Text by Roxanne Flores
Read:
John 11:17-35 (NASB)
So when Jesus came, He found that he [Lazarus] had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. So then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, and He who comes into the world.”
When she had said this, she left and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard this, she got up quickly and came to Him.
Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still at the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house and were consoling her, when they saw that Mary had gotten up quickly and left, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there. So when Mary came to the place where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.
Reflect:
Hurt. Pain. Grief. And all agony and sorrows in between.
Most of us tend to associate these feelings with something negative, and so we do our best to avoid them or shut them down. We want the hurt to end. We want the pain to leave. We want sorrow to last only one night and then joy to *please oh please* come quickly in the morning. And quite rightfully we do, how could we not want that?
But while we are still here on earth, pain is inevitable. Every once in a while it comes, and sometimes it lingers for a much longer time than we wish it would.
I remember a time in my life wherein I had to go through a heavy deal of hurt and pain. It was difficult because nobody intentionally wronged me, yet there I was, trying to deal with years of piled-up emotional damage. I realized that for the longest time, I was trying so hard to fit myself into a mould that I was actually growing out of. Processing the hurt that was unjustified in my sight was just… painful, to say the least. It took great effort to tear myself away from what used to be my shelter, and finally admit to myself that I was hurting (even though nobody intentionally tried to), quite badly, so that I could finally begin my journey to healing.
I knew in my heart that eventually, it was going to be okay. My times and seasons will change. It’s all in the Lord’s hands. I will soon get into a much better state. Yes, I was perfectly aware and secure in all of this. Still, what was I supposed to do with all the pain gripping heavily on my heart during that time?
I can’t help but think back on John 11, on the day that Jesus came to see Lazarus, a few days after he died.
Jesus knew that Lazarus would rise again. He knew He could raise him back. He knew that He would raise him back. Still, He wept. When he saw Mary weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was moved in spirit and was troubled—and He wept.
Jesus, in all His glory and power, when He found Himself in the midst of grief and sorrow, He wept.
Couldn’t we allow ourselves to do the same?
While Jesus was here on earth, He was completely God, yet still, every inch human. We saw Him have compassion (Mark 6:34), we saw Him get angry (Matthew 21:12), we saw Him troubled in spirit (John 13:12), and we saw Him plead with the Father to take His cup of suffering away (Luke 22:42), and in the shortest verse of most Bible translations, we saw Him weep (John 11:35).
Respond:
Dear friend, how are you?
Are you currently hurting? Enduring some sort of pain that maybe, somehow, hits the hardest at night?
Do you wrestle with yourself sometimes, knowing perfectly well that the Lord has you in the palm of His hand, and so everything is going to be alright, and yet you still cry?
My heart reaches out to you. May we no longer deny something that Jesus has willingly embraced for us. Accepting our pain doesn’t mean cancelling our faith. We know that it’s going to be okay, Lazarus will come back to life. The mourning and weeping will soon stop. Yes, we know. Yes and amen to that.
But for now, as our humanity begs of us, can we give ourselves permission to cry?
May we soon be free to weep when we find ourselves in the midst of deep grief and sorrow. Just like Jesus did.
Roxanne Flores is a licensed professional teacher and a storyteller who tries sometimes. Hands and feet currently in the Philippines, but her head and her heart are already out there exploring the nations. She’s always hungry—both for food and for God’s Word, so if you don’t find her working on her table, she’ll probably be in the kitchen, rummaging the fridge for some leftover food or a midnight snack.
AUTHOR: ROXANNE FLORES