A powerful story in John 11 speaks to us as we explore the subject of grief.
Mary and Martha who lived in Bethany were some of Jesus’ closest friends. They sent word to him that their brother Lazarus, was desperately ill. But by the time Jesus got there, Lazarus had died and was in his grave for four days. Mary and Martha came out to meet Jesus, and expressed their grief: “He’s gone. We’ve lost him. O Lord, if only you have been here, our brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw them weeping, Jesus wept with them. He loved Lazarus, too, he loved them, and he shared their pain. Jesus went out to the cave-like tomb and said to them: “Roll back the stone!” They rolled the stone away, and Jesus cried out in a loud voice: “Lazarus, come forth!” And incredibly, miraculously, amazingly before their very eyes, Lazarus is resurrected! He came out of the tomb still with his grave clothes. Jesus then turned to the friends and family, and said to them, “Unbind him and let him go. Unwrap him and set him free.”
In this graphic and dramatic story, three great truths emerge which can be so helpful to us today.
First, Jesus wept with those he loved, and he still does.
John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept. When we were growing up, whenever we were asked to recite a memory verse, this was the verse we would say: “Jesus wept.”
There was this new graduate from the seminary who was assigned in a country church. One morning the phone rang: the father of the church council chairman had suddenly died. As the new graduate was preparing to visit the family, he thought, “I’m their pastor but I don’t know what to say to them.” He tried to remember his classes in pastoral care. He tried to recall appropriate scripture passages to quote. He tried to think of some profound theological message to give these people in their shocked hour of need. He plotted his strategy: “I know what I’ll do… I’ll go in boldly, and take charge. I’ll gather all the family in the living room, and quote the 23rd Psalm. That’s what I’ll do.”
When he got to the home and gathered the family in the living room, he looked at their faces, and suddenly, their pain became his pain. He suddenly realized how much he loved these wonderful people, and his heart broke with them. He was overcome with emotion that he could hardly finish reading the 23rd Psalm. He cried so hard that the family had to rush over and minister to him. The pastor was so embarrassed. He got through the funeral, and went immediately to the bishop, and asked to be moved to another church. And shortly after, he was transferred.
Several years passed, he happened to meet the family again. Their faces lit up when they saw him. They ran to him, and hugged him warmly. “Oh, Pastor,” they said, “we are so glad to see you. Our family loves you. We have missed you. We talk about you all the time. We have loved all of our pastors, but you are the one who helped us the most.” “Oh, really?” the pastor said with genuine surprise. “Oh, yes!” they said, “We’ll never forget how you came and cried with us when our father died.”
Jesus wept with those He loved, and He still does. He hurts with us. He feels our pain. He will walk through the valley with us, and in time, He will bring us out of the valley of sorrow to the mountaintop on the other side. Jesus wept with those he loved, and he still does.
Second, Jesus raised people up, and he still does.
In the New Testament, Jesus performed no funerals, only resurrections. In John 11, Jesus resurrects Lazarus. He raises him up and brings him out of the tomb. “Lazarus, come forth,” he says.
But the resurrection offered is not only life after death. It is also “life to the living”.
If you will listen really carefully today, you can hear the Lord Jesus calling your name. He has a resurrection for you. It can mean bringing you out of that tomb (whatever it is) that is imprisoning you. It can be from fear, or it can be from grief.
For some of us, new life may be the chance to start over with our lives. For others, new life may mean new energy to deal with burdens we are carrying.
The Lord wants to set you free. And he has the power to do it. If you will listen to his call and respond in faith, he will raise you up, and give you a new start, a new chance, a new life. That is the gift that Jesus is offering to us.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he was dead, yet shall he live. . . .” That is the promise he has given us. It does not mean that we will not have our heart broken from time to time. But it does mean that if we are in Christ, neither life nor death will ever defeat us, for the One who raised Lazarus from the dead will give us new life as well.
Third, Jesus included other people in the healing process, and he still does.
Notice what happens when Lazarus came out of the tomb. Jesus turned to his family and friends and said, “Unbind him and let him go. Unwrap him and set him free.”
Jesus knew how important it is to have our family and friends helping us, surrounding us with love, supporting us, encouraging us, setting us free in every moment, but especially in those moments when we are trying to make a new start with our lives.
A man stopped by to see me who he went through a great personal tragedy. He said, “I was devastated. I was disillusioned and defeated, and saw no hope for the future, and no relief for my pain. I was so hurt that I was immobilized. But God brought me back to life, and this church has been there for me every step of the way. My Bible Study group has been so incredible. I don’t know what I would have done without them. I couldn’t have made it without them.”
He was saying, “God brought me out of the tomb, and my friends helped me, and supported me, and together, by the grace of God, they loved me back to life.
Jesus wept with those he loved, and he still does. He raised people up, and He still does. He included others in the healing process, and He still does.
This is the Good News: Christ is risen, and He can resurrect us.
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