weeping and resurrection

"Jesus wept." John 11:35

One of the more well known verses of the Bible. Jesus knows that he will raise Lazarus from the dead. Mary and Martha are full of sorrow and frustration that Jesus didn't get there sooner. So what then does weeping with Mary achieve? Jesus' weeping confirms the power of resurrection.

In those moments of weeping Jesus confirms that death without the hope of resurrection is unbearably sorrowful. That is the type of death Mary understand Lazarus to have. Jesus spends time confirming what is truly sad in that situation- not that Lazarus is dead, but that Mary's words to Him are, "Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Mary's words show that she doesn't yet understand Jesus to be someone who has power over death.

Earlier in the chapter, He had a similar encounter with Martha. Martha, though, seems to have a better grasp on Jesus' power of resurrection. She says "But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you....I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." and she responds with a "yes" when Jesus asks her if she believes that He is the resurrection and the life.

Not that I think Martha knew exactly what Jesus meant by resurrection. But there is a difference between her and Mary's words. Jesus weeps with Mary and co. over a death that has no hope in resurrection.

I've been thinking today about resurrection, and connecting this Mary/Martha passage to 2 Peter 3 :8-9. "But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

I can imagine Mary and Martha thinking that Jesus was slow in his actions to raise up Lazarus. But it wasn't about how long things took for Jesus. And those verses from Peter say that as well. It was about not wishing that any should perish...and in this situation, it was Mary and Martha He didn't wish to see perish in despair.

Yes, of course it was a miracle that Jesus raised Lazarus. But I think the real miracle is in how beautifully Jesus confirms these verses: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4: 16-18)

If Mary had been able to look at the unseen, at the resurrection of Lazarus which hadn't happened yet, she would not have lost heart. (not that i'm blaming her...don't know that i would have reacted any differently). Mary's fixed point of reality was Lazarus' death rather than Jesus as one who resurrects. Mary identifies the problem that we still have- bodily existence is tied to the present age, and the present age is tied to affliction and hardship. But the age to come is tied to resurrection and glory.

I've wondered today what it is that I actually weep about. Do I weep in despair, or do I weep because the fixed points of society are found in the physical world of the present, and not in the eternal one? Do I weep because I personally see no hope, or do I weep because the way the world approaches brokenness and death is largely one that has no hope?