Optimist Roundtable 4/29
By Martha Sykes
There is a story of love, of healing, of waiting, of trusting of believing, and the list goes on if you read the gospel of John, chapter 11. In this passage , we find a story of a family experiencing a crisis. Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were close personal friends of Jesus and perhaps, Lazarus could have been considered a best friend of Jesus. As we read this passage, we can surmise that they all apparently spent a lot of time together. So, on this particular day, Jesus was teaching when the word came to Him that Lazarus was sick, “Lord, the one you love is ill”.Jesus was, at that moment, Lazarus’s last hope. Jesus had healed other people from many ailments so now He was called upon to come and heal His friend. Instead of going right away, He stayed where He was for a few more days and Lazarus was getting worse. Mary and Martha waited for Him to come because He was only a very short distance away.
We all know what it is like to wait for news about a loved one that is sick. In this situation with Lazarus, we are given a clue that something great will take place, when Jesus said, “This illness does not lead to death, rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it”. So, by the time that Jesus got to their home, Lazarus had died and had been in the grave for four days already.The friends had now gathered with the family to comfort them, and they began to weep over the death of their loved one. The heart and compassion of Jesus goes out to them and Jesus weeps with them out of His love for this family. The death of a beloved friend was the event that prompted Jesus to tears. Amazingly, this story is one that reminds all of us about the human side of this Savior who cares so much for the ones He loves. Perhaps Jesus was overcome by grief, sentiment, and sadness at the loss of this very special person in His life.On that day, Jesus appeared as human as each of us, as His tears looked just like our tears. We can be so comforted by that very short verse, “Jesus wept”.
When people gathered outside the tomb of Lazarus, some saw those tears and said, “See how Jesus loved him”. It is comforting to know that Jesus also sympathizes with us when we need that same presence in our time of grief. In our despair, in our heartbreak we weep like Mary and Martha. And like Jesus, who wept because he shared in his friends’ heartache,there are times when we can weep with our friends too.
