The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 11:33-35,
"When Jesus saw her [Mary, Lazarus' sister] weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 'Where have you laid him?' he asked. 'Come and see, Lord,' they replied. Jesus wept."
Toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, the brother of Mary and Martha, Lazarus, died which became an opportunity for Jesus to yet again establish his bona fides as being who he said he was and what it was he came to do. Jesus told his disciples, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." Verse 11.
Upon going to where Lazarus was now buried, Bethany, we are told Jesus wept just before he raised Lazarus from the dead when he encountered Mary and the other mourners there weeping. One wonders, since Jesus went to raise Lazarus, why did he weep when he came into contact with Mary?
We can exclude the reason why Mary and the other mourners were weeping. They were weeping at the loss of a loved one, as we all do when death strikes. However, Jesus knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, and since Lazarus, were he not raised back to life, would be heaven bound as a friend of Jesus and his disciples. Lazarus would be right there with the Lord in heaven a short time later when Jesus would ascend there.
Certainly, the humanity of Jesus is on display in this event. He appears to be identifying and sympathizing with the mourners there, demonstrating his great heart of love for people and the loss they experience due to sin, and the consequences of sin: physical death that became a reality for us all at the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.
In any event, many of us find a profound reflection of the heart of Jesus Christ in this account, a heart that was willing to give himself, to suffer on that cross, as he took the punishment for our sins in his own death.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"When Jesus saw her [Mary, Lazarus' sister] weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 'Where have you laid him?' he asked. 'Come and see, Lord,' they replied. Jesus wept."
Toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry, the brother of Mary and Martha, Lazarus, died which became an opportunity for Jesus to yet again establish his bona fides as being who he said he was and what it was he came to do. Jesus told his disciples, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." Verse 11.
Upon going to where Lazarus was now buried, Bethany, we are told Jesus wept just before he raised Lazarus from the dead when he encountered Mary and the other mourners there weeping. One wonders, since Jesus went to raise Lazarus, why did he weep when he came into contact with Mary?
We can exclude the reason why Mary and the other mourners were weeping. They were weeping at the loss of a loved one, as we all do when death strikes. However, Jesus knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, and since Lazarus, were he not raised back to life, would be heaven bound as a friend of Jesus and his disciples. Lazarus would be right there with the Lord in heaven a short time later when Jesus would ascend there.
Certainly, the humanity of Jesus is on display in this event. He appears to be identifying and sympathizing with the mourners there, demonstrating his great heart of love for people and the loss they experience due to sin, and the consequences of sin: physical death that became a reality for us all at the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.
In any event, many of us find a profound reflection of the heart of Jesus Christ in this account, a heart that was willing to give himself, to suffer on that cross, as he took the punishment for our sins in his own death.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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