“The end of study is knowledge, but the end of meditation is holiness.”
Thomas White
The apostle Paul instructs the church meeting at Rome to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15) Where did Paul learn these things? From Jesus Christ who entered fully into the grief of the sisters and the crowd of mourners who accompanied them. In the midst of the wailing and crying, Jesus asks Mary and the crowd, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” (John 11:34) He knows but wants to walk with the sisters and the crowd to the graveside. There is comfort in this. Jesus does not brush past them to get to the miracle. He walks with them in their grieving. They invite him to see where the tomb is and he comes alongside the mourning to see the tomb. What consolation and comfort in Jesus who himself was a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3) Let the saints join David in his song, and celebrate that, “the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.” (Psalm 6:8)
While there is much comfort in Jesus walking to the tomb, it is his coming action at the tomb that leaves us with hope. The Bible tells us that “Jesus wept” and his bursting into tears led the crowd to declare, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” (see John 11:35-37) What a question. They noted his response of love but missed his ability to provide the remedy. We don’t blame them much for we stand on the other side of the resurrection, both that of Lazarus and that of Jesus and we see him now as the conqueror of death. But the question, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” has an answer. The answer is “yes, he could have” and “yes, he will,” and “yes, he will again.” The Lord raised Lazarus once and he will do it again sometime in the future. Herein is our hope. Have you trusted Christ as your Lord thus securing your future resurrection? If not, repent of sin and trust him today.
Unto Him be glory,
Pastor Dale
