Does Jesus Care? Divine Revealing

Does Jesus Care? Divine Revealing (John 11:17-37)

In the last message, we saw that Jesus cares, even when divine timing creates delays. But, what happens when Jesus moves into the situation? Jesus cares by divine revealing. He reveals truths about us, about the nature of eternal life, and His own caring humanity.

Jesus Cares by Receiving Us Individually

Individuals respond to the same Christ differently. Martha and Mary reveal this in their responses to the same Christ. Their character is just what one would expect from the account of the two sisters in Luke 10:38-41. Martha is the busy housewife. She is first to be told of His presence and first to go meet Him. She is puzzled by His words, but bravely accepts them and goes away without demonstration.

On the other hand, Mary is in her private chamber, weeping. When she hears of Jesus, she hastily leaves the house to fall at Jesus' feet. At the feet of Jesus, she wails unrestrainedly. Mary expressed her faith in an outburst of emotion and sentiment. Martha expressed her faith in a quiet and reserved trust. Both of them are under Jesus' care.

A mark of security in our relationship with the Lord is our willingness to accept our experience of Christ as real, as well as that of our brother or sister. We do react differently to the same Christ.

Jesus Cares by Instructing Us Clearly

Martha shared the viewpoint of her day, that resurrection from the dead belonged to the great judgment at the last day (v. 24). Jesus countered this with one of the amazing words ever to fall from His divine lips: "I am the resurrection and the life" (v. 25). To touch Him is to touch eternal life itself. Eternal life is a personal gift from Christ Himself, now. He said "I am," not "I shall be hereafter." He did not say, "I promise," or "I procure," or "I bring," but "I am." Eternal life is not something to be distributed by Christ at the end of the age. It is a present relationship with Him now.

If you know Christ as Lord, you have as much eternal life as you will ever have. It is a quality of life that is eternal, because it is the life of God Himself.

Jesus Cares by Feeling for Us Deeply

Jesus did not work His miracles passively, as if they cost Him nothing. He was so moved by the scene that He made inarticulate sounds of mental agitation and strain. He literally shuddered at the entire scene (v. 33). The Greek gods were impassive, untouched, apathetic. Jesus reveals to us the deep feeling of God for His own.

The famous words, "Jesus wept" (v. 35), do not refer to the loud wailing of Mary, but rather to a quiet shedding of tears in light of the reality of human grief. For Jesus to weep, harmonizes with what we know of His humanity elsewhere in John. He knows thirst (4:7; 19:28), fatigue (4:6), and love (20:2). But, the greatest manifestation of His human compassion is outside the tomb of Lazarus. This chapter demonstrates as no other, the humanity and Deity of Jesus Christ. He is low enough to understand us, but He is high enough to help us.