Do you know what the shortest verse in the English Bible is? It is John 11:35, gJesus wept.h Sunday School kids love this one, it is so easy to memorize! I love it because it is the whole Gospel in two words!

Todayfs Gospel lesson is John Chapter 11. It is the beautiful story of Jesus raising his good friend Lazarus who had died. Jesus spoke beautiful words of comfort and hope to Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. These words are often read at funerals, because these words give hope and comfort to us, too. Jesus said to Martha, gI am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?h She said to him, gYes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.h

When Jesus sees Mary grieving and weeping, he is moved. Jesus too is overcome with grief and he breaks down and cries. Then he raises Lazarus from the dead.

I have read this Bible passage many times, but this time when I read it in preparation for this sermon, the words that jumped out at me were those of John 11:35, gJesus wept.h Maybe it is because I myself wept at my brotherfs funeral last year. But this time when I read this Gospel story, I was surprised by Jesus crying. We guys like to be tough. We do not like to cry. We do not like to let our tears be seen. But people saw the tears of Jesus. So the Jews said, gSee how he loved him!h But some of them said, gCould not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?h The contrast is between the powerful miracle worker, and the sad, grieving friend. The contrast is between the Christ, the Son of God who had come into the world, and Jesus, the Son of Man who had come into the world. Weeping is a sign of weakness, so it seems at odds with Jesus being Almighty, Powerful God.

And yet, God of the Bible is a God who weeps. Jesus wept. God so loved the world that he sent his son. The weeping of Jesus in this story is a sign of Godfs love. God grieved over the sin and evil of this world. That is a sign of his love. That is why he sent Jesus. Because of that love, Jesus wept for his friend. In Luke 19:41, a few days before the crucifixion, as Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. Jesus knew that this beautiful city that he loved, the city with the temple of God, would be destroyed by the Romans in just a few years. He wept for the city and the people of it. Jesus was saddened by death. He was saddened because of sin and evil. This is love. And because of that great love, Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world. He died on the cross and was raised on the third day in order to give forgiveness and life to all believers.

Jesus wept because of his dear friend Lazarus. Jesus loves us, too. Jesus is saddened by our death. Jesus is saddened by our sin and the evil that makes our lives unhappy. When Jesus was on the cross, he took upon himself the sin of the world, the sadness of the world, the grief of the world. In that way, he became the most sinful of all people. He became the saddest person on earth. Jesus is still saddened by the condition of the world. He grieves when the people he loves hurt and die. That can only happen because he loves us so much. Even ascended into heaven, Jesus who is True God, is also True Man. He knows our sorrow, he knows our joy, he knows our dreams, he knows our defeats, he knows our laughing and he knows our tears.

Jesus wept. But the day is coming when our tears will be dried away with the joy of the resurrection.

Just one more note. Jesus loves us, but the Gospel of Redemption and Salvation, means that God does not give up on us. We give up because of evil and sin. We harden our hearts toward sin and injustice and immorality. We look the other way and try to accept people as they are. But not Jesus. He came to Lazarusf burial cave. gTake away the stone,h he said. gLazarus, come out!h he said. gTake off the grave clothes and let him go,h he said. This is the Gospel of Redemption and Salvation. It will not stand for, will not tolerate the evil of the world. And that is why it is called ggospel, good news!h This is the Gospel we proclaim. It has the power to raise the dead. It has the power to bring new life into our dry bones (Ezekiel 37). In Christfs death we are made alive through our Baptism for eternal life.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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