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“Jesus Wept” (John xi. 35)
| Bro J T Murrell
W
hen the Jews saw the grief of Jesus at the
occasion of the death of Lazarus, they
concluded that he sorrowed because he felt
keenly the loss of a well-loved friend. This was
a natural assumption; but in weighing up spir-
itual matters connected with
the conduct of Jesus, it is
not wise to be guided by the
conclusions of those styled
“the Jews” in the records.
The Jews, as a class, had an
almost complete lack of spir-
itual insight, which it is no
place of ours to condemn,
seeing that it served the pur-
pose of helping to produce
some living teachings on the
part of Jesus, which can be
to our advantage. The Jews
were ever ready with their
opinions and they were usu-
ally in need of correction.
Did Jesus give way to tears,
because he was overcome by
his personal sense of loss for the dear Lazarus,
and the weeping of Martha and Mary? The
record seems to provide another, rather more
adequate reason. We do not suppose that
Jesus was above human emotion, but he had
always resisted personal feelings when of a
selfish kind, even in the instance of his own
mother and brethren. We should expect to
find, in regard to Jesus, a deeper and more
substantial cause, sufficient to move him to
tears. Jesus had no misconceptions about
death and he alone at that time had a full
understanding of resurrection. He could look
upon Abraham, Isaac and Jacob though dead,
yet living by virtue of God’s
power to raise them, “God
is not the God of the dead,
but of the living.” Jesus also
knew that in himself was
placed the power to raise
the dead.
It is clear that the whole
incident related to Lazarus,
was made known to the
mind of Jesus beforehand,
because he explained,
(verse 4), that “this sickness
is not unto death but for
the glory of God.” Far from
expressing sorrow at the
news of Lazarus’ death,
Jesus said that he was glad
that he was not present to
prevent it, in view of the forthcoming object
lesson, designed to help the belief of the wit-
nesses (verse 15). Martha and Mary were pre-
pared to credit Jesus with the power to have
prevented their brother’s death, “Lord if thou
had’st been here my brother had not died.”
When Jesus declared that Lazarus should rise
again Martha, not unnaturally, thought this to
be a reference to the resurrection at the last
Will God Save Nigeria? ... continued
exposing her body will have on the opposite
sex. Then, by God’s grace, show her how to
properly clothe and conduct herself so that
she encourages good behaviour and not evil.
Teach her how to contribute to society by the
expressions of a godly spirit. Then her influ-
ence will reach into eternity.
Oh, beloved and dear parents, wherever you
are, go home, get on your knees with your
family and cry to God for mercy. Remember,
“Neither is there salvation in any other.” (Acts
4:12). “Whoever accepts him, those who
believe in His Name, to them he gave the
right to become children of God.” (John 1:12).
Fathers, Mothers and children, if you take your
proper place in the family unit, you can build
for God. Get back to Bible basics. God and His
ways are the only hope for the salvation of
ourselves, our families and Ecclesia. Will God
save Nigeria? He only knows whether He does
or does not. We can be saved, and you can
help to save your family ... Noah did just that.