He Loves Me!

We have all heard the story about Mary and Martha. We have heard the story about Lazarus being brought back from the dead by Jesus. Last night I read the stories with a bit of a different twist.

I have been in the institutionalized church for 27 years. I have heard every version of these stories preached by many a preacher, teacher, pastor, or anyone else that wanted to tell it their way.

The premise of the story is that there was a little town called Bethany where Mary and her sister Martha lived. A man named Lazarus, who was possibly their brother, dies.

John 11:5 says, ‘Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus’.

The words ‘love’ and ‘loved’ occur about 400 times in the Bible. Wow! God loves me! We hear it sung as children’s hymns and songs. We see everywhere in our church buildings where it’s read on banners, posters, cards, bulletins, etc., ‘John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’.

I obviously ‘knew’ God loved me. Wow.

Last night while reading an eBook by Frank Viola, (can be downloaded at http://www.ptmin.org/bethany.pdf) I read a verse as if for the first time. I know it was far from the first time but it gently jumped out and pricked my heart.

John 11 tells the account of Jesus getting word that Lazarus was dead. Jesus says in verse 11, ‘Our friend Lazarus is asleep. I must go wake him’. (My translation.) In verse 32 Mary comes to meet Jesus and falls at his feet saying, if you were here he would not have died. Verse 33:
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

It’s not about Jesus not getting upset with her for accusing him of allowing her brother Lazarus to die. If you notice, Mary is always at Jesus’ feet. The place of servant hood and humility. Jesus knows Mary’s heart. And when he see’s her fall at his feet, broken in pain for the death of her brother… he didn’t give her a cute cliché of a promise, or give her a positive thinking quote, he didn’t try to prove his power to her by conjuring up all sorts of throaty rebukes to the devil.

He gently asked where the body was.
John 11:35 He wept.

Wow. It says the Jews were amazed and said, ‘Behold how he loved him!’ They were amazed that he had such a love for this man. Jesus calls Lazarus his friend and then shows those around his greatest love by wanting to free him from his snares.

Jesus saw that Mary and Martha’s heart was broken and… he wept.

The scriptures have always said that he loved us and cared about all our problems but when I read that all of a sudden, it came alive! He cares about my marriage, my broken heart, my situations at home; he cares about things that are breaking my heart.

Wow.

John 11:41-43 And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

I have to trust that God knows my Lazarus and will be able to raise it from the dead!