When Heaven Weeps On Earth

May 11th, 2025

Scripture:

John 11:35

Page 1669 of the pew Bible

Sermon Title:

"When Heaven Weeps On Earth"

Hymn Suggestions:

Opening Praise Song- 617 Near to the Heart of God

2nd Hymn- 551 Oh, To Be Like Thee

3rd Hymn- 596 I Surrender all.

Closing Hymn- 488 Just As I Am

Sermon:

Good morning, Church Family, I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

I am going to make a confession this morning, one thing I have trouble with is memorizing scripture.

Now I have read the entire Bible, several times in fact, and I can quote a lot of scriptures, but what gives me a hard time is quoting word for word along while siting the book, chapter and verse.

Now, I can’t be the only one here today that struggles with that, in fact… I have had several people tell me that they have the same problem, so if that’s you this morning, don’t be too hard on yourself.

And in fact, today’s passage… is a passage of scripture that we should be able to put to memory word for word, without too much trouble.

Today’s passage comes from the Gospel according to John 11:35 and it can be found on page 1669 of your pew Bible if you would like to follow along

Starting with verse 35: Jesus wept.

That’s it, nothing more, nothing less.

Jesus wept.

Once again full disclosure, the idea of writing a full-length sermon on just two words was kind of daunting, however sometimes in life we find more meaning with fewer words dont we?

There is an old saying out there that says less is more, and sometimes that can be seen through the lack of words that we speak, for the words we dont say.

 "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary, use words" this is quote that is commonly credited to St. Francis, but there's no definitive evidence that he actually the one who said it.

However, this phrase is another example that our actions speak louder than our words most of the time, especially when trying to follow in Jesus’s footsteps.

regarding the space shuttle, Apollo 13 - t”he following words were spoken,

Houston, we've had..."

those were the initial incomplete report spoken by Jack Swigert's to Mission Control after the oxygen tank exploded on April 13, 1970.

The full, iconic phrase is "Houston, we've had a problem here," but the initial two words carried the immediate weight of disaster.

The unspoken words signaled that something had gone terribly wrong.

For those listening in mission control that day, the words they didn't hear were as powerful as the words they did hear.

Brothers and Sisters, being a Christian isn’t always easy, is it?

Come on be honest, is being a Christian always easy? Of course, not. In fact, it’s pretty hard at times. It’s ok to say that and admit it.

Jesus Himself tells us that, we can’t pretend that it’s not true.

John 16:33: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Jesus directly tells the believer to expect trouble.

Matthew 10:22: "You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Matthew 16:24-25: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.'"

In other words, taking up one's cross implies one should except to sacrifice and experience hardship.

We can look at the story of Corrie ten Boom and her family during the Holocaust as a powerful example of individuals who faced unimaginable suffering with unwavering faith and a commitment to their values, embodying the exact essence of “what it means to taking up your cross."

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian woman who, along with her family, harbored Jewish people in their home during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

Their Christian faith compelled them to take a stand and to act against the horrific injustice they witnessed, knowing the risk that they were taking.

For years, they successfully hid numerous individuals, providing them with shelter and a chance at survival.

However, in 1944, they were betrayed and arrested.

Corrie, her sister Betsie, and their father were imprisoned.

Their father died in prison shortly after their arrest.

Corrie and Betsie were eventually sent to a concentration camp.

There, they endured horrific conditions: starvation, brutal labor, disease, and constant fear of death.

Despite the unimaginable suffering, Betsie's faith remained unwavering.

She found ways to minister to other prisoners, offering comfort and sharing her belief in God's love even in the darkest of circumstances. Corrie, though often struggling, was deeply influenced by her sister's steadfastness.

Betsie's health deteriorated rapidly in the camp, and she eventually died.

Corrie herself was released due to a clerical error, a miracle she attributed to God's grace.

Perhaps we can think back to our sermon a few weeks ago and remember how the angel of the Lord opened the prison door for the Disciples, without a doubt we can see how being in rooted with Christ and holding scripture close to your heart can cause you to see things differently. We can see how Corrie attributed this to God's grace.

After the war, Corrie dedicated her life to sharing her story, speaking about forgiveness and reconciliation, even towards her former captors.

She traveled the world, carrying the weight of her experiences and the memory of her loved ones, yet choosing a path of healing and hope.

How this embodies "taking up one's cross":

this families suffering in the concentration camps, represents a profound personal burden endured with faith and a commitment to love and hope, even in the face of unimaginable evil.

Corrie's subsequent life of forgiveness and reconciliation further goes to show us that the difficult path of living out one's faith in the aftermath of immense pain.

We can rest assured that during these trials, there were tears, doubt, and fear, but their faith was never compromised.

We could spend hours looking at and telling stories of showing us that the Christian life isn’t always going to be easy.

but the story we know best is our own story,

perhaps the way society, communities, unbelievers, co-workers, school mates, and many others have and say misinformation regarding Christians, and as we discuss, sometimes even other Christians un-knowingly or accidently spread misinformation as well.

Often times people will say, especially unbelievers, what do you mean that such and such is going through a hard time? I thought they had God on their side. As if to imply that the believer should never expect bad things.

Often times you will hear people say that Christians are all conservative. While it may be true that some Christians are republicans, certainly there are democrat Christians as well.

I have heard it said that Christians are out of touch with the “Real World” This isn’t true, Christians are engaged in the world, however Christian brothers and sisters just see things differently, but we do experience the same world.as we just heard in our story regarding the ten Boom family.

sometimes we hear that Christians are all judgmental and hateful: While it may be true that some Christians act judgmental, we know the core teachings of Jesus places an  emphasis on love, compassion, and forgiveness.

And church family, Unfortunately, just as non-believers can hold inaccurate stereotypes about Christians, believers themselves can sometimes fall into making untrue or unfair statements about other believers.

Here are some common things believers might say about each other that aren't necessarily true:

Such and such is not as spiritual as they should be because they don't:

attend church enough,

don't pray a certain way or pray enough or out loud,

don't read their Bible enough, or read the wrong version

perhaps it’s comments like,

Did you hear about brother or sister such and such, they have backslidden because they're going through a hard time or struggling with sin.

"They're worldly because they enjoy certain types of entertainment, have certain possessions, or dress a certain way."

However, the one that gets said the most and in fact can be more hurtful than anything else are comments like:"They're not strong in their faith because they ask questions, express doubts, or visibly grieve.

Which is ironic, because we as believers all so often and without missing a beat, just at the idea of telling another believer how Jesus would handle their situation if He was faced with it.

Aww, you know Jesus would forgive, he even washed Judas’s feet.

Come on now, don’t be mad at your neighbor, Jesus said love your neighbors.

I have even seen a tee-shirt that said “Jesus took naps, be like Jesus Mark 4:38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

However, when someone is struggling with grief and sorrow, all to often the believer is always expected to be ok because of their faith.

That the sorrow they feel, should never be seen in acts of weeping and especially doubting, but why are we not endorsing Jesus’s act of sorrow to others.

John 11:35 Jesus Wept, The shortest verse in the Bible and yet, one so much to be learned from.

Why was Jesus’ weeping? Well, it was because of a good friend’s death.

See, Jesus arrived in Bethany four days after his friend Lazarus had died. There He met Mary and Martha, Lazarus' sisters, who were deeply grieving, as were the other mourners present.

Even though Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, he was deeply moved by their sorrow and shared in their grief.

Now you may be like wait a minute, that does not make any since, if Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, then why would he be upset and cry?

I want to share a story with you from my childhood.

To once again quote Forest Gump, it’s funny what a young man recollects.

But I remember growing up, I absolutely loved the Rocky movies.

You know, Rocky Balboa, the Italian Stallion, played by Sylvester Stallone. They made like 10 of these movies and now they have Creed movies being made in its footsteps.

But when I was a kid I couldn’t wait for the new one to come out,

See, Rocky one Rocky had to fight Apollo Creed his rivel,

Then in Rocky 2, Rocky had a rematch against Apollo Creed,

But then in Rocky 3, Rocky loses his trainer and father figure Mickey and then has his title taken by the bad guy, Clubber Lang who was played by Mr. T, so Rocky turns to his former opponent, Apollo Creed, for help and to be his trainer.

It was great,

But then in Rocky 4, Apollo fights a Russian boxer by the name of Ivan Drago, and Rocky was his coach. I couldn’t wait to get to the movie theater to see that movie.

My mom and dad loaded me up into the car, we went into the theater, sat in the seat, and the movie started, the time for the boxing match came, then Apollo and Drago started fighting, and spoiler alert. Drago killed Apollo.

What? Are you kidding me, that wasn’t supposed to happen.

Church family, let me tell you something right now 6 or 7 year old little Chris cried like he lost his best friend!

I cried all through the movie,

I cried in the car,

My parents took me out for dinner to make me feel better, and I cried all the way threw dinner. It was awful!

I remember my dad trying to explain to me that it was only a movie. It was only pretend, that his name was actually a man named Carl Weathers and, in a few months, he would be staring in another movie.

Friends, I knew and understood that, but the reality was, knowing and understanding didn’t make it less painful.

Circuiting back to Jesus’ weeping, yes, he understood that he was going to raise his friend from the dead, but it didn’t make the situation less sad.

And now making a full circle back to us, Just because we know we can find comfort in Christ, does not make us feel less sad.

Jesus’s tears shows his genuine human empathy and love for his friend and in fact his love for Humanity.

In His teachings Jesus says in Luke 15:4-7

15:4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

15:5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders

15:6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Church Family, our natural condition is death, it’s not until we accept Christ as our Lord and savior do we become alive.

Until we are resurrected to life thew Christ Jesus we are dead, and I truly believe this greaves the Lord, it’s not the way he wants it.

What’s the opposite of weeping? Rejoicing. That’s what happens when we repent, but understand this church family,

Dispare, grief, weeping, and wondering, does not make you a unsaved Christian, it makes you a Christian that follows in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ weeping, captures a profound moment of Jesus' humanity as He weeps over the death of His friend Lazarus, shows us the importance of taking time to grieve properly.

I have a good friend who always tells me that he wants a cotton candy machine at his viewing and funeral. We wants people to rejoice his life knowing he is with his Lord and Savior.

Now I have to admit, having Banana splits at my funeral would be a great way to celebrate my life, but church family, I want you to cry a little bit too. Ok.

Brothers and Sisters, the stages of grief denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, not necessary in that order, and it’s important we allow ourselves to go threw them, and allow our emotions to play out as they are intended to.

This does not make you a bad Christian.

The truth is, Life has a real good way of dealing really hard stuff to handle.

I would like to read a few verses of a song that I grew up too, some of the lyrics go:

Would you know my name

If I saw, you in Heaven?

Would it be the same

If I saw, you in Heaven?

I must be strong

And carry on

Cause I know I don't belong

Here in Heaven

Time can bring you down

Time can bend your knees

Time can break your heart

Have you begging please

Beyond the door

There's peace, I'm sure

And I know there'll be no more Tears in Heaven

These are words from Eric Clapton's 1991 hit song “Tears in Heaven” It was written and recorded following the tragic and sudden death of Eric Clapton's son, Connor. The song serves as an apology to Connor for not being a better father, and it allows you to catch a glamps into the heart of Clapton and allows us to catch a sense of how he was feeling.

Now perhaps we never experienced a tragic event like Clapton, but chances are we have our own hurtles that we have had to navigate, causing us to feel the same type of emotion.

Through these 2 simple words “Jesus Wept” we should gain an understanding that it is okay to grieve and express emotions in times of loss.

And that in the darkest times of our lives we have the reassurance that He will be there with us, and that He knows how we feel,

Even if we have few words to say regarding how we feel.

We should know that in our toughest times, and In our moments of deep sorrow, we are reminded that Jesus grieves with us,

assuring us that our pain is not ignored, or stupid, or caused by a lack of faith, but rather it’s deeply understood. Even if we find ourselves wondering or even doubting.

Matthew 27:46 says as Jesus was hanging on the cross, right before he died,

About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, theres that word again, Cried out in a loud voice:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Brothers and Sisters, let me ask you, at your lowest times in your life, have you ever felt or even said those words?

God, why have you forsaken me?

Lord, why are you letting me go through this?

Why have you abended me?

It reminds me of the poem Footprints in the sand.

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testing’s.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

Church Family, He can Carry us, because he understands.

He’s been there,

He knows what it feels like when heaven cries.

He knows what it feels to cry human tears,

He knows what it feels like to be abandon.

And he is strong enough to comfort you when you feel like that too.

As we navigate the hurdles of life, such as disagreements with your spouse,

Managing children's behavior,

Felling the heartache and pain from life’s blows,

It’s times like these that we should recall the essence of 'Footprints in the Sand'—that we are not alone.

We need to take time regularly to reflect on our struggles and take them to the Lord in prayer,

asking Jesus to walk beside us.

and if you are like me, it’s easy to focus on the struggles and fail to see Gods hand at work.

For this reason, many believers, journal their journey. documenting moments when Jesus’s presence was carrying them, through rough and tough times into opportunities for growth and understanding.

Church family, I encourage each of you, to embrase your emotions, embrase each others emotions and not be ashamed of them.

For many years I met regularly with Pastor Ed Poling, he served as my mentor. During one of our meetings, I got emotional and started crying rather hard.

I apologized for my emotions coming out, and his responce I never forgot,

Dont apologize, Tears are Gods way of letting us know we are still alive,

You could spend hours digging into those words, but they are so true, Jesus cried living human tears, and we we too should not be embarrassed for our living human tears either.

Amen

Benediction:

As we leave here today, let us leave being aware of the times in our life when we are being carried by the loving arms of Jesus, and never being ashamed to display our feelings in accordance to how we were wonderfully made.

Amen