Scripture Reading(s)
John 11:32-44
11:32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.
11:34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”
11:35 Jesus began to weep
11:36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
11:37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
11:38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.”
11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
11:41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me.
11:42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.”
11:43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus come out!”
11:44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him and let him go.”
Reflections
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus is one where we often talk about Jesus’ humanity because he loved Lazarus so much. Most believe Jesus wept because He loved Lazarus so much. While this seems to be confirmed by the Jews who exclaimed “See how he loved him!”, I do not believe that this captures the whole of Jesus’ emotions. More than just Lazarus, Jesus has to console His family. Jesus knows that He will see Lazarus again in heaven; so why the tears? I believe He wept for the family of Lazarus who were distraught over his death.
Why is any of this important? Jesus cares for us and he sympathizes with our pain. He is not ignoring our sorrows. He weeps when we weep. Do not feel alone in your own pain but turn to Jesus who knows and understand our own suffering.
This is an excellent piece. Sometimes when we read portions of Scripture, we tend to miss some key points mainly because we don’t pause to reflect on the circumstances prevailing during the scripture story. Thank you for enlighting us.
Thank you and you are welcome sir. I believe we all bring something to the table. You are welcome to share your own thoughts on any post here :) We welcome your input.