John 11:18-37

All right, amen, and good morning.

If I've yet to see you and say so to you,

! Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

Our text for today is John chapter 11, verses 18 through 37.

John 11:18–37

Last week, as we began John 11, we saw something about the love of Jesus that is profoundly comforting,

although at first it can be difficult to understand.

Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus, and because he loved them, he waited.

He received word that Lazarus was sick.

He knew exactly what was happening in Bethany.

He possessed both the authority and the power to prevent Lazarus from dying,

and yet, rather than immediately traveling to Bethany or just speaking a word where he was,

Jesus remained where he was for two more days.

And the point John forces us to confront is that the delay of Jesus was not a contradiction of his love.

Somehow, mysteriously but unmistakably, the delay was an expression of his love.

Jesus loved them, so the text tells us.

He waited.

Because the love of Christ is aimed at something greater than our immediate comfort.

Christ loves us too much merely to arrange our circumstances according to our preferences.

He intends instead to reveal his glory, strengthen our faith, loosen our grip on this dying world,

and teach us to trust him when we cannot understand what he is doing.

By the time Jesus arrives near Bethany, Lazarus has been in the tomb four days.

From the perspective of Mary and Martha, Jesus appears to have arrived too late.

Lazarus' sickness has run its course.

The funeral has already taken place.

The stone rolled over the entrance.

The mourners have gathered.

Lazarus is most assuredly dead.

And yet, as we said at the conclusion of the sermon last week,

Jesus is never late.

He may not operate according to our timetable.

He may not intervene at the moment we would have chosen.

He may allow circumstances to deteriorate until every human possibility has disappeared.

But he is never late.

Because the Son of God does not merely react to circumstances.

He governs them.

Rules over all things.

And now, beginning in verse 18,

John takes us from the delay of Jesus to the arrival of Jesus.

And what follows is one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture.

Because in the space of only 20 verses,

we see both the incomparable majesty and the astonishing tenderness of our Savior.

And so we'll look together at verses 18 through 37.

I will begin reading in verse 1, however,

set the context,

and in case you weren't with us last week.

Before I do any of that,

let me lead us in a prayer for our benefit.

Father God, thank you for your word this morning.

We are always in some state of frailty.

There are times when we feel it more than others.

I can humbly say before you that I'm feeling my frailty today.

The frailty of my preparation.

Certainly the frailty of my delivery.

And all of us, if we're honest,

are frail in our hearing and understanding.

We're easily distracted.

Lots on our minds.

Exhaustion often sets in on Sunday morning.

So we ask that you'd help us to be attentive this day.

Take up your word together that we would rightly see Christ in it.

We would behold him as we should.

That our affections would be turned and set on him.

We would see ourselves in the text.

And see our need of this great Savior.

The Lord Jesus Christ.

It's in his name that we pray.

Amen.

John 11, beginning in verse 1.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany,

the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment

and wiped his feet with her hair,

whose brother, Lazarus, was ill.

The sister sent to him, saying,

Lord, he whom you love is ill.

But when Jesus heard it, he said,

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.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

So when he heard that Lazarus was ill,

he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

But after this, he said to the disciples,

Let us go to Judea again.

The disciples said to him,

Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you,

and are you going there again?

Jesus answered,

Are there not twelve hours in the day?

If anyone walks in the day,

he does not stumble because he sees the light of this world.

But if anyone walks in the night,

he stumbles because the light is not in him.

After saying these things, he said to them,

Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep,

but I go to awaken him.

The disciples said to him,

Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.

Now Jesus had spoken of his death,

but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.

Then Jesus told them plainly,

Lazarus has died.

And for your sake, I am glad I was not there,

so that you may believe.

But let us go to him.

So Thomas called the twin,

said to his fellow disciples,

Let us also go that we may die with him.

Now when Jesus came,

he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.

Bethany was near Jerusalem,

about two miles off,

and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary

to console them concerning their brother.

So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming,

she went and met him,

but Mary remained seated in the house.

Martha said to Jesus,

Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

But even now I know that whatever you ask from God,

God will give you.

Jesus said to her,

Your brother will rise again.

Martha said to him,

I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.

Jesus said to her,

I am the resurrection and the life.

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Do you believe this?

She said to him,

Yes, Lord,

I believe that you are the Christ,

the Son of God,

who is coming into the world.

When she had said this,

she went and called her sister Mary,

saying in private,

The teacher is here and is calling for you.

And when she heard it,

she rose quickly and went to him.

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village,

but was still in the place where Martha had met him.

When the Jews who were with her in the house,

consoling her,

saw Mary rise quickly and go out,

they followed her,

supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,

she fell at his feet,

saying to him,

Lord,

if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

When Jesus saw her weeping,

and the Jews who had come with her also weeping,

he was deeply moved in his spirit

and greatly troubled.

And he said,

Where have you laid him?

They said to him,

Lord,

come and see.

Jesus wept.

So the Jews said,

See how he loved him?

But some of them said,

Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man

also have kept this man from dying?

All right.

I have three points for us this morning

to consider this text.

The first,

Jesus' arrival.

We'll look at a considerable bit of the text

at this point.

Notice that he goes to Bethany,

this town that Lazarus is from,

and it's near Jerusalem,

about two miles off.

And the nearness to Jerusalem

highlights the danger

that concerned the disciples

earlier in the chapter.

Previously,

Jesus has worked in Judea,

in Jerusalem.

He's healed a blind man,

and they are seeking his death.

The presumption of the disciples

is that they're going with him

to his death

as he arrives in this place

to teach them something

of the resurrection.

And we note as he arrives there,

in the previous verse,

it's already been four days

that Lazarus has been in the tomb.

And many of the Jews,

verse 19 tells us,

had come to Martha and Mary

to console them,

to comfort them

concerning their brother.

Because of the nearness to Jerusalem,

many of the Jews are able to come

and to mourn with Martha and Mary.

Two things are notable here.

First,

the family of Lazarus

possesses some level of prominence

evidenced by this many visiting

to mourn his death.

We don't know a lot about this family,

but they must have had

some degree of prominence

and by later evidence

that they had some financial means

because Mary anoints Jesus' feet

with expensive ointment,

something she couldn't have afforded

otherwise.

We will note later in the chapter

that this miracle

is the final inciting incident

that would lead to Jesus' crucifixion.

John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

and verse 53.

This news goes out.

It's carried back to the Pharisees,

John tells us,

and verse 53 says,

so from that day on,

they made plans

to put him to death.

Jesus knows exactly

what he's doing.

He's going to raise Lazarus

from the dead

to teach something

of the resurrection

and that this incident

will forward,

press on God's plan

for his crucifixion.

Secondly,

I've noted before

that John uses the phrase

the Jews

in various forms

throughout his gospel

and that he most regularly

uses the phrase

to refer to the Jewish leaders

who are antagonistic

toward Jesus.

But in this case,

we have no reason

to believe

that is what he means.

This is one of those instances

where he likely

doesn't mean that

because some of these Jews

go and report

to the Pharisees

who are particularly

antagonistic

toward him.

The text seems

to communicate

that these are

well-meaning people

who know this family

and that they are grieved

alongside them

for their loss.

So they're gathered there

in Bethany

some days later

comforting Martha

and Mary

and grieving the loss

of this man.

Lazarus.

And then verse 20

tells us that

Martha hears

that Jesus is coming,

that he's on the road

and so she gets up.

Mary stays behind

but she gets up

and she goes

to meet him.

There's no need

to read anything

into this private meeting

or the one

that Jesus will attempt

to have with Mary

and there is speculation

concerning this.

But we ought to assume

that Martha

merely wants a moment

alone with Jesus

before having to return

and serve as the hostess

to the crowd

at her house.

If you've ever

been to a funeral

or participated

in the loss

of a near and dear one,

you've either

or you've watched

somebody else

have to host people

even in the midst

of your own grief.

So she steals away,

I think,

all that's happening here.

She wants a moment

with Jesus

before he arrives

with all of the other mourners.

Now,

before we get into

the details

of the rest

of the text

and this conversation

that they have,

I genuinely believe

that we'll be well served

by looking

at its literary structure.

I received a text

this week

that said

chiasms are important.

Don't let people bully you

into not pointing them out.

We have read

the text together.

I sure hope

you have a copy

of it sitting

in front of you.

If you don't,

the bulletin you were handed

has all of the text

found in it

and I would assume

that two phrases,

if you're paying attention

at all,

rightly,

two phrases

leapt off the page

at you.

The first,

these are the two

I'm assuming,

the first,

Jesus says,

I am the resurrection

and the life

in verse 25.

That leapt off.

I tried to read it

with some measure

of emphasis

as I read the text

to you.

I am the resurrection

and the life.

The other,

I'm assuming,

is verse 35.

It states simply,

Jesus wept.

These are not

unimportant phrases.

So don't hear me say

they're unimportant.

They are significant

phrases in this text.

But neither of them

are the chiastic

center

of the text.

We're going to talk

about chiasms.

If you are new here,

chiasm is a literary

structure found

all throughout literature.

It is found a lot

in the Bible.

And I've been arguing

in our study of John

that John uses

chiasms quite often

to draw our attention

to particular parts

of text.

It's a mnemonic device

meant to help people

remember stories.

Early church,

many of these stories

would have just been spoken.

So it's being used

in that way.

But even as we have

the written text

in front of us,

it's meant to help us

draw some emphasis,

give us a lens

by which we look at

the rest of the text.

So the word chiasm

comes from the Greek

letter for X,

chi.

And what it says to us,

and I always plot it out

and sometimes I do for you

in your bulletin,

is that the first part

of the text

corresponds to the last

part of the text

and so on.

So it feeds into a center,

a cross point,

so to speak.

So let me take a few moments

and show you

the chiastic structure

of this text.

I think it's really

going to help us see

what John's communicating here.

So notice first,

verse 18 and 19,

which corresponds

to verse 36 and 37.

You could underline

these things

in your bulletin

if you would like.

Notice that

Jesus travels to Bethany

near Jerusalem

and the Jews,

many Jews,

come to Mary and Martha

to console them

in verse 18 and 19.

And then you see

this speaking of the Jews

at the end,

verse 36 and 37.

So the Jews said,

but some of them said,

verse 37.

The next step in on this,

right, corresponding,

is verses 20 through 24,

corresponding with verses 28

through 35.

Bigger passages, right?

Notice the main thing

going on here

is Martha coming to Jesus

and then Mary,

along with the other mourners,

coming to Jesus.

Note the similarity

in their words.

Martha said to Jesus,

Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not

have died.

Mary in the same way.

Verse 32,

Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not

have died.

Some significantly

different things

happening

with Martha

and with

Mary.

But these two things

correspond

to one another.

Then the next step in,

verse 25 and 26,

corresponds to verse 27.

Verse 25 says,

Jesus said to her,

and then verse 27,

she said to him.

And at the center

of all of this structure,

I will argue to you,

is the question

that Jesus asks.

Do you believe this?

I'm going to show you

how the two things

fold on top of each other

and lay as we go on.

But notice at the center

of this,

do you

believe this?

What is he referring to?

His statement

that he has made,

I am the resurrection

and the life.

Whoever believes in me,

though he die,

yet shall he live.

And everyone who lives

and believes in me

shall never

die.

Do

you

believe this?

And then her response,

yes, Lord,

I believe that you

are the Christ,

the Son of God,

who is coming

into the world.

So,

if we pick that up

as a lens,

I hope

it will help us

think the way

we should be

interpreting

Jesus' words

and then

his response

to the grieving

later on.

Now,

verse 21,

Martha

said

to Jesus.

Remember,

she is eager

to go meet with him,

to have this private

moment with him,

and she begins

with the word,

Lord.

Lord,

if you had

been here,

my brother

would not

have died,

but even now

I know

that whatever

you ask

from God,

God will give you.

Note the faith

of Martha.

She begins

with Lord,

and then

adds to the request,

the same request

that Mary makes,

she adds to that,

but even now

I know

that you can

raise Lazarus

from the dead,

is what is implied

in this statement.

And so,

Jesus

says to her,

in a measure

of ambiguity,

your brother

will

rise again.

And she

responds

with some

confusion,

I know

that he

will rise

again

in the

resurrection

on the

last day.

Now,

Martha,

because of

this declaration,

is showing

herself to be

of the

Pharisee

camp.

Theologically,

she believes

in the

resurrection.

There was

two major

groups in

this day,

the Pharisees

and the

Sadducees,

and they

had many

other

differences,

but the

primary

theological

debate that

they had

was whether

or not

there

would

be

a

resurrection.

In the

last day,

there would

be a

resurrection

from the

dead.

The

Pharisees

were more

conservative.

They were

the Bible

people of

the day.

The

Sadducees

tended not

to be.

And they

would have

taken up

a text

like Daniel

12,

too,

which says,

and many

of those

who sleep

in the

dust of

the earth

shall

awake,

some to

everlasting

life,

and some

to shame

and everlasting

contempt.

And believe

it.

And believe

that there

will in

fact be

a resurrection

on the

last day.

So Martha's

saying to

Jesus,

as he says,

your brother

will rise

again.

She's saying,

I know,

I know

someday he

will rise

again.

And in my

imagination,

she might have

gone on to

say,

but does that

give me hope

now?

Is that

something I

ought to

hang on to

now?

I'm feeling

the grief

of his

loss

now,

but Jesus

gets right

in front

of her

and says,

I am

the resurrection

and the

life.

Now,

this is the

fifth of

Jesus'

I am

statements,

right?

Connecting

himself to

the Godhead.

This chapter

is not the

first we have

heard Jesus

speak of

resurrection.

In chapter

five,

he has

stated that

he,

along with

the father,

raised the

dead.

Just of a

little

interesting

note,

there is

also a

chiastic

structure

between

chapter

five and

all the

way to

chapter

11.

And you

can guess

chapter

five and

chapter

11 do

in fact

correspond

with each

other.

In chapter

five,

he has

said,

in verse

21,

for as

the father

raises the

dead and

gives them

life,

so also

the son

gives life

to whom

he will.

In the

verse 25

and following,

truly,

truly,

truly,

I say

to you,

an hour

is coming

and is

now here

when the

dead will

hear the

voice of

the son

of God

and those

who hear

will live.

For as the

father has

life in

himself,

so he has

granted the

son also

to have

life in

himself.

He has

given him

authority to

execute

judgment

because he

is the

son of

man.

Do not

marvel at

this,

for an hour

is coming

when all

who are in

the tombs

will hear

his voice

and come

out,

those who

have done

good to the

resurrection

of life

and those

who have

done evil

to the

resurrection

of judgment.

So Jesus

has said

already and

not long

ago that

he has

the authority

over life

and death

and the

resurrection.

Here he is

drawing Martha

to see that

a belief in

resurrection is

not some

abstract thing

to believe

in,

but that the

very one

who provides

it is

standing

right.

in front

of her.

That's what

he's doing.

He says,

I am the

resurrection

and the

life.

I have the

power to

execute it.

It is

found in

me.

Christians

do not

just believe

in what

has been

promised by

faith in

Christ,

but in

Christ

himself.

Not just

what is

promised,

but in

Christ

himself.

here we

say again

and again

in presentations

of the

gospel that

we are to

repent,

that is,

turn from

our sin,

recognize that

it is an

offense against

the holy

God.

The word

repent means

literally to

change your

mind,

to not see

this as a

path we

ought to

pursue,

but to

see it as

a path

that should

be rejected,

discarded,

because it

is offensive

to God,

and to

turn by

faith in

Christ to

his

person

and his

work,

to who

he is

himself,

and to

all that

he has

accomplished

on our

behalf.

Both of

those are

very key

to understand.

So Jesus

says,

I am the

resurrection

and the

life.

There is no

resurrection nor

eternal life

outside of

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

He does

this similarly

in other

places,

like in

John chapter

John 6 · chapter mention

6.

He talks

about food

that doesn't

perish.

Verse 27,

do not work

for the food

that perishes,

but for the

food that

endures to

eternal life,

which the

Son of Man

will give

you,

for on

him God

the Father

has set

his seal.

So Jesus

will give

us the

sustenance

that endures

to eternal

life.

And then he

says in

verse 35,

I am

the bread

of life.

It's me.

I will

give you

myself.

Whoever

comes to

me shall

not hunger

and whoever

believes in

me shall

never thirst.

That's what

Jesus is

doing for

Martha,

whom he

loves.

She's

looking to

this abstract

future reality

that,

yeah,

yeah,

Jesus,

I know

Lazarus will

be raised

in that

final day

and he's

saying,

no,

I'm

standing

right in

front of

you right

now.

I am

the

resurrection

and the

life.

I'd

suggest to

you that

Martha has

faith and

Jesus is

bolstering her

faith with

this statement.

He goes on

to say,

whoever believes

in me,

though he

die,

yet shall

he live.

And everyone

who lives

and believes

in me

shall never

die.

He plays

with this

language.

Whoever

believes in

me,

who has

taken me

up,

we will

go through

an earthly

death,

but we

will live

spiritually

forever.

And the

one who

lives

spiritually

even now

will never

die

spiritually.

And then

he asks

the question,

do you

believe this?

Do you

believe this?

There should

be no

question to

us why

John might

structure this

text in

this way.

You've

heard me

say,

John chapter

John 20:30

20,

verse 30

and 31,

why did

John write

this gospel

account?

He says

there,

now Jesus

did many

other signs

in the

presence

of the

disciples,

which are

not written

in this

book.

But some

are,

are they

not?

Here in

John chapter

John 11 · chapter mention

11,

we are about

to see

Jesus do

this work,

this sign

raising

Lazarus

from the

dead.

Verse 31,

John 20

says,

but these

are written

that you

may believe

that Jesus

is the

Christ,

the Son

of God,

and that

by believing

you may

have life.

in his

name.

Well,

I want us

to be the

kind of

people that

when we

read in

John chapter

John 11 · chapter mention

11,

this statement

of our

Lord,

do you

believe this,

that our

minds are

triggered?

John chapter

John 20 · chapter mention

20,

right?

That's why

John wrote

this.

Look at

what he's

doing as

he constructs

this text

under the

power of

the Spirit

to ask

the question

of us

today.

Jesus is

the

resurrection

and the

life.

Do you

believe this?

And she

responds,

yes,

Lord,

I believe

that you

are the

Christ,

the Son

of God,

who is

coming

into the

world.

Now,

notice with me

second,

so this is

Jesus'

arrival,

notice

secondly,

Jesus'

anger,

verses 28

through 33.

Now,

why would I

draw your

attention to

this portion

of text

by titling

it,

Jesus'

anger?

I hope

that was a

little bit

shocking to

you.

Because of

the phrase,

he was

deeply moved

in his

spirit and

greatly

troubled.

Now,

you may

have in

your Bible

a footnote

following

the first

part of

that phrase

that reads,

or was

indignant.

So it

could read,

he was

indignant

and greatly

troubled.

So what

are we

meant to

make of

this?

I use

the word

anger

first because

of its

alliteration

with my

other points.

Helpful

sometimes,

and I like

to do it

when I

can.

But,

more

importantly,

because I

think it

gets at

what John

is showing

us here.

This

Greek

root,

this is a

single word,

is used

only twice

in this

chapter and

four other

places in

the Gospels.

In those

places,

it's

translated,

sternly

warned,

or in the

case of

Mark,

Mark 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

and verse

5,

the

disciples,

a record

of Mary

anointing

Jesus

with the

ointment.

There are

14, 5,

it says,

for this

ointment

could have

been sold

for more

than these

hundred

denarii

and given

to the

poor,

and they

scolded

her.

That's the

same verb

root

found

there.

This is

not a

soft

word.

I think

deeply

moved is

a fair

translation,

but it's

deeply moved

in a

particular

way.

Deeply

moved,

indignant,

angered in

his spirit

inside of

him,

and,

John adds,

greatly

troubled.

Now,

I think

what translators

are trying to

do is

they're trying

to connect

to this

idea of

Jesus

weeping.

How does

all of

this come

together?

He doesn't

say things

loudly.

There's not

rebuke that's

following here.

They're trying

to help us

wrap our

minds around

what's

happening,

but I

think it

comes up

short.

I'm thankful

for the

footnote,

at least

in my

Bible,

that says

was

indignant.

Additionally,

recall our

literary

structure,

and how

it's supposed

to help

us think

of the

rest of

the text.

Do you

remember,

right?

Do you

believe

this?

And we

have this

correspondence

between

Martha,

who comes,

expresses a

great measure

of faith,

Jesus,

asks the

question,

and then

Mary,

who is

delayed,

Jesus has

to request

that she

come to

him,

verse 28,

right?

Martha goes

back,

says to

Mary,

the teacher

is here

and is

calling for

you.

She gets

up quickly,

she goes,

the mourners

follow,

and when she

arrives to him,

she says the

exact same

thing that

Martha

said.

Lord,

if you had

been here,

my brother

would not

have died.

And then

John tells us

in verse 33,

there's no more

talking at this

point.

When Jesus

saw her

weeping,

and the Jews

who had come

with her also

weeping,

he was

deeply moved

in his spirit

and greatly

troubled.

I think

what John

is communicating

to us,

you see on

the one

side of

the literary

structure,

belief,

and on

the other

side,

unbelief.

Not just

grief,

but grief

without

hope.

So,

what is it

that Jesus

is angry

at?

D.A.

Carson

writes this,

quote,

some think

that Jesus

is moved

by their

grief,

and is

consequently

angry with

the sin,

sickness,

and death

in this

fallen world

that wreaks

so much

havoc

and generates

so much

sorrow.

Others

think that

the anger

is directed

at the

unbelief

itself.

The men

and women

before him

were grieving

like pagans,

like the

rest of men

who have

no hope,

1 Thessalonians

4.13.

Profound

grief

at such

bereavement

is natural

enough.

grief

that

degenerates

to despair

that pours

out its

loss

as if

there

was

no

resurrection

is an

implicit

denial

of that

resurrection.

Those are

the two

options.

And the

D.A.

Carson

says,

perhaps

these two

interpretations

are not

irreconcilable.

And I

think that

this

is right.

What Jesus

feels here

is a

righteous

anger

at

unbelief

and all

the problems

it has

caused,

starting all

the way back

in the

garden

and still

causes

today.

perhaps

you felt

this kind

of

righteous

indignation

at the

trouble

that is

experienced

in this

world.

We see

things be

not as

they ought

to be,

brought about

by that

original

unbelief

in the

garden

and

perpetuated

on by

unbelief.

and we

are

grieved

by it.

Greatly

troubled,

moved

within.

You don't

feel this

at the

tragedy

of this

world.

I think

that you

should.

I know

that I

do.

It's so

often

expressed

in me

when I

hear the

news

come across

my table,

whether that's

out there

somewhere

or within

our own

congregation.

I just

go,

come Lord

Jesus.

I need

the hope

of the

resurrection

in those

times.

I need

to believe

this.

Jesus is

the

resurrection

and the

life.

We have

hope in

this world.

We do

not grieve

as those

without

hope,

but those

with

hope.

I think

this is

what troubles

him.

these two

things.

Sin has

caused so

much and

it was

started with

unbelief and

then the

unbelief

carries on

in the

world.

Notice

lastly,

Jesus'

affection.

There's our

final A.

Jesus'

affection.

And he

said,

this is his

response to

this grievous

grieving that's

going on.

Where have

you laid

him?

They said

to him,

Lord,

come and

see.

Jesus

wept.

What's

happening

then here?

Jesus is

angry.

Why is it

that he

is weeping?

I think

he also

grieves.

Now,

the Jews

said,

see how

he loved

him.

And this

is a

misunderstanding

because

Jesus

certainly

loved

Lazarus.

Chapter 11,

verse 5,

tells us

this very

thing.

When he's

told to

come,

the one

whom you

love

is sick.

But Jesus

knew full

well that

he was

about to

see him

again.

The glorious

thing that

he was

about to

do.

So I

don't think

that Jesus

is weeping

over the

loss of

Lazarus.

this often

gets preached

that way.

I've heard

it time

and time

again.

I don't

think that's

what's going

on here

at all.

Another

misunderstanding.

Some of

them said,

could not

he who

opened the

eyes of

the blind

man also

have kept

this man

from dying?

There's a

faith being

expressed here

in the works

but not

in the

person.

On the

one hand,

it can be

read as an

honest question

but note

that Jesus'

response in

verse 38

he is

deeply

moved

again.

Once again

indignant,

righteously

angry.

So I

think verse

35 when we

read that

Jesus weeps

we're meant

to see him

righteously

angry at

this hopeless

grief and

broken hearted.

An affection

for people

who will

not take

hold of

him as

the Christ.

A broken

heartedness,

a desire

to see

them.

He's right

there in

front of

them.

He's about

to do

this thing,

this miraculous

thing,

and yet

confused

about who

he is.

I'm going

to see

next week

some of

them are

going to

go off

and report

in order

to get

him in

trouble

about this

thing

that he

has done.

And so

this all

begs the

question,

do you

believe

Jesus

is the

resurrection

and the

life?

Because if

he is,

everything

changes.