Angry Jesus Tears

John 11:17-37

Intro

I have been re-watching through the show “Friends” (hit sitcom of the 90s). This is not a recommendation for the show from the pulpit… but it does make me laugh. It’s my not-quite-paying-attention show while I work out.

And a few episodes tend to play through, and the humor is based largely around their work mishaps, dating disasters and things going wrong in hilarious ways. And we sit back. And we laugh. Haha we laugh at their pain, and we know it’s okay to laugh because the laugh track is playing along.

We even clap “So no one told you it was going to be this way… [clap], Your job’s a joke, your broke, your love life’s DOA” You monsters, why are you clapping!

And what’s more, we know the episode is going to end in 20 minutes and everything will be solved. Except for Rachel and Ross.

We view from a distance, we don’t sympathize because we know the solution is coming, and very rarely do we feel anything with or for the characters.

Do you think God ever watches us like a sitcom? Amusing hijinks. If a day is like a thousand years, couldn’t our lives be like 20 minute episode to him? Especially because, as the creator and writer of our show, he is working and writing solutions to all our problems.

Can God really understand our pain when he sees the end. He knows how he is going to heal. He knows we are just around the corner from victory. He knows that some of our heartbreak is just a misunderstanding that is about to be cleared up. He sees the beginning and the end, he sees the solution.

With a very rigid but shallow understanding of predestination as a teenager, this is mostly how I related to God. Or rather, how I didn’t actually relate to him because how do you have relationship with the distant puppet master?

How can God, beyond time, understand or enter my circumstances in the moment?

How can God, who ultimately solves and remakes me and all creation, really enter into my momentary pain and anger?

God claims to be a personal God, like a person that we could actually relate to, connect to, have real interaction with in our actual lives. What does this look like?

It looks like Jesus. We see Jesus in his Incarnation, and we see the true presence of Jesus with people who are hurting in our story today, continuing the miracle of Lazarus from last week.

Summary – Prayers Delayed

Now recall that Jesus had heard that Lazarus was sick, and he stayed where he was for two days. Then he knew, supernaturally it seems, that Lazarus had died, and began his journey to Bethany where Martha, Mary and Lazarus lived.

And Jesus gave reasons for this delay. He first said that this sickness was so that the glory of the Son of God might be revealed.

And then we read that because he loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, he stayed the two extra days.

And finally, we saw that he was glad he was not there when Lazarus died for the sake of his disciples, so that they may believe.

Jesus, Man of Anger and Tears

John 11:14-37

14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved[e] in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Two Encounters

We see two people who encounter Jesus in the midst of their pain. And Jesus responds to each of them. And I think, because he is Jesus, he responds to each of them in precisely the perfect way.

There is this amazing miracle coming (more about this next week). There is profound revelation of who Jesus is and a foreshadowing of the triumphant Resurrection to come. But John takes the time, in the midst of it, to talk about Jesus’ motivations, to dwell upon the pain of the women grieving, and to show us Jesus’ beautiful response to those who are hurting.

Martha

20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Now it is hard to read tone, but even as I hear that as a statement of faith, I also hear it as a cry of pain, and a bit of an accusation at Jesus.

IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE… My brother would not have died!

A whole subtext. Why weren’t you here? We sent a messenger as fast as we could. You know things, you see things, you love us… and if you had been here, my brother would be alive right now. With us right now.

Martha being Martha, she follows that up. And what she follows up with is another statement of faith.

22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”

It is easy to conclude from that statement that Martha is expecting or anticipating an ongoing miracle here… but we see from later in the story, Martha doesn’t see the resurrection coming. She dissuades Jesus from opening the tomb with the great King James line: “he stinketh!”

I think, and it becomes more clear as the conversation develops, that Martha is following up her honest statement of pain and anger at Jesus with a kind of intellectual retreat.

Martha retreats into theological platitudes. But Jesus I still kind of believe, I still do believe… like in a general way, I recognize that.

Now I am not condemning that, in fact I completely identify with Martha. I sanitize my prayers this way, as if I am afraid just to leave it in raw emotion, I baptize it at the end with “But you know, God, I know that you are God and your ways are higher, etc…”

Meanwhile, Jesus is offering her hope now

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

She sanitizes it again. Jesus’ statement is ambiguous and Martha doesn’t allow herself to hope for a moment. Without hesitation, it is all about the future resurrection, the someday distant.

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Profound revelation of Jesus here. Number 5 of the Great I AM statements in John. This is a huge reveal on who Jesus is and what is coming… but we are going to talk more about that piece of it next week.

Meanwhile, Jesus is again speaking to Martha about hope NOW, life NOW, resurrection NOW. And she theologizes it. He asks her Do you believe that no one who believes in me shall die… and do you believe this?

And she answers in faith. But again, it is abstracted, theologized.

27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Yes, Jesus, I believe in you. And it is a profound confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. Martha gets it in a deep way. She has been listening, she is smart, she has been paying attention.

But Jesus said “do you believe in this…” speaking of the undying of believers, the resurrection about to occur, the miracle about to happen.

And Martha says, I believe in you. Generally. Theologically. Because her brother just died and he believed in Jesus so how could “everyone who lives and believes in Jesus never die???”

Jesus doesn’t rebuke her. He doesn’t require that she understand the hope and miracle about to occur. He is just going to show her.

Mary

Now here comes Mary. Everyone sees Mary leave and follows her, so what follows is not a private conversation like Martha got but a bit of a public display. That may well shape what Jesus doesn’t and doesn’t say… but I don’t think it shapes Jesus’ reaction. Jesus responds to Mary’s pain in a perfect way just as he did to Martha’s. To Martha, he gave revelation and truth. To Martha he gave answers. To Mary he gives something else.

32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

The very same words. The very same pain. But Mary is even more emotional. She is weeping, wailing. And the Jews who came with her were also weeping. In that culture, and still today, they hire professional mourners who could powerfully express with weeping and wailing the pain in the family’s own heart where maybe they had trouble showing the emotion of it. So Mary is weeping and wailing before Jesus and the crowd is looking on and they are weeping and wailing. Loud. Dramatic. And Mary says

IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE… My brother would not have died.

It is still a statement of faith. But one of pain and anger.

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

Deeply moved. Man does that not cut it. The Greek word here invariably suggests anger, outrage or emotional indignation! It’s root is in the snorting of horses to display their fury. It was outraged in his spirit.

And not at Mary, that doesn’t make any sense with his preceding actions. He hasn’t responded to them in anger. Not at the crowd, he prays on behalf of the crowd in a moment, the crowd is part of the process. Here is my guess:

Even as he is going to use this moment for the glory of God, to reveal his glory, as an act of love for Mary, Martha and Lazarus and to teach his disciples to believe, even with all of those things… and the solution minutes away.

Jesus enters fully into the pain and anger of Martha and Mary. He is angry with them, not at them. He is angry at a fallen world where sin, illness and death give rise to this kind of loss and grief and agony. He is angry with them, not only sympathizing but empathizing. In his very spirit, he is outraged. And that’s not all, it is not just anger. Jesus adds this:

34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.

Shortest verse in the whole Bible there. So incredibly full of truth and significance for us. Jesus wept. At the death of his friend Lazarus. Taking on the pain of Martha and Mary and the crowd, even as he took on their anger.

The miracle, the moment, the solution is seconds away. But even then, Jesus takes on, in his spirit, the outrage of Martha and Mary at death and loss, and Jesus wept.

Jesus wept. He wept with them, he wept for them. Perhaps he wept for himself, for even knowing he would soon be reconciled, could the fully human Jesus still know and feel the pain of losing his own friend Lazarus. Jesus wept. Not a single manly tear. He wept. What a perfect word, we know what that looks like.

Tears pouring down, nose running, shoulders shaking. Weeping is beyond cry, isn’t it. That is the depth of Jesus’ ability, of God’s ability, to feel and know their pain.

To feel and know our pain and our anger… all at once… even as he brings on the miracle.

This is the Incarnation. Fully human, fully God. Able to resurrect the dead and able to enter fully into our moment of pain and grief and anger, even when it is shortsighted and momentary.

Angry Jesus Tears - Bring It On

So last week we talked about our unanswered prayers. When Jesus delays. Or says No. And we trust that he loves us in the midst of that. We saw that last week. Even in the midst of our pain, we can know that Jesus has our best interest at heart. He has reasons upon reasons, and always works things together for the good of those who love him. Even working to rescue us from our own sin and stupid, and the cascading sinfulness and brokenness of this world.

But you can know someone loves you in a distant way. That they work for your good in a distant way.

And still be full of anger and bitterness in the moment. Full of pain.

I think Jesus says this to you: bring it on. Bring on your accusations and your pain and your hurt. Just bringing that to Jesus is an act of faith, because deep down you know that he is the only one that can help.

And it’s more than that. Better than your best friend, the best listener you know, Jesus can enter into your pain and anger. In his very spirit, he can be outraged with you. In your grossest ugly cry, he can cry with you.

So take your pain and anger to Jesus, even as you bring your joy and hope and thanksgiving. It is written in the Psalms, David did this time and again, lamenting, screaming at God, accusing him of being an enemy, of abandoning him, of delaying endlessly answers to his prayers. And Jesus says bring it on.

Even there, I am with you. Even in your darkest hour, Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. His Spirit in us.

Bring this into your prayer life. Honest prayers. Angry prayers. Grief and joy and all the things. Who does it help to sanitize your prayers.

And maybe like Martha and me, you like to wrestle with the theological, mental aspects even as you pray. That can be honest to, and Jesus can meet you there.

And maybe like Mary it is just pure and raw emotion with no filters… and Jesus can meet you there to.