AQUAINTED with DEEPEST GRIEF
JANUARY 17, 2023
... a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
Jeremiah 31:25
“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
John 11:35
“Jesus wept.”
Jesus experienced a full range of human emotion during his earthly ministry. He felt joy. He felt disappointment. He felt the sting of betrayal. He felt sorrow. And He felt anger.
Perhaps you recall that he made a whip and drove the moneychangers out of the temple in Jerusalem. They had made the house of God a den of robbers, Jesus said. God’s house was no longer a place of prayer for all nations. Jesus was angry at such practices.
And He also was angry after Lazarus died.
John’s gospel tells us, “When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled” (11:33 NLT).
Was Jesus angry with Mary or her sister, Martha? No.
Was He angry with the people who were with Mary and Martha? No.
Jesus was angry with death itself. He was angry that this had to happen.
Not only was Jesus angry, but we see another emotion of His in this passage. John tells us, “Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, ‘See how much he loved him!’” (verses 35-36 NLT). Reading and reflecting on this account in John 11, I believe we are led to understand that death breaks God’s heart. just as it breaks our hearts.
As someone has said, “He cried. He knew Lazarus was dead before he got the news, but still, he cried. He knew Lazarus would be alive again in moments, but still, he cried. … He wept because knowing the end of the story doesn’t mean you can’t cry at the sad parts.”
This serves as a reminder that Jesus weeps with us in our times of pain. Does that surprise you? I know some suggest, that God is indifferent, that God is disconnected, and unconcerned. But Jesus was and is God. Jesus was God walking among us. Some have put it that Jesus was God with “skin on.” The point we see over and over in the New Testament is that if you want to know what God is like, look to Jesus.
When we’re in pain, He feels that pain as well. Jesus, our Messiah, according to Isaiah 53, “was a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (verse 3 NLT).
The “Good News” we encounter in the Bible is that Jesus bore our sins, but He also carried our sorrows. Don’t miss this. That means that if your life situation hurts you, it concerns Him. In other words, if life causes you pain, He cares.
Jesus wept. It seems to me that says a lot about Jesus and his loving care toward us.
As the Hymn writer put it,
No one under-stands like Jesus
When the days are dark and grim.
No one is so near, so dear as Jesus;
Cast Your every care on Him.
No understands like Jesus;
Every woe He sees and feels.
Tenderly He whispers comfort,
And the broken heart He heals
Thanks be to God!!
2 Corinthians 1:3 – 4a
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, …”
Was He angry with the people who were with Mary and Martha? No.
Jesus was angry with death itself. He was angry that this had to happen.
Not only was Jesus angry, but we see another emotion of His in this passage. John tells us, “Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, ‘See how much he loved him!’” (verses 35-36 NLT). Reading and reflecting on this account in John 11, I believe we are led to understand that death breaks God’s heart. just as it breaks our hearts.
As someone has said, “He cried. He knew Lazarus was dead before he got the news, but still, he cried. He knew Lazarus would be alive again in moments, but still, he cried. … He wept because knowing the end of the story doesn’t mean you can’t cry at the sad parts.”
This serves as a reminder that Jesus weeps with us in our times of pain. Does that surprise you? I know some suggest, that God is indifferent, that God is disconnected, and unconcerned. But Jesus was and is God. Jesus was God walking among us. Some have put it that Jesus was God with “skin on.” The point we see over and over in the New Testament is that if you want to know what God is like, look to Jesus.
When we’re in pain, He feels that pain as well. Jesus, our Messiah, according to Isaiah 53, “was a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (verse 3 NLT).
The “Good News” we encounter in the Bible is that Jesus bore our sins, but He also carried our sorrows. Don’t miss this. That means that if your life situation hurts you, it concerns Him. In other words, if life causes you pain, He cares.
Jesus wept. It seems to me that says a lot about Jesus and his loving care toward us.
As the Hymn writer put it,
No one under-stands like Jesus
When the days are dark and grim.
No one is so near, so dear as Jesus;
Cast Your every care on Him.
No understands like Jesus;
Every woe He sees and feels.
Tenderly He whispers comfort,
And the broken heart He heals
Thanks be to God!!
2 Corinthians 1:3 – 4a
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, …”
.jpg)
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment