9-10
I’m also getting a better understanding of what it means that Jesus was acquainted with our grief, and that He carries our sorrows. Isaiah 53:3-4 We hold such strong emotions over sin and death, but think how much more strong the emotions of Jesus must have been. Jesus bore all our sins and endured all our sorrows. Jesus wept, He wept over sin and He wept over death. The shortest verse in the entire Bible speaks to great length, “Jesus wept.” John 11:35. These two short words reveal the depth of our Lord’s compassion.
Lazarus, Jesus’s friend, had died. Jesus was not surprised by Lazarus’s death; He knew that he would die. Jesus also knew that He would raise Lazarus from the grave. John 11:13-15 Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man. He was omniscient, yet He still wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Why would Jesus weep when He knew Lazarus would live again? We can speculate that Jesus may have missed Lazarus and was sorrowful or it could have been that He was disappointed that His friends and disciples doubted His awesome power. We do not know for sure. For us to properly interpret this account, we must simply take it at face value. We see Jesus here as a man, because He was weeping, but we also see Jesus here as God, because He raised Lazarus from death. John 11:1-45
There is one other record of Jesus weeping. After His triumphal entry into Jerusalem about a week before His crucifixion, Jesus wept over the city. Luke 19:29-44 The Jewish nation rejected their Messiah, and because of their refusal to accept Jesus, destruction would come to their city. This destruction happened in 70 A.D. Jesus wept over His people.
Death and destruction were not God’s plan for man. God created life; we were designed to live forever. Have you ever wondered why we have such an initial shock when we first learn of the death of someone we are close to? God did not create us to die. When death comes, we usually have an immediate sense of disbelief, it does not seem real. Memories of that person will flood our mind, there may even be regrets and what-ifs that occupy our thoughts. It is an initial sense of hopelessness, because there is no going back. We want more time, but that life book is now closed. Death is a sober reminder that we all have an ending. We all have a last chapter and final word. We all die. Hebrews 9:27 None of us will escape death’s call.
This hopelessness is why Jesus came to redeem us. Oh, what a comfort we have in the promises of Jesus! He is our only hope! Jesus spoke to Martha about the death of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:25-26 Everlasting life is found in Christ, the one who died and rose again to redeem this dying world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Death cannot hurt us if we are in Christ. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:53-57
The Apostle Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 Can you say that about death? Christians do not sorrow like those who do not have Christ. We see words of comfort in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, they remind us that Jesus is alive, and those who have placed their faith in Him will live with Him forever in glory. Jesus is our hope in life and in death. When loved ones leave for Heaven, we can face tomorrow with joy. Psalm 16:11 It is because He lives, that we can face tomorrow with good grief.
If you do not have the hope that only Jesus can give you, please follow this link: “Do You Know Jesus?”. It is only when you see the grief at the cross of Christ that you can experience good grief.
In Times Like These 