Jesus wept – come along and see for yourself
As a successor, it is important to know who exactly is being followed. The aim of following someone is always to become more like their role model. But what does this mean when we follow someone who not only says «Follow me», but about whom it is said: «Then Jesus wept»? This biblical passage shows us a lot about the nature of the one who says «Follow me».
Many people ask themselves what would have happened if they had done this and that. I also asked myself. What if I had turned up on my kindergarten friend’s wedding day with our contract from that time and insisted that we had signed it to confirm that we wanted to get married one day? What if my father had accepted the job offer in the USA in the 1990s? Would the American dream have come true? Would I vote for Trump now? What if I had stopped by the retirement home on my way home from the military on 1 March 2013? Would I still have seen my grandmother? What if I hadn’t had a headache in July 2017 and had therefore made the appointment with one of my best friends? Would I have been able to say a proper goodbye to him before he died in a car accident during my holidays shortly afterwards? What if…
What if…?
Do you know this question? Do you ask yourself this question from time to time? We often ask ourselves these questions and, on the one hand, we are glad that things didn’t turn out that way. Because the status quo is very pleasant and nice. On the other hand, we are also very sad that things didn’t turn out the way they could have. At least in terms of negative effects. Deep down, there is a desire to change the present in the past so that it has a positive impact on the here and now.
We are at the start of the annual theme of discipleship with the words of Jesus «Follow me». Together as a church, we are setting out to explore the question of what it means to follow Jesus Christ. Who is the one we are following? What did he do, what did he think? This morning I would like to focus on a story that contains a biblical passage that means a lot to me and has a lot to do with «what if…».
Jesus Christ was on the other side of the Jordan towards the end of his ministry. A few days earlier, he had been in Jerusalem, where people wanted to stone him. He now withdrew there. At this place, he received a message from two sisters who were his friends. Mary and Martha let him know that their brother Lazarus was very ill and that he should come as soon as possible. Jesus was good friends with these three – nevertheless, he stays there for two more days. He does not appear to be in a hurry. It takes Jesus about a day to get there on foot. The brothers and sisters lived in Bethany. This village was only a few kilometres from Jerusalem and the name means «house of the poor». It may well be that this name was proverbial, because Jesus always had a heart for the poor and marginalised. However, as I said, it was dangerously close to Jerusalem. Everything that happened there in Bethany was quickly noticed in Jerusalem. Lazarus had already been dead for four days. When Martha heard that Jesus was on his way to them, she hurried to meet Jesus. Her sister Mary stayed in the house. Martha had always been the more active of the two. «Martha said to Jesus: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died» (John 11:21 NLB). How is this statement to be understood? Was it a reproach to Jesus? Or does it rather speak of despair? Or is it a statement: what if Jesus had been here? Martha has a personal encounter with Jesus. In this conversation, he leads her from the assumption that Jesus is an important person to Jesus being the promised Saviour of the world – the Christ. With this realisation, Martha returns to Mary and possibly also tells her about it. Mary now hurries off to Jesus. The people who were with her and mourned with her follow her. «So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she threw herself at his feet and said, «Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died» (John 11:32 NLB). Is this again a sign of reproach, despair or merely a statement? The question remains as to what would have happened if Jesus had come earlier? But something is different with Mary, she falls to her feet before Jesus. This deep sorrow mixed with trust in Jesus triggers a reaction. «When Jesus saw Mary weeping and the people mourning with her, he was filled with anger and pain. «Where have you laid him?» he asked. They replied: «Lord, come and see» » (John 11:33–34 NLB). Jesus was shocked. It affected him deeply. Anger on the one hand, pain on the other. Why was Jesus angry? He himself had remained on the other side of the Jordan.
Jesus wept
We don’t know the exact reason, but it is immediately followed by a Bible verse that is probably more pastoral than any other. «Then Jesus wept» (John 11:35 NLB). Jesus wept. We would like to add as quickly as possible: Jesus wept because… I would like to pause here and remind us of this. The one whom Christians follow was a man of tears. Nowhere in the Bible do we read that Jesus laughed. But we do read that he wept. This does not mean that joking is out of place. But it shows much more the character of Jesus. Back then, as today, weeping was practically unthinkable for a man – that is, for a god.
But in this story, Jesus is not the only one who wept. We encounter many mourning people. The weeping Mary is described with the Greek word «klaio». This means something like weeping/crying. The noun of this means weeping. «Klaio» is the common expression of weeping. Mary wept, howled, because of her pain. On the other side is Jesus. Deeply affected by her grief, he begins to weep himself. However, this is not the word «klaio», but the Greek word «dakryo». Although this also means to weep, it has a broader meaning. It means to weep, but it also means to burst into tears or to have one’s eyes well up. It expresses compassion and is only used once in the entire New Testament – and that is here. However, the fact that Jesus wept is not only proof that Jesus was God, but also that he was actually human. At the beginning of the Gospel of John, Jesus is described as the Word who became man (John 1:14). «Only when we put aside our ossified ideas of God and exchange them for images in which the Word, which is God, can weep with the weepers of this world, will we discover what the word «God» truly means» (N.T. Wright). Jesus Christ bursts into tears the moment he sees Mary and all the people who were with her weeping. Jesus endured the predictions of Old Testament scriptures much more literally than is usually thought. «Nevertheless, he took our sicknesses upon himself and bore our pains. […]» (Isaiah 53:4 NLB).
But at no moment did Jesus not know what he was doing. He already knew that Lazarus was dead before they set off from the other side of the Jordan. «Then he told them openly: Lazarus is dead. I am glad for your sake that I was not there, because you will have another reason to believe in me. Come, let us go to him» (John 11:14 NLB). He knew exactly at that moment of tears that he would raise Lazarus from the dead. «Then they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, «Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I say this because of the many people standing here, so that they may believe that you have sent me. Then he called out with a loud voice: «Lazarus, come out!» And Lazarus came out. He was wrapped in grave cloths and his head was covered with a cloth. Jesus said, «Undo the bandages and let him go! (John 11:41–44 NLB). Martha warned Jesus about the stench. Lazarus had already been dead for four days and in the climate of Israel the dead decompose quickly. But when we consider Jesus, what do we think his thanks to the Father refers to? There are some speculations that Jesus wrestled with God during the two days he waited before setting off. Because when the tomb was opened, there was no odour. God had therefore heard Jesus. Jesus also knew that raising Lazarus from the dead would lead to his own death. This in turn refers to his own death. Jesus rose after three days, Lazarus after four. However, the Old Testament already indicated that Jesus and Lazarus did not decompose, i.e. that there was no stench. «For you will not let your saint rot in the grave, nor will you allow your godly one to rot in the grave» (Psalm 16:10 NLB). There were so many people present that the miracle of Lazarus» resurrection spread like wildfire. Word spread quickly and many began to believe in Jesus because of this miracle. The religious leaders therefore decided to kill Jesus.
Once again: Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. The moment he wept, he knew that he wanted to raise Lazarus from the dead. But this biblical passage shows us a man of sorrows. A man who is familiar with our grief and pain. It shows us a man who shares and bears everything with us to the point of weeping.
Come along and see for yourself!
What does this story have to tell us? What does it have to do with our theme for the year? Interwoven in this story, and perhaps a little hidden, we find a change of focus. What if.… What if death is not the end? When Jesus had the personal, pastoral conversation with Martha, he made the following statement. «Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even if he dies» (John 11:25 NLB). Martha asked herself what would have happened if Jesus had been there in time, that is, during Lazarus» lifetime. Jesus» answer is: What if I am the resurrection and the life? This change of focus also took place with Martha. Instead of what if her good friend Jesus had come in time, there is a comprehensive realisation. What if Jesus is the Christ? » […] I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world» (John 11:27 NLB). Martha went from the negative what if… to the positive what if the last word has not yet been spoken! She came to this realisation even before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
But we can take something else with us. Discipleship means imitation. When we follow something, it determines many things. From our agenda to our behaviour and way of thinking to our wallet. In the New Testament, we are given advice for followers. «If other people are happy, rejoice with them. If they are sad, accompany them in their sorrow» (Romans 12:15 NLB). Our theme for the year, «Follow me», is an invitation to come along and see for yourself. Jesus told a man to follow him (John 1:43). This man had recognised that Jesus was the one announced in the Old Testament. He told his friend Nathanael that the promised Saviour was Jesus from Nazareth. « «From Nazareth!» exclaimed Nathanael. «Can anything good come from Nazareth?» Philip replied: «Come and see for yourself» » (John 1:46 NLB). Nathanael had a clear idea of what was to happen and how. His «what if the Saviour of the world comes» was clearly defined. His Saviour could not come from Nazareth. But now comes Philip’s invitation to «come and see for yourself». We are all at a different point in following Jesus Christ. Today there is an invitation to you to «Come and see for yourself!» Get to know the one who wept because of the grief that surrounded him. Are you ready to have your «what if…» redefined?
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: John 11, 1–45
- What do you think of Jesus» behaviour, that he stayed two days longer beyond the Jordan than he had to?
- «What if…» Which question concerns you the most in this regard? Where do you have a big «What if…» question? Are you ready to be given a new perspective?
- «Then Jesus wept» (John 11:35 NLB). What does this Bible passage trigger in you? What does it say about Jesus? What does it say about your God when his eyes glaze over because of the grief he sees around him?
- Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do. What does this say about Jesus that he wept even though he knew that he would raise Lazarus from the dead?
- Marta went from «What if this or that were to change» to «What if Jesus is greater than death». What does this look like for you? Where would you categorise yourself?
- Are you ready to come and be convinced yourself (John 1:46)? What does it take for you to be convinced to follow Jesus Christ?
