I AM: Discovering the Nature of Jesus!

Thursday, March 25, 2004

My Prayer Today

Dear God, I thank you for your love for me. I thank you that you are touched with the feelings of my infirmities -- that you do not simply stand over me and take delight in my pain. But you see my sin, and the sin of the whole world and sent Jesus to be the answer to my pain. I thank you that it says in the Bible that Jesus wept. He sees my pain, and so I know that he can identify with me. Today, I ask that you would help me to live in the understanding that Jesus really knows what I am going through. Give me the grace and strength I need for this day. I pray this all in Jesus' name, Amen.

God's Word Today

John 11:32-35

"When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell down at his feet and said, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, he was moved with indignation and was deeply troubled. 'Where have you put him?' he asked them. They told him, 'Lord, come and see.' Then Jesus wept."

Reflecting on God's Word

What was Jesus' response when he saw Mary weeping along with the others?

What did Jesus ask them after he saw them weeping?

What did Jesus do after they said "come and see"?

A Deeper Exploration of God's Word

Why did Jesus weep?

Who was Jesus weeping for?

Was Jesus weeping simply for Lazarus?

Understanding God's Purpose

After reading about Jesus in this passage, does God weep?

If Jesus wept, did he do so out of hopelessness? Why?

Was Jesus weeping for Lazarus specifically, or for the devastating results of a sinful world?

Applying God's Word to Our Lives

What is your perception of God? Do you think he cries over you at times?

Do you think God likes the fact that death has entered the world? Why or why not?

Thoughts

Joni Erickson was a young teenager who had her life tragically changed in an instant. After diving into shallow water, she hit her head on a rock and was instantly a quadriplegic. From that point on she would no longer have use of her legs and arms and would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. After spending many days, weeks, and years struggling with anger and frustration -- she wondered why God would allow such a thing to happen. But she said that when she found out that God cried, she said "now that is the kind of God I can serve."

John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible, yet is one of the most profound concerning the nature of God. It says that "Jesus wept." When Jesus saw the devastation and the effects of sin on this world -- producing sickness and death -- he wept. It is important to note that Jesus was not simply weeping for Lazarus and his family, we was also weeping for the results of sin in general. His weeping was pure compassion for others. It wasn't done out of hopelessness, because in just a few moments he would raise Lazarus from the grave. It was done out of a general grief for sin. We serve a God who cries over us. He does not like that we have to go through pain, for it is the result of living in a sinful world, but he loves us enough to give us hope of eternal life. What a God we serve!

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