John 11:28-38 “The Tears of God in the Face of Death”

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Praise the Lord.

Thank you.

Hallelujah.

What a Savior.

Can you just try to wrap your mind around that for a minute?

How amazing it is that the Son of God Himself, the Prince of Heaven, would come to earth not as a famous celebrity,

but when He shows up here, would show up as a man of sorrows.

Isaiah said He would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

It's one of the most glorious realities about Jesus, isn't it?

We're going to marvel at it this morning in our passage in John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

Last week, we started looking at this story of Lazarus' death and resurrection.

And we considered the reality of death that surrounds not only this story,

but also in very personal and deeply impactful ways surrounds all of our lives.

And we also saw the presence of Jesus who promises wherever He is, there is resurrection and life.

And we'll rejoice in that again next week as Jesus brings Lazarus out of the tomb.

But first, Jesus, after a delay, comes to Bethany and Lazarus' grieving sisters.

And when the King of life is faced with death, how does He respond?

What does He feel?

What will our God do?

We're going to read beginning at verse 28 of John 11.

Kids, I especially want you, as always, to be looking at a Bible.

If you will look at a Bible this morning as I'm reading,

I want you to look out for the shortest verse in the whole Bible.

Right in the middle of this passage is the shortest verse in the whole Bible, okay?

See if you can find it.

It won't last long.

Read with me God's holy word.

When Martha 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?

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb.

It was a cave,

and a stone lay against it.

And did you see verse 35?

Good.

Jesus wept.

Though it's the shortest verse in the Bible,

kids, that doesn't mean it will be the shortest sermon

about the shortest verse in the Bible.

Okay, I don't want to disappoint you.

Okay?

Though it is the shortest verse in the Bible,

it is also one of the most comforting

and most hopeful verses

in all the Bible.

We're going to contemplate it together this morning

to encounter Jesus.

So let's ask God to help us with that

because nothing, nothing in all our lives

is more important than knowing

and loving and trusting Jesus.

Right?

Let's pray and ask for God's help with that.

Father, would you, by your Spirit,

meet with us this morning?

Jesus, as you did with Mary and Martha,

bringing your comfort to those who are grieving,

would you meet with us?

Would you show us your heart?

might it within us well up in worship,

in gratitude, in comfort, in love for you.

We ask it in your name.

Amen.

Amen.

I've really been overwhelmed this past week.

By the way, sorry, I know it's weird.

I'm sitting down here.

Just acknowledge the weirdness.

I'll be here for a little while.

Just remarking at the impact of tears in our lives,

of how death has invaded each of our stories

in a lot of different ways.

I've listened to the staff,

to my grace group,

to many of you individually sharing,

as Aaron shared some with us this morning,

of how death has impacted our stories.

And just overwhelming to consider

how much sorrow is in this one room.

There are too many tears in this room this morning

for me to count.

Way more than I know about.

And I want us to sit in that a bit this morning,

as hard and uncomfortable as that sometimes can be for us,

but to sit in the glorious reality

that Jesus wept.

We need to ponder the tears

of God.

That God cries

with us

and let them soak

deep into our hearts.

Before we do that specifically,

let me address briefly

calling them tears of God.

Many focus here in this passage

on Jesus' showing us

His full humanity.

In fact,

His perfect humanity

as He weeps.

And that is certainly true.

But,

we should never separate

that true humanity

from His true,

full divinity.

In fact,

in John's Gospel,

Jesus primarily

reveals God's character to us,

making known to us

the God we have not seen.

Right?

Showing us not merely

godly humanity,

but especially

in fleshed divinity.

That's what Jesus is

doing here.

Jesus certainly exemplifies

what a godly man is.

But here,

He particularly reveals to us

the heart of God.

God,

of course,

God the Father

does not have

physical tears,

but He is

full of emotion.

He's not distant

and unfeeling,

as many have imagined

or asserted,

or as you may have felt

when you were hurting.

When we see Jesus' tears,

we see the heart

of God.

Okay?

And that is,

that is so important to me

because what I want us

to feel this morning

is the God

of the distant heavens

being incredibly

near to us.

That He understands you

and you can,

at least in this bit of Him,

understand Him.

Especially now

and especially

in our tears.

Part of a growing

relationship with God

is understanding

His emotions,

learning how He feels

about us

and life

and death.

So I pray this morning

that the tears of God

will help you

love the heart

of God

more.

There's much

that has been

written,

much that could be said

about the tears

of God

in this passage.

But the text itself

highlights at least

three emotions

that are pictured

in Jesus' tears.

Let's start right

where we're already

reflecting

with God's tears

of empathy.

God cries

with us

which means

we never

cry alone.

never.

Notice

Mary,

she falls

at Jesus'

feet

weeping,

right?

She throws

herself

at His feet

and there are

others

behind her

also.

It's that

moment

that immediately

prompts

Jesus'

strong emotions

culminating

in His tears.

tears.

We'll come

back to the

words for

deeply moved

and greatly

troubled

but for now

notice what

touches

Jesus'

heart.

It's their

tears.

Many of us

have felt

this.

Nothing

makes us

cry

faster than

what?

Someone

else

crying.

Martha

speaks

about

her

hope.

She

comes

to

Jesus

with the

same

words

as Mary

does.

Lord,

if you

had been

here,

my brother

would not

have died.

But then

she speaks

about her

hope and

so Jesus

responds

with words

of hope,

with promises

for her.

Mary

starts with

those very

same words

tears.

But she

ends in

tears.

And Jesus

responds how?

With tears.

Empathy

for her.

Maybe

you've

felt that

way that

Mary felt.

God,

I know

the hope

but I'm

hurting now.

That's where

I am.

In fact,

what I'm

feeling right

now is

why did

you let

this

happen?

If you

had just

been here

Jesus,

it didn't

have to

be like

this.

Don't

you

care?

Jesus

says,

oh yes,

I know.

I care.

Come

here.

Let me

weep

with you.

I've

talked with

enough of

you to

know that

most of

us in

here have

shed tears

at the

grave of

a loved

one

or in

their

hospital

room

or maybe

at their

funeral

service.

We need

to know

Jesus

has

too.

Jesus

tears

at the

grave

of a

loved

one.

Isn't that

good?

Don't we

need to

know it's

not wrong?

it's

not a

lack of

faith.

He's

not

hoping that

we'll

hold it

together.

He's

not

disappointed

that we're

sad.

Friends,

weeping in

the face of

death

does not

indicate

that you

don't find

hope in

the promises

of Jesus.

It's not

what it

means.

Jesus

knows

for sure

that he's

about to

raise

Lazarus,

doesn't

he?

He's

said it

twice

already.

But right

here,

right now,

there's

pain,

anguish,

ache

with those

who are

grieving.

And we

may wonder

why didn't

if Jesus

was going

to raise

Lazarus

from the

dead,

why didn't

he just

skip the

tears and

make it

all better?

I've

learned

this

slowly,

but

sometimes

making a

bad

situation

better

begins

with

sharing

the

pain

of how

bad

it

really

is.

So

here

the

king

with

all

the

power

in

the

world,

the

one

who

is

himself,

the

resurrection

and the

life,

the

word

who

breathed

life

into

mankind

once

upon

a

time,

enters

our

weakness,

shares

our

pain,

sheds

our

tears.

Even

though he

knows he

will wipe

all tears

away one

day,

right?

He knows

they're

rightfully

worth being

cried

today,

this day.

He knows

that even

though Lazarus

is coming

back from

the dead,

there will

be more

tears

to come

and that's

why he

doesn't rush

ahead and

he doesn't

skip to

the hope,

but he

cries in

the pain.

You're

right to

be sad,

he says.

Death

really

is

awful.

I'm

broken

hearted

too.

It's

so

important

to see

the

badness

of

bad

like

death

and our

Savior is

helping us

with that.

Our

merciful

and

faithful

high

priest

sympathizes

with our

weaknesses,

right?

It's what

called us

in to

worship him

this morning.

In fact,

he has

borne

our

griefs,

carried

our

sorrows,

talk about

empathy.

He knows

your

personal

pain

intimately.

His

heart is

moved

by your

grief.

As the

psalmist

reminded us

earlier,

he has

collected

your

tears,

not

overlooked

a one

of them.

He's

counted

them all.

The tears

in this

room may

be too

many for

me to

count.

They

are not

too many

for Jesus

to count.

He knows

every

single

one.

The tears

that drop

unseen

and

unnoticed

from your

eyes

are

always

seen.

Never

forgotten

by him.

Aren't you

so thankful?

Aren't you

so glad

that those

tears you

thought nobody

would see,

he sees.

Listen to

how the

Puritan

pastor

Octavius

Winslow

describes

what is

happening

here when

Jesus

weeps.

the creator

of all

worlds,

the author

of all

beings,

the upholder

of the

universe,

raining

tears of

human woe

and sympathy

upon a

grave.

Oh,

there lives

not a

being in

the universe

who can

enter into

our bereavement

with the

sympathy,

the support,

and the

soothing

of Christ.

brothers and

sisters,

Jesus is

the one

who designed

our tear

ducts,

who shaped

our hearts

to choke

up sometimes,

who formed

our bodies

to experience

and to

express

deep

emotion,

yet he

dwelt in

a place

of perfect

peace,

peace,

of total

joy,

of no

tears.

Jesus

could

theoretically

have remained

distant,

shut his

ears to

our cries,

clung to

the riches

and the

comfort and

the happiness

of heaven.

He could

have,

but he

didn't.

the word

became

flesh.

He came

near.

He carried

our sorrows.

He cried

our tears.

Man

of

sorrows.

That same

Jesus

who wept

at Lazarus'

grave

weeps

with us.

I know

now

with a

glorified

body,

but still

if Thomas

could touch

his same

hands

and side,

we can

see the

same

sorrowful

eyes.

We can

catch his

tears

that fell

outside

Lazarus'

tomb

weeping

with us.

What

great

comfort.

He cries

with us

and he

sends us

to comfort

others

with the

comfort

with which

we have

been

comforted,

which I

believe here

means

weeping

with those

who weep.

Empathy

can be

hard.

you don't

always

feel

the exact

same

emotions

as

someone

else.

You go

to a

visitation

or to a

hospital room

and you

don't know

what to

say,

do you?

You may

have to

travel a

great

physical

or quite

likely

emotional

distance

to share

someone

else's

tears.

tears.

But when

you do,

what a

gift.

How

God-like.

How

helpful

in showing

his

heart.

So what a

privilege it

is that

you get to

do that,

to weep

with those

who weep.

Yes,

we know

the one

who one

day will

fix it

all and

wipe away

all the

tears.

But that

is one

day.

And today

we know

that same

one and

we know

he weeps

with us.

See

his heart.

Trust

his care.

Rest

in his

tearful

embrace.

God's

tears

of

empathy.

Secondly,

we see

God's

tears

as tears

of

anger.

Certainly

Jesus was

filled

with

compassion,

with

empathy,

but the

words used

to describe

his

emotions

that lead

to the

tears

are clearly

stronger.

harsher.

He is

greatly

troubled,

disturbed,

unsettled,

stirred up

like troubled

waters.

Can you

picture that?

And he's

deeply

moved.

That

translates

a word

that refers

to the

snorting

of a

horse

that's

upset

and wants

to get

at something.

The dust

is stirred

up underneath

it.

anger,

if it's

our

selfish

rage

when we

don't get

our way

that we're

thinking about

may not

help us

here.

But

righteous

indignation

I think

helps paint

the picture

for us.

Jesus

likely

audibly

can't

stand

what he's

faced with.

deep

deep in

his

heart

we're

told

he's

stirred

up

with

indignation

at

what?

Well

simply

stated

at

death.

Some

have said

he's

angry

with

Mary

and the

Jews

for their

unbelief.

I don't

think that

fits

well

here.

To the

extent that

his anger

is connected

to unbelief

it's the

darkness of

death and

the power

that it

holds over

people that

would anger

him.

But both

times we're

told Jesus

is deeply

moved

it's connected

to death.

Lazarus has

died

we're

told.

They

weep.

Jesus

is

stirred

up

and says

where have

you laid

him?

Then as

his tears

begin to

flow

they take

him to

the tomb

itself

face to

face

with death

where again

verse 38

Jesus

is deeply

moved.

The

great

Princeton

theologian

B.B.

Warfield

says what

moved

Jesus

was the

evil

of death.

It's

unnaturalness

it's

violent

tyranny.

He famously

wrote of

this passage

Jesus

burns

with rage

against the

oppressor

of men.

It is

death

that is

the object

of his

wrath

and behind

death

him who

has the

power of

death

and whom

he had

come into

the world

to destroy.

tears

of sympathy

may fill

his eyes

but his

soul

is held

by rage

and he

advances

to the

tomb

as a

champion

who

prepares

for

conflict.

He's

quoting

John

Calvin

there

at the

end.

It is

as though

when he

asks

where

have you

laid

him

Jesus

is

saying

where

is

death

let

me

at

him

just

wait

till

I

get

my

hands

on

him

he

goes

right

to

the

enemy

doesn't

he

Jesus

doesn't

make

friends

with

death

he

doesn't

expect

us

to do

so

he

hates

it

it

is

after

all

the

pinnacle

of

the

curse

that

has

so

wrecked

his

gloriously

perfect

creation

the

author

of

life

the

lord

of

life

the

giver

of

life

is

indignant

in

the

face

of

death

he

hates

that

it

torments

his

beloved

creatures

the

creator

the

sustainer

the

king

of

all

things

is

indignant

in

the

face

of

death

he

rejects

it

as

an

unwelcome

intruder

into

his

world

and

graciously

and

gloriously

he

is

ready

to

fight

back

as

our

champion

in

fact

he

has

come

to

make

blessing

flow

far

as

the

curse

is

found

and

he

sees

the

curse

and

he

wants

to

bring

blessing

he

hates

the

separation

that

death

brings

he

made

us

for

relationships

for

relationship

with

himself

for

love

that

lasts

for

life

that

flourishes

and

death

has

no

place

in

his

good

creation

or

in

his

new

creation

by the

way

friends

aren't

you

glad

your

God

hates

death

too

doesn't

it do

your soul

good

to know

there are

times

it is

right

to be

angry

that

God

rages

at

the

ways

the

curse

breaks

this

world

just

as

you

do

might

it

not

inspire

you

to

charge

toward

this

great

enemy

and

other

enemies

with

righteous

indignation

to bring

his

blessing

to those

who are

suffering

injustice

and

despair

and

death

our

God

is

not

distant

he's

not

dispassionate

he's

not

disappointed

he's

not

this

deity

who's

up

there

thinking

oh

that

is

so

sad

but

I

just

don't

care

to get

involved

he's

not

the

one

who

doesn't

care

how

you

feel

he's

not

unmoved

by what

you're

facing

he

weeps

tears

of

empathy

and

tears

of

anger

and

ultimately

tears

of

love

love

is what

the people

around him

saw

when they

saw

Jesus

weeping

I think

I'm going

to sit

down

again

verse

36

see

see

how

he

loved

him

see

the

deep

affection

that

Jesus

had

for

his

friend

they

see

it

he

can't

bear

being

separated

from

him

can

he

John

already

told us

Jesus

loved

Lazarus

his

love

for

these

three

siblings

is a

big

part

of

this

story

notice

it

again

when

he

calls

Mary

personally

and

he

wants

to

talk

with

her

wants

to

weep

with

her

Martha

go

tell

Mary

privately

that

I

want

to

see

her

God

is not

cold

hearted

nor

is he

lukewarm

towards

you

he's

not

even

hot

and

cold

about

you

based

on

how

you're

doing

today

he

loves

you

passionately

personally

persistently

he

calls

you

by

name

to

weep

with

you

when

you

weep

the

great

British

preacher

of the

last

century

Charles

Spurgeon

said of

Jesus

here

there

was

no

flint

in

his

heart

he

was

love

and

only

love

and

through

his

love

he

descended

into

the

depths

of

grief

with

the

beloved

ones

whose

lot

was

sorrowful

and

he

carried

out

to

the

full

that

sacred

precept

weep

with

them

that

weep

there's

not

much

sweeter

truth

than

the

truth

many

of

us

learned

as

kids

Jesus

loves

me

this

I

know

the

Bible

certainly

tells

us

so

doesn't

it

here

the

Bible

tells

us

and

shows

us

the

love

of

Jesus

as

the

tears

of

the

God

who

could

love

anyone

and

anything

in

his

entire

creation

flow

for

us

his

tears

for

his

beloved

sheep

his

adopted

children

his

tears

flow

for

us

I

hope

that

is

sinking

in

deep

for

you

the

crowd

of the

tomb

gets

it

right

see

how

he

loved

him

but

I

don't

think

they

get

the

half

of

it

they

mean

Jesus

is

sad

because

he's

separated

by

death

from

his

friend

whom

he

loves

and

that's

true

but

putting

together

the

emotion

that

we

have

seen

in

Jesus

this

morning

Jesus

is

surely

moved

to

tears

at

our

suffering

the

effects

of

the

curse

at

the

brokenness

of

this

life

that

we

weren't

created

to

endure

and

it

moves

him

to

action

on

our

behalf

doesn't

it

on

behalf

of

those

he

loves

Jesus

enters

in

to

face

death

for

us

to

deliver

us

from

it

and

they

thought

I

loved

you

then

huh

just

wait

till

the

cross

see

how

he

loved

him

and

me

and

you

Jesus

looks

death

in the

face

and is

saddened

that it

separates

him

from

those

he

loves

so he

makes

sure

once

and for

all

that this

will not

happen

anymore

is your

heart

moved

with love

for the

hurting

the

broken

hearted

those

whose

death

could

eternally

separate

them

is your

heart

moved

with love

like

his

is

may

God

transform

us

more

and more

into the

likeness

of his

son

with

empathy

with

anger

and

with

love

love

the

next

time you

weep

before

the

grave

of a

loved

one

I want

you to

remember

that God

cries

with you

I want

you to

remember

that God

hates

death

with you

I want

you to

remember

that God

loves you

so much

that he

conquered

death

the only

obstacle

to his

being

with you

now

and being

with you

forever

Jesus

wept

and we

are

comforted

forever

hallelujah

what a

savior

Jesus

sat

with the

disciples

he loved

on another

night

when he

would

weep

in the

face

of death

and they

sat