John 11:17-27, 34-44

17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,

19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21 ‘Lord,’ Martha said

to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’ 23 Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ 24 Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ 25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ 27 ‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’

34 ‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then 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 have kept this man from dying?’ 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.

39 ‘Take away the stone,’ he said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.’ 40 Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’ 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’

 

When Jesus saw her weeping . . . he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. John 11:33

The recent death of my brother—gone much too soon, from a human perspective—has brought overwhelming sadness to my heart. Death hurts.

Grief is an emotional response to the significant loss of anything, or anyone, that we hold dear. Yet how comforting that God stands with us in the various ‘graveyards’ of our lives.

The death of Lazarus in today’s reading shows what is typically played out in many homes that are experiencing loss. It’s all there: the account of sickness (JOHN 11:1); the desperate concern for healing (V. 3); the disappointment at seemingly unanswered prayer—“If you had been here,” Martha challenges Jesus, “my brother would not have died” (V. 21). And the finality of death: “Lazarus had . . . been in the tomb for four days” (V. 17). Nothing more can be done!

Yet Jesus asks where the graveyard is (V. 34). And it is here—at the place of deepest pain for his two friends—that Jesus weeps. He knew He would bring Lazarus back to life, so why the tears? While there may have been several reasons, we learn earlier that “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (V. 5). Grief is the price of love. Their sorrow became His sorrow. Standing in the graveyard, Jesus identified with their broken hearts through His humanity, and then went on to show them, and us, that death is not the end.

What has caused you grief recently? How does this picture of Jesus in the graveyard encourage you?

Heavenly Father, thank You for standing with me in the places where all seems lost. Help me to recognise that Jesus’ love for me means that I do not need to grieve alone, whatever the cause of my sorrow. Amen.