Lazarus Come Out From Your Isolation

“Jesus wept.” 

John 11:35 NIV 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.11.35.NIV)

These are two of the most powerful words in the entire English Bible. 

Allow me to explain. 

We have here a fact. Jesus shed tears at Lazarus’ graveside. We know this isn’t all He did.

Look at these verses: 

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

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ” 

John 11:33, 38 NIV 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.11.33-38.NIV)

The English translation is a little anodyne, a little sterile. The Greek word means to snort with anger, indignation and frustration. 

The question is: Why? Why did Jesus react like this?  

It wasn’t just because of the fact of Lazarus’ death. He would know what He planned to do. 

Look again at verse 33: 

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ” 

John 11:33 NIV 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.11.33.NIV)

Jesus was deeply moved and shed tears because people He cared about and to whom He was close were in pain. They were in pain because Lazarus had died. 

Lazarus had died because of the Fall (Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21). 

That’s all very theological and theoretical. It’s something we can know and understand. It helps us to understand. We can conceptualise and comprehend what went wrong. 

But it still hurts. 

I don’t understand why I was affected by a stroke. I may never understand it. But even if I did, it wouldn’t help my recovery. I would still be recovering from a stroke. 

What Jesus did here was not just know and understand why Lazarus’ death happened. He did more than that: He felt the pain of the mourners. He fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy : 

“He was... a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” 

Isaiah 53:3 NIV 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.53.3.NIV)

Not just theologically or theoretically familiar, but intimately familiar because He suffered and He stood beside those who suffered and He was indignant and shed years because they suffered. 

Before He acted, He understood and He felt.  

What does all this mean? 

Jesus is familiar with your suffering. He feels your pain. 

And do you know something really special? The Holy Spirit even groans your groans before the Throne of God (Romans 8:26-27). 

Suffering is magnified when we suffer alone. It is minimised when it is shared. 

 If you are a Christian, your suffering is always shared. Before God will act to remove it from you, He understands it and He feels it. 

You are not alone. You are never alone. 

So you don’t ever need to feel alone.