READING: John 11
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: Lazarus was dead. He had been dead for four days. His family and friends wept. Jesus was on the scene — but even His presence didn’t automatically remove their grief. Consider the descriptions of Jesus’ emotions on that day:
John 11:33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved.
John 11:35 Jesus wept.
John 11:38 Then Jesus, angry in Himself again, came to the tomb.
While commentators differ on the reason for Jesus’ emotions, I cannot help but see both His love and His righteous anger at sin and unbelief. He apparently burst into quiet tears not because a friend had died (He had already said that Lazarus would rise again in John 11:23), but because the fallen world He loved suffered under the weight of sin. His other reactions — reactions of anger and agitation — fall on the heels of people who remained in their grief even though the Son of God stood in their midst. The One who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:24) was there, but the people failed to recognize Him for who He was.
I wonder if He ever finds Himself agitated over us. Or more specifically, over me. He weeps over the effects of sin, but is then also frustrated because we fail to truly see that He is the overcomer. We say we believe differently than the world, but still we grieve just like them. Our faith is so tied to sight sometimes that it may not be faith at all.
ACTION STEPS: Consider areas/concerns/hurts of your life where your faith struggles. Remember who Jesus really is, and ask God to restore your faith in Him.
PRAYER: “God, I don’t want You to grieve over my lack of faith. Help my unbelief.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Luke 18