One of the things that I have realized after going through a loss of someone so close is the natural tendency to want to get out of those dark days of sadness. And to make it worse, our “Christian” culture has sometimes made it unsafe to be grieving. Or in one way of saying it, our culture does not allow grieving like it used to. I am unsure which one came first: the church following our culture, or the culture following the church. To that, I say a bunch of poo poo… yes, I said, poo poo. I could have said a mingling of other words but I am choosing to remain calm today (just writing this out makes me laugh out loud).
To be perfectly clear, I have only had minimal criticism in this way. But because of that criticism it made me reflect and observe the natural tendencies of some places where grieving should be allowed, and allowed without judgment from others. It technically should be allowed anywhere since the grieving process is often filled with an unexpected journey of tears that strike in the most inopportune moments. It should be allowed in your home, in your friendships (you will find out who sincerely loves and cares for you during this time), in your marriage and appropriately even at your job. It definitely should be allowed at church.
To be treated and told in more ways than one that you must be doing something wrong, lacking faith and/or not obeying God correctly because you are grieving and struggling with the separation that death brings, is the most absurd thing that I have ever witnessed and heard. To anyone who believes this I challenge you to look at the life of Jesus. Out of any man in this life, he showed us how to continue on obeying God while still grieving. Because of who he was (and who he still is), he was able to do miraculous acts after raising the dead as a statement of the victory that he would bring over death from his own sacrifice on the cross.
For a ladies Bible study I researched the passage in John 11 where “Jesus wept”. That is a legit scripture right there people! It is found in John 11:35. Why did Jesus weep you might ask? He wept because of the deep grief he was feeling for the loss of his good friend Lazarus and the loss he saw Mary and Martha experience. Grief is multi layered. It is not a cut and dry experience. With the loss of someone so close it is more than just the loss of the person. Everything changes. Families change, relationships change, and the way life was, will never be the same, ever again.
I understand this because with the passing of my Mom, I have to grieve the loss of who my Dad was with my Mom. I am having to process the ongoing grief of the loss of who our family was with her around. I am changing. All of us have been forced to change. My relationship with my husband is changing. It literally is one of the most challenging things to wrap my mind around, especially with the holidays.
Anyways, lets get back to Jesus!…
Jesus loved Lazarus deeply. He also loved Mary and Martha deeply. There were multiple layers of grief going on here within Jesus, the Son of God. Really? In this passage we can see but a brief insight into the grief that Jesus experienced himself. Mary knew who Jesus was, which was why she said in verse 32 of John 11, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Can you imagine what Jesus had to have felt, knowing how true her words were? Can you imagine what was going through his mind knowing the pain that Mary was experiencing while she was saying them? Every grieving person goes through the “if only” and “what if” questions. Jesus experienced this first hand. He felt her pain while he was feeling his own.
What I love the most is Jesus’ response to Mary in the next several verses:
“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.” (John 11:33-35 ESV).
Jesus, God made flesh wept because of the grief he felt and also witnessed in others. This man named Lazarus was a dearly loved friend of Jesus. This was heartfelt, deep sorrow that Jesus was experiencing with those who were grieving in that moment. Lazarus had been dead for four days. Mary and Martha were already on the course to readjust living their lives in a new way. Jesus could have chosen to immediately raise Lazarus from the dead, but he did not.
To me this reveals the human side of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus took the time to grieve. He took the time to weep with those who were weeping (yes, this is also another scripture found in Romans 12:15). He took the time to mourn with them.
The next passage gives us insight into the reason why God came as a man. It is where God triumphs over death, which reveals the greatest act yet to come from Jesus himself for all mankind, found in the gospels. The next passage begins again with a similar theme where it says, “Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb.” (John 11:38a).
Did you catch that? He was deeply moved not once, but twice! Can you believe it? Jesus, who was about to raise Lazarus from the dead; the one who was going to conquer sin and death for anyone who would accept him after dying on the cross, was deeply moved when he got to the tomb of Lazarus. Let’s just pause right there for a moment. Let that sink in…
Out of everyone on earth, don’t you think that Jesus would have been able to just charge right in there without a tear knowing that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead? He also knew that his death and resurrection would mean victory over sin and death. But yet he still grieved in that moment.
It says in Isaiah 53:3 that, “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” So, if you are being despised because of grieving. If you are being told that you need to work harder to get over it. Or if someone has the nerve to tell you that you lack faith because of the grief that you are currently going through, understand this:
Jesus mourned and grieved himself and he still brought glory and honor to God. Grieving has nothing to do with faith, lack of it or mountains full of it. As seen through the example of Jesus, love in human form, when centered in God, can still mourn, grieve, and weep while making a huge impact for God’s kingdom.
We also have this scripture to hold onto as well, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4,5).
The death and resurrection of Lazarus reveals so much about Jesus being both man and God in one. It reveals a heart of love and understanding of anything and everything that we go through. Take heart dear child of the King. God will carry you through every high and every low point of your life. He still weeps with you. What a beautiful, powerful image of God.
All scripture verses were from the ESV Study Bible published by Crossway.
