04/02 - A Dead Man in the Tomb

Encounters With Jesus
A Dead Man in the Tomb
John 11:(1-16), 17-45

A Different Kind of Encounter
  >The previous encounters centered around Jesus' interactions with a particular individual and their response.
  >Here, the dead man, Lazarus, is:
    *the "low-hanging fruit" of John's (& Jesus') message
      •Christ brings us from death to new life
      •the climactic sign of the seven signs in John
    *the reason for the in interactions with others
    *a window into the heart of Jesus

The Mourners at Bethany
  > The Family Jesus Loved
    *“Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”, "Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus"
    *Impression is that this was a place where Jesus could "recharge"
  > The Disciples
    *Clueless, Fearful, Missing the Darkness-to-Light point yet again
    *Jesus is going to bring life from death; they assume He's leading them to their deaths
  > Martha the Busy, Responsible One
    *Full of sorrow; full of faith
    *Confessing that Jesus is indeed the Messiah
  > Mary, the Student of Jesus
    *Luke 10:39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet...
    *This time, she falls at His feet...
  >The "other people"
    *"Funerals" were a BIG deal
    *If you were a rich tax collector that no liked, you would have hired professionals to come and mourn at your death
    *Probably not professionals, but they had "distance" enough to speculate in v37: But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”
  >So, EVERYONE was there. From the deep mourners to the fearful to the (intentionally?) distracted. All typical of people's reactions to the reality of death.
    *But how did God in Christ react...?

The Heart of Jesus
  >Jesus was... angry?
    *Old-time-y interpretation was that Jesus was angered, then sorrowful, over their lack of faith... But He had only told the Disciples, Mary, and Martha, that He would raise Lazarus
    *v33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.
    *He appears angry at the sorrow death has caused
  >Jesus wept
    *Serious weeping, because v36: "The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”"
    *On the way to the tomb
  >Jesus' intention
    *For the Disciples: v15 "And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe."
    *For the mourners: "41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.”"
    *And now, here, faith does come into play. There was a reason for the heartache. But it seems like Jesus is not only telling listeners, but reminding Himself, why this was necessary...
  >Jesus' action
    *At this point the climax of the story. Death is reversed at the command of Christ! Through Him, we are indeed brought from death to new life!

The Heart of God at the Funeral
  >But was it the mourners alone who grieved? Or was Jesus grieving as well? Maybe over the sorrow death causes?
  >I have been to many funerals, many deaths...
    *I have heard many trying to make sense of death
    *I have heard many "reasons" floated, some good, some bad, to try to numb the heartache. (Please be careful voicing these.)
    *I have brought what comfort I can
    *But buried deep down, I am always angry at the sorrow the parting has caused, and the closer I am to the situation, the angrier I am.
  >And here, finally, is the point:
    *God is not up in heaven dispassionately saying "time to go!"
    *When God is at the funeral, he is angry along with us, he sorrows with us, & for us... even when the reasons are obvious.    
   *He gave his only son, so that this will not continue.
    *He weeps with us!