5 Minute Read
Prepare Your Heart
To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.
Read God’s Word
A Verse for Today
Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.
John 11:33, 38 (CSB): “When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled… Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
The words “deeply moved” appear twice in this narrative. And while we may not think much of those words, I believe they are worth exploring so that we can understand how Jesus responded at Lazarus’ tomb and what it reveals about our wonderful God.
For starters, the original (Greek) word is used a few other places in Scripture. It’s used in Matthew 9:30 and Mark 1:43 when Jesus warned some people not to tell anyone about the miracle He performed on them, but He knew they were going to disobey Him. So, His unheeded warning probably had a bit of indignation in it.
The word is also used in Mark 14:5 when a woman broke an alabaster box and anointed Jesus with the perfume. We are told that the people who saw it “began to scold (same word) her.” Obviously, those critical people were indignant when they saw what seemed to be a waste of such an incredibly valuable resource.
In Louw and Nida’s “Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament,” they define the Greek word under our consideration as: “to have an intense, strong feeling of concern, often with the implication of indignation.”
This is the word used to describe how Jesus was responding at Lazarus’ tomb in John 11:33, 38. It appears that He was having strong feelings of concern and almost certainly some measure of indignation.
I’ve been to more funerals than I care to count, and I can’t think of more than a few times when I had to conceal my anger. (One such instance was when the family, without my knowledge, had chosen pictures of the deceased in a drunken stupor, aiming his middle finger at the camera.) Anger is almost always inappropriate when people are grieving the loss of a dear loved one.
It seems that everyone at Lazarus’ tomb was behaving. There were no inappropriate pictures and no family brawls. They were simply mourning deep down in their souls. They were crying, even wailing, and their bodies were racked with pain. Why in the world would Jesus have gotten indignant in His spirit in such a setting?
The only answer that makes sense to me is that as Jesus looked around at the people He loved dearly and watched as they struggled with such deep sorrow, He was angry at the sin that had caused such pain.
Did you know that there would be no such thing as death or grief if Adam and Eve had not sinned? It was because they disobeyed God’s clear command that they inadvertently invited sin and sin’s consequences (the greatest of which is death) into the world.
Romans 5:12 (CSB): “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.”
Friend, if I’m right on this matter, then it tells us that our God loves us so much and His heart breaks when we are in pain. He did weep, after all (John 11:35). He is also angry at the sin that has caused such heartache and He looks forward to the day when we will join Him in Heaven (and eventually on the New Earth [Rev. 21:1]) where there will be no more sin or the consequences of sin.
Revelation 21:3-4 (CSB): “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.”
I suspect that you are joining me in saying the words of the Apostle John: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).
Spend Time in Prayer
- Ask God to help you despise sin and its consequences as much as He does.
- Ask God to help you come to understand just how much He loves you and looks forward to the day when He can take you out of this sin-sick world and into Heaven.
Going Deeper
If you want to dig a little deeper into Jesus’ anger, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:
Sharing
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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)
Matt’s Musings 