The book of John is partly constructed around a series of miraculous signs performed by Jesus. The apostle describes seven such signs prior to Jesus’ death & resurrection. The number seven is quite important in the scriptures, often symbolizing completeness. So it is here in the book of John, where the author has chosen seven powerful acts of Jesus as representative of the complete work of the Lord.
The first sign took place at a wedding in the little village of Cana in Galilee, where Jesus turned water into wine. The signs culminate in the dramatic raising of Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus lived in the little village of Bethany, less than 2 miles from Jerusalem, along with his two sisters Mary and Martha. Jesus knew this family very well. When Lazarus fell sick, the sisters sent word to the Lord, clearly hoping that he would come quickly and heal their brother.
John the author makes it abundantly clear that Jesus was in complete command of the events which would soon transpire. When Jesus receives word of his friends’ malady, he emphatically declares, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s son may be glorified through it.” This statement in itself might simply imply that Jesus would avert the finality of death by curing Lazarus of whatever ailment had beset him.
But this seventh sign will go well beyond Jesus previous acts of healing; it would demonstrate the Lord’s authority not just over sickness, but over death itself. Jesus tells his disciples, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going to wake him up.” When his followers misunderstand his figure of speech, Jesus states plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”
By the time Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead and entombed for four days. Martha goes to meet Jesus just outside the village. Plaintively she states, “Lord if you had been here, by brother would not have died.” The Lord once again reveals his intention by stating, “Your brother will rise again.”
But this declaration is also ambiguous. Like all Jews, Martha believed that on the final day of judgment, God would raise all his righteous people from the dead to share in his eternal kingdom. This explains Martha’s response, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus’ reply is one of the most well-known and beloved passages in all the scriptures: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
This is a remarkable claim, to say the least. In the gospel of John, Jesus has heretofore revealed astonishing power of superabundant provision by turning 150 gallons of water into wine (sign #1). Similarly, he had spectacularly fed a great multitude with only five loaves of barley bread and two small fish (sign #4).
The Lord had also proven his power over illness by restoring strength to a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years (sign #3), granting sight to a man born blind (sign #6) and healing a royal official’s son from a distance (sign #2).
Additionally, Jesus had demonstrated his sovereignty over the natural world by walking upon water (sign#5).
But Jesus’ claim to Martha goes well beyond what he has already established; he now claims that he has supremacy over death itself.
In describing these seven signs, John’s message to his readers ought to be clear: Jesus has ultimate power to triumph over all the dark forces which threaten to corrupt God’s creation.
Jesus has authority to grant life – not just a measly existence of day-to-day survival – but the kind of ideal life we envision in our dreams. A life where people live in peace and harmony, free from violence and war, free too from broken & failed relationships. We yearn for a life of health and strength, joy and abundance. No more gnawing anxiety about how to pay the bills or put food on the table. No more suffering, pain or disability. No more horrible news from the doctor. No more orphans or widows. No more sorrow, and certainly no more funerals.
But as he entered Bethany, the lord of life was confronted with the stench of the old world, rife with illness, bereavement and death. Mary joined her sister Martha when she learned of Jesus’ arrival. The scene that followed is remarkable: “When Jesus saw her [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.”
John then succinctly records Jesus bursting into tears: “Jesus wept.”
We ought to pause and reflect at this moment. Why did Jesus cry? Clearly the Lord was deeply grieved by the death of his beloved friend. But John has already made it very clear that Jesus has come to restore Lazarus to life. “This sickness will not end in death.” “Lazarus has fallen asleep but I am going there to wake him up.”
In just a few moments, Lazarus – at Jesus’ loud command – would emerge from the tomb. Would this not be a time of eager anticipation or even joy? Jesus knows that his Father has given him authority over death, and he will soon exercise this authority to bring his friend back from the grave. Why then the tears?
Virtually everyone, if they’ve lived long enough, understands the anguish of losing a loved one. Like Martha, Christians know that at the last day, when Jesus returns, the Lord will raise his people from the dead to share in his glorious reign over the world. The Lord’s prayer will become a reality: “Your will be done on earth as in heaven.”
At that time, the creation itself will experience its own resurrection; it will no longer be a place of danger, decay and death. No longer will God’s handiwork be infested by iniquity and injustice. In the light of Jesus’ own triumph over death, we can be certain that God will eventually set all things right again.
But that time is not yet here. Although our hope is sure, it’s still painful to endure the presence of evil in our world. It’s not easy to hear the news of war grinding on between Russia and Ukraine, knowing that many thousands of lives have been cut short. Here in America, each day brings fresh examples of violent crime and chaos afflicting our society. Our cities are increasingly inhabited by vagrants, stricken by mental illness and addiction. And tragically, millions of our fellow human beings have been deluded by the twisted ideology of the transgender movement, which teaches its adherents to hate and reject their own bodies. The stench is strong.
Of course, mankind’s rejection of God is the common denominator underlying all this disorder. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.”
We who follow the risen Christ deeply mourn this state of affairs. The tears of Jesus remind us that God is far more distressed than we are by the brokenness of his world. Even moments before bringing Lazarus back to life, Jesus wept upon witnessing the grief of his friends Mary and Martha. But I also think that the Lord’s tears reflected a larger sorrow he felt, a great weight that he bore, facing an entire world in desperate need of healing.
Remember then, that the God who made the world has boundless passion to rectify all that has gone wrong. In the same way, our own sorrow and dismay should energize us to join God in his grand rescue project. For if we share in the tears of Jesus, he promises to show us the glory of God; the moment when the entire world will hear the loud command: “Lazarus, come out!”
