Reference

John 11:32-37

Sermon Discussion Questions:

1. What about Jesus' emotional response takes you by surprise? Why?
2. If Jesus is pained and angered by death...yet still permits Lazarus to die...what does that show us about the complexity of God's will in other instances where tragedies occur? See Ezekiel 18:23.
3. Where do you want to grow in your own emotional health? Do you tend to be an over or under-feeler?
4. Read Hebrews 4:15-16. How does Jesus' sympathy--particularly in regards to what you are feeling--help you?

If you want to find out what someone loves, just look at what evokes their most powerful emotions.

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Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 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. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” - John 11:32-37

This is our third week in a row on the story of Lazarus. You know how it ends. Jesus knows how it ends. The low point of Lazarus’ death serves as a kind of trampoline to spring up into new expressions of glory and joy: Lazarus will be raised to life. This is why Jesus, we are told, is “glad” that He was not there to heal Lazarus before He died (John 11:15). This illness may lead through death, but not to death—it will lead to the glory of God and the increase in faith in the witnesses.

So, why is Jesus so upset?

What Is Jesus Feeling?

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. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. - John 11:33-35

There are two words used to describe Jesus’ emotional state in vs. 33: He is “deeply moved in his spirit” and “greatly troubled.”

Deeply moved in his spirit:

This is the same phrase used in verse 38 as well as Jesus stands directly before the tomb. You may notice in your Bible there is a footnote on this phrase that indicates that “deeply moved” might not be the best translation. The word used here seems to literally refer to anger, outrage, indignation. It is used elsewhere in the gospels to refer to stern warnings or scoldings given to people (see Mark 1:43; 14:5; Matt 9:30). It is used in Greek texts outside of the Bible to refer to the snorting of horses or the bellowing of animals. The idea is an intense, deep feeling that brims over into expression—usually in some form that is associated with sternness or anger. The New Living Translation translates this phrase as: “a deep anger welled up within him.” Another has it as “a profound fury.”

Greatly troubled:

This is the same word used later when Jesus realizes that He has reached the hour of His death (12:27) and when He tells His disciples that He is about to be betrayed (13:21). The word literally refers to being agitated or shaken. It is the same word to refer to how the surface of the water is stirred by an angel back in John 5:7. While this is probably referring to His agitated emotional state, some commentaries translate this as Jesus literally shaking with anger.

Jesus wept:

The word used here (dakruō) is different than the word used for Mary and the Jews crying (klaiō). It only appears once in the whole of the New Testament. The Greek dictionary I use translates John 11:35 as: “Jesus burst into tears” (BDAG). This probably isn’t a quiet moistening of the eyes or a single tear streaming down a stoic face. After the Jews see Jesus weeping, their response is: “See how he loved him!”

Jesus is having an intense emotional reaction. He is feeling a mixture of anger, distress, and deep sorrow.

In 1912, BB Warfield, the great theologian of Princeton, wrote a small book titled: “The Emotional Life of our Lord.” In it he considers what the emotional experience would have been like for the sinless Messiah, Jesus Christ. Warfield notices that the two emotions we see demonstrated most frequently by Jesus is compassion and anger. Which in of itself is instructive for us. Don Carson draws this principle from this story:

“Grief and compassion without outrage reduce to mere sentiment, while outrage without grief hardens into self-righteous arrogance,” (D.A. Carson, PNTC)

Jesus is frequently moved to deep pity at the plight of the blind, the widow, the leper (Matt 20:34; Mark 1:41; Luke 7:13). But He is also aroused to deep anger—He flips over tables, drives out money changers, and pronounces curses of woe (John 2:13-17; Matt 23). “Jesus approached the grave of Lazarus, in a state, not of uncontrollable grief, but irrepressible anger…The emotion which tore his breast and clamored for utterance was just rage,” (Warfield).

Emotions can be misleading. If someone tells you, “I think you’re just being emotional,” you know you aren’t being complimented. You are being told that you have lost touch with reason and reality, and allowed yourself to be swept up in your feelings.

But, as fallen sinners, every part of us—from our mind, to our body, to our desires, and our emotions—are affected by the distorting effects of sin. So, sometimes we feel too much—every parent, at some point, has to tell their child that what they are feeling doesn’t line up with reality: You might feel scared, but there is nothing scary here…I know it feels like the end of the world, but it isn’t. But there is an equal and opposite error: sometimes we feel too little. Sometimes we are cold, indifferent, bored, and lethargic when we should be excited, zealous, passionate, outraged, and heartbroken. You can put too much salt on your food, but also too little.

Your feelings do not determine reality—something that we sometimes need to say out loud when we are caught in a whirlpool of despair or anxiety—but our feelings are supposed to respond to reality. And how often do we encounter what should create in us joy, gratitude, awe, pity, sadness, anger, compassion…but we are as indifferent as a stone? A tragic price we pay for being so digitally connected today is that our exposure to tragedy is not only nearly constant, but is almost always mediated through a screen—the medium of unreality and frivolity. News stories about death and famine and war slide past our attention as we swipe to another video.

What would it be like for the waters of our heart to be un-muddied of sin, for our emotions to be crystalline clear, and pour forth in perfect purity to the fallen world around us?

We would look like Jesus as He stands before the tomb of Lazarus: sadness and anger.

Why Is Jesus Feeling It?

If Jesus is about to raise Lazarus, why would He be so upset?

Some people think that Jesus is upset at the unbelief of Mary or Martha or the other onlookers. But, I do not think so. He offers no rebukes here. Nor does He chastise Mary for lacking faith. Even in His conversation with Martha, which is full of instruction, Jesus offers no rebuke and Martha confirms her faith. And here? Aside from his crying, the only words out of Jesus’ mouth are: where have you laid him? So, why is Jesus so upset?

Compassion

His friend has died. Jesus loved Lazarus, loved Martha, loved Mary (John 11:3, 5, 36). Did you notice what Jesus sees that leads to His emotional response? “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly trouble…Jesus wept.” (John 11:33, 35). It is upon seeing the grief and pain of Mary and the others that Jesus is stirred to anger and grief. Jesus knew, of course, that allowing Lazarus to die would be painful and difficult for Martha and Mary. He knew it would produce these tears. And He intends to transform them into tears of joy in just a few minutes when He raises Lazarus from the dead. Yet, Jesus isn’t numb or unfeeling to the pain of those He loves…even if He is moments away from solving the dilemma. Isaiah tells us, “In all their affliction he was afflicted,” (Is 63:9).

He is as much affected by our distresses as if he had endured them in his own person. - Calvin

Anger

And Jesus hates death. Even though Jesus is about to raise Lazarus, the crater left by the mortar shell of death is deep. And here before Him lay the evidence of Death’s cruel cost. Sometimes, people act like death is natural. Stoicism has become popular again. And it tells people to view death as simply another part of the human experience, not something to fear or grieve: “Do not despise death, but be well content with it, since this too is one of those things which nature wills,” (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 9.3).

In contrast to this, Here stands our Lord, angry and weeping in the presence of death. Let me quote Warfield again:

Inextinguishable fury seizes upon him…It is death that is the object of his wrath, and behind death him who has the power of death, and whom he has come into the world to destroy. Tears of sympathy may fill his eyes, but…His soul is held by rage.

Death is unnatural. There is a deeper reason than our personal fear of death that we are repulsed by it. Death is the consequence of sin (Gen 2:17). Sin is the rejection of God’s Law. God’s Law is the expression of God’s own moral character. To reject the Law is to reject God, the author of Life. Sin unravels God’s creation, it spills paint over the canvas, it dumps poison into the well. So, it brings about death.

And if God wanted to, He could have simply let cancer grow and let it devour us. He warned us. He gave us everything we needed. But we turned from our Creator and worshipped and served creation instead. We let the serpent lead us to the door of Death, and walked right in. And God’s justice would not have been compromised if He let us stay. Yet His deep love and compassion for His people arouses His anger at this snake who led us to death and hell.

So, in towering grace, He laid aside in His glory, and in our place, was sacrificed for sin.

Because Jesus is so full of love, His hatred burns hot against sin, satan, death, and hell. And in His incarnation, we are witnesses to the full venting of that love and hatred. So gripped by true feeling, Jesus is galvanized to go to the cross and deal the final death blow against Death through His own death!

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Heb 2:14-15)

Lazarus will eventually die. He is only resuscitated, not resurrected in full with a glorified body. But soon and very soon, Jesus Himself will die for the sins of Lazarus (and you and me), and will decisively defeat death, removing its sting, and destroying the power of death forever.

How Does that Help Us?

Jesus weeping shows us…

We Know How God Feels About Us

Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus shows us what our God is like, right now. He weeps with you, for you, and is angered at what seeks your harm.

“What John does for us…is to uncover for us the heart of Jesus, as he wins for us our salvation. Not in cold unconcern, but in flaming wrath against the foe, Jesus smites in our behalf. He has not only saved us from the evils which oppress us; he has felt for and with us in our oppression, and under the impulse of these feelings has wrought out our redemption,” (Warfield)

The Role of Healthy Emotions

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. - Rom 12:15

Jesus, here, literally obeys this command. He weeps with those who weep.

Do you?

Have you ever noticed how frequently the Bible commands us to have particular emotional responses to each other?

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. - 1 Cor 12:26-27

Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. - Heb 13:3

In Charles Spurgeon’s sermon on this passage about Jesus weeping, he concludes his sermon by exhorting his church to follow Christ’s example and to feel pity for those in need and then summons them to action, particularly to care for the sick, hungry, and homeless in London. He exhorted them not only to feel, but to act. Just as Christ both felt sorrow over Lazarus, but then acted to raise Him.

Let me try to help the two extremes of emotional types. If you are the person who is often overwhelmed by your emotions so that you lose touch with reality—your sadness, anxiety, fixation, excitement leads you to make decisions that do not lead you to health and life and a deeper resonance with Reality, but away from it. Or if you are the person who is so muted and dull that when you should feel pity or anger or joy you find instead a desert of indifference…what do you do?

I want you to think of an electrical outlet. There are the two slots at the top of the plug where the electrical current flows, and then there is the bottom slot that grounds the current in case there is a faulty surge. One gives the energy, the other helps bring excess energy safely down to the earth. Now, think about plugging into Jesus. We bring both our stony, unfeeling hearts and our overwhelmed, depressed, and anxious hearts to Him—to bring the energy we need, and the grounding in reality we need. We ask Him for help, bring Him our burdens, and then we proceed in faith, trusting that He will answer our prayers, and act.

We do not tell ourselves: I will start caring about this other person’s problem when I feel compassion, or, I am too overwhelmed with anxiety to obey God right now. Our feelings (or lack thereof) do not determine reality, but they should correspond to reality. And when they don’t, we bring the excess or the lack to Jesus, ask Him for help, and then ask ourselves: “If I did feel as I ought to right now, what would I do?” And then do that. “Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already,” (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity, “Let’s Pretend”).

And if you enmesh yourself into the fellowship of your church, you will find it easier to do this; nothing shapes and alters emotions quite like the people you spend your time with. And if you regularly around people who love what God loves and hate what God hates and feel the pity and anger and joy that God feels, in time you will find yourself, slowly at first, feeling those same things.

A Sympathetic High Priest

One aspect of this story that we may fail to consider is the bodily experience of emotions. Our emotional state is intimately bound up with our physical experience: hormones, goose bumps, brain, gut, heart rate—all of this plays into what it is like to feel fear, joy, anger, relief. Our emotions and our bodies are interconnected. And while the experience of God’s emotions are complex and require much theological clarification prior to the Incarnation, afterwards it is quite clear. Jesus’ entire earthly experience subjected Him to the full gamut of the human experience, including our emotional experiences (all without sin). He knows how you feel.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:15-16)

And because He was sinless that means that He experienced a depth of feeling that we have never known. Every heartbreak, every loss, every instance of compassion, pity, and sympathy, every death, every sin—He has felt more exquisitely and fully than we ever have. And because He took on our sins at the moment of the cross, He knows what your shame, your guilt, your dirt conscience, your vileness feels like.

What does Isaiah 53 tell us?

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;

Isa 53:4

Crown him the Son of Man; Who every grief hath known That wrings the human breast, And takes and bears them for His own, That all in him may rest.

And after Jesus resurrects from the dead, He maintains a (glorified) human body. Which means that “when we see the feeling and passions and affections of the incarnate Christ toward sinners and sufferers as given to us in the four gospels, we are seeing who Jesus is for us today,” (Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly). Jesus still has tear ducts, right now.

Jesus sees your pain. The hurt you don’t even know how to express. Maybe you don’t even know what is wrong, what is causing the pain, why you feel so numb and blank. But Jesus does. And in His heart there is a boundless fountain of sympathy and understanding. You will never, ever, ever bring a problem to Jesus and find Him rolling His eyes at how silly it is or have Him tell you: I can’t relate.