Mary came to where Jesus was waiting and fell at his feet, saying, “Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him. He said, “Where did you put him?”
“Master, come and see,” they said. Now Jesus wept.
The Jews said, “Look how deeply he loved him.” (John 11:32-36).
Where do you go when you have no place to go?
For Jesus, this place was in Bethany with three of his closest friends: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. In the hardest times in his life, when he needed to escape from it all, Jesus went to be with these people; the family he chose.
Jesus had such a close relationship with this family, that when Lazarus became sick, Mary and Martha sent word that "The one you love so very much is sick." Wow! Imagine having such a close relationship with someone that when someone says "the one you love so much," there is no question about whom they are speaking.
When Jesus heard the message he waited because he said, "this will not end in death, but it will become an occasion to show God’s glory by glorifying God’s Son.” But when Jesus got to Bethany and saw his dearest friends heartbroken, he was overwhelmed.
Why? Jesus told his disciples before he left for Bethany that he was going to "wake up" Lazarus. But John tells us that Jesus had a deep anger well up in him and that he wept. The term literally means to be overwhelmed with tears. Why would Jesus do this when he knew he was there to raise Lazarus from the dead?
In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!—came into being without him. So He was there when man was placed in the garden of Eden. He placed him there. He was the life of men, and knew He created man for life, not for death.
God warned man to stay away from the one tree that would bring death and warned him that he would die if he ate from it. In the garden was also the Tree of Life, the tree God desired man to eat from and live forever. But sin entered the world when Adam and Eve made their fateful choice, and with it came death.
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. He walked the streets, he knew love, he knew pain, he knew sorrow... and here he stood confronted with the pain, sorrow, misery and hopelessness that death brings upon us; all the while knowing that we were never meant to experience any of it.
When Jesus looked at the pitiful state that the loss of a loved one puts us in he was angry and overwhelmed with tears. Jesus knew he would raise Lazarus, he knew for a time he would ease Mary and Martha's pain, but he also knew that until the last enemy is made his footstool, death still plagues us all and causes deeper pain and loss than we were ever made to experience. So, though he wept for them, he wept for you too, and he weeps still when he sees our pain.
Jesus understands our anger and our sadness. He has felt the depths of woe that we feel, and he too longs for the day when death dies. I pray this is a comfort to anyone suffering loss, but especially to my dear sisters in Christ.
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