Sign#6: Tearful Determination
The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35 - "Jesus wept." His tears are not just a tear or two shed at a sad moment - He is "deeply moved."
Lazarus, His friend, has died. He has comforted Martha and Mary in the loss of their brother. (It's interesting to note how He comforts each according to their grief - Martha needed tough intellectual questions answered while Mary needed emotional reassurance. Jesus gave them both what they needed.)
Now he stands at the tomb - very emotional. We know that he had already told the disciples that He was going to raise Lazarus (vs.11) and so it can't be that He is weeping over Lazarus.
Why is He so emotional?
- He is weeping with Mary and Martha
- He is weeping in angry frustration at the grip that death has over us.
Death is not part of God's perfect plan. It is a consequence of human sin and a grim fact of our existence. We fear death and we grieve over death. It is the ultimate leveler and, according the Presbyterian Funeral Liturgy, "the end of all that is lovely." ("But", adds the liturgy, "through Christ it is a doorway into God's eternal life".)
Paul reminded the Corinthians that at Jesus second coming, "the last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1Cor15:26)
Lazarus isn't still alive. He did die again. But as He stood there, Jesus contemplated the strangle-hold that death has over human-kind...
The Greek word used for "deeply moved" is also related to a "stinging rebuke" And so with tender compassion, fierce determination and a grim realisation of what it will cost Him, He decides to send death a message - He is telling death its fortune: "Death your time is running out. You and I are going to tussle soon and you are going to lose. Let me show you what I am talking about, and this will be just a small taste of what is to come... TAKE AWAY THE STONE."
| Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said. (John11:38-39) |
