Today I have the honor of sharing a post from our Director of Worship Arts, Joshua Barella. I hope you enjoy and find hope in these words.
Jesus wept (Jn. 11:35).
This is the shortest verse in the Bible.
It is profound as it applies to the heart of Our Lord, Jesus Christ; to those whom he came to save: You. Me. Us.
There is much pain and confusion in our world today. You don't need to look far to see it. Some of us have been brought to our knees in grief and in this moment cannot hardly see past it; the same can be said of those of us in the throes of financial woe; relational strife; physical affliction.
Hopelessness. Dread. Despair.
It is not easy to overcome these emotions. We are the only species on earth to experience emotion and to such a degree that it can debilitate us, compel us to do life-altering harm to ourselves and others. We are not strangers to this.
But neither is Christ (Heb. 2:5-18).
Lazarus' death was merely a means to an end and that end was hope. Hope the likes of which the world had never seen before. Jesus had already performed countless miracles before the road to Bethany, but this one was markedly different. Lazarus and his family were very important to Jesus; the Bible is firm on this. It is also firm on Christ's motivation for not endeavoring immediately to action.
"When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it. Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus" (Jn 10:4-5).
The miracle of Lazarus' resurrection occurs at a pivotal time in Jesus' ministry. Many had already deserted him, finding his teachings too lofty or radical, and Calvary was mere days away. Much betrayal was afoot, and much was at stake in his heart—no doubt, being fully man, yet knowing the majesty that awaited him in being fully God.
Jesus prays these words to his Father in heaven before he raises his friend from the dead: " . . . Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me" (Jn. 11:41b-42).
May this bring great encouragement to our hearts. Indeed to an ailing world. Jesus, the Son of Man, reminds us that the Father is always listening. And everything that he does he commits to the Father for the Father's glory "[f]or there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). And if God is for us, who can be against us (Rom. 8:31)?
We weep. We feel empty. We suffer utter helplessness. But who is with us in those places? Who weeps and feels empty and suffers with us?
Jesus.
Never forget that. For it will surely be easy to in the pangs of affliction. But just as Mary, Martha, the disciples--even the Pharisees--witnessed--Our Lord, Our Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Fourth Man in the Fire is a merciful, mighty, magnificent God and is far from standing idle in the midst of our pain.
My brothers and sisters. I know some of you walk on hot coals this very night and wonder when the madness will end. Trust that it will. Trust that it will be glorious in that moment, and on that day, and not just for the Father, but for you and for all of those of the Father's house. "For nothing is impossible with God" (Lk. 1:37).
I leave you with a hopeful plug from a most affable wizard, at the incipit of a most trying odyssey:
"It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not." -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Blessings eternal; honor and courage and ultimate triumph in His name,
Joshua
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Photo by Tomás Robertson on Unsplash