Sometimes we forget that Jesus was not only God, he was human. Right before entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday Jesus performed the great miracle of raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. Remember how Lazarus' sisters had sent word to Jesus that their brother was very ill and asked Jesus to come and heal him? Jesus reacted strangely it seemed. Here's what the apostle John says:
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John 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
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What kind of response is that to the 911 call of Mary and Martha? But before that Jesus had made this interesting prediction:
4 But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
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The disciples aren't all that eager for Jesus to go help Lazarus because that means returning to Judah, near Jerusalem, where many enemies of Jesus have plans to kill him (and they fear their own lives are in danger).
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But Jesus has one advantage over the fears of the disciples and the concerns and grief of Mary and Martha. He is not only human...He is God. He knows that He will raise Lazarus from the dead...an even greater miracle than healing him.
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but here's the part where we see His humanity and His deity come together. The shortest verse in the bible is John 11:35 "Jesus wept". I have always felt that he wept over the grief of the sisters and the sadness of their friends at the death of Lazarus. That may be the whole story. But it occurred to me that the Father may have used this incident of Jesus opening a stone tomb and calling forth a dead man back to life to prepare Jesus, himself, for an almost identical experience that would unfold within a few days. I think, very possibly, as Jesus was with Mary, Martha and the Jews who knew and loved Lazarus that He got a sharp picture of how it would be for His followers when He was put to death. Perhaps the Father was painting a sharp picture for the Son right before the events of Calvary and the tomb to prepare the Son. And perhaps that is why Jesus wept. It wasn't just the awesomeness of bringing his friend back to life...it was His own impending death and resurrection that was being pictured.
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Jesus was not only God, he was human. Jesus was not only human, he was God. His relationship with the Father was complete in its oneness and perhaps the greatest reason Jesus wept was the coming hours when, for a brief time, he would be separated from the Father he had always been one with.
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blessings to you all this very good Friday!
Rob Smith
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