Devotional - John 11:28-37

Passage To Study:

John 11:28-37

[28] And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” [29] As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. [31] Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.” [32] Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” [33] Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. [34] And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” [35] Jesus wept. [36] Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” [37] And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

What are the facts of the passage?:

(Verse 28) - Martha leaves Jesus and tells Mary that Jesus was calling for her.
(Verse 29-30) - Mary, when she hears this, rises and goes to Jesus. Jesus had not yet come into the town.
(Verse 31) - The Jews, who were there as comforters and co-mourners, see her leave and think that she is going to the grave.
(Verse 32) - Mary goes to Jesus and throws herself at His feet. She tells Him that if He had been there Lazarus would not have died.
(Verse 33) - Jesus, seeing the state of Mary, Martha and the others, groaned in His spirit and was troubled.
(Verse 34-35) - He tells them to show Him where they laid Lazarus. He goes and weeps there.
(Verse 36-37) - Some of the Jews see this as an act of compassion but others see it as a reason to question that compassion.

What do those facts mean?:

(Verse 33) - The word "groaned" is a word usually translated by some form of anger or irritation. It might be rendered "growled" here! The point is not that there is no compassion for Mary and Martha, but that that compassion gave rise to anger at the source of their grief!

This is heightened by the use of ''troubled". It is used in the account of the paralytic who wanted to be healed by dipping himself in the pool at Bethesda. There we are told that an angel ''troubled" the waters and whoever was first into the water was healed. Troubled there means stirred up or moved. Then is its basic meaning here. Jesus was stirred up! He was moved to do something about the situation!

(Verse 34-35) - He immediately takes action. He has them show Him the place where Lazarus was laid. Once there, His grief pours forth. The anger against sin, combined with His compassion for those He loved and the terrible toll that sin extracted from men bring His grief to the fore. We should note that this is real grief. It is not feigned or a mere demonstration for the benefit of the viewers. It is very real and demonstrates for us the passion of Christ for His people and gives us a look at the great love that prompted our Gracious Lord to send Her only Son to redeem His people.

(Verse 36-37) - The two reactions here are instructive. They both witness the exact same event, but respond differently. Their responses demonstrate their predisposition toward Christ. As always what is inside of a man determines what comes out! This is inescapable and is universally true. No one is exempt and there are no exceptions.

Some respond with sympathy to Christ, interpreting His weeping as indicative of His love for Lazarus. They understand Him to be mourning. Others use the occasion to further attack and speak evil of Christ. It is apparent that Christ really cannot do much right in the eyes of some. It really doesn't matter what He does or does not do because that is not really the issue. The issue is not so much about what He says or does, but about their rebellion against Who He is!

One interesting thing is that these enemies of God say only what Mary and Martha have already said! This does not say much for Mary and Martha's reaction! It demonstrates to us that, as believers, we need to be extremely careful about our reactions to things. If we are not careful, and we allow the situation or our emotions (or both) to overwhelm us, we can end up behaving more as the enemies of God than as His children.

How do those facts apply to my life?:

There is never a time when it is safe for me to be out of control or to be ''human". I am responsible to be right and to behave rightly at all times. This is extremely difficult and not a little unfair. But it is the reality of being a servant of God.

What should I do in response?:

I must take that mantle and commit myself to being and acting right at all times!

Day

Two Reactions