Saturday, March 26, 2011

What is the shortest verse in the Bible? John 11:35

And, what do you think it means? According to Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa:

"Now, there are those who suppose that Jesus wept, they say, because His friend Lazarus was dead. That's ridiculous. Why would He weep because Lazarus was dead? He knew that He was going to raise him from the dead in a few minutes. Don't you remember that Jesus said to His disciples down there at the Jordan River, "I must go to wake him out of his sleep"? And He said, "This is happened that the Son of God may be glorified, and I go that I may awake him out of his sleep." And then He said, "He's dead. I'm going to raise him from the dead." So, those commentators who say that Jesus was weeping because His friend was dead haven't really read the whole text. He was weeping when He saw the pain and the sorrow of humanity, when He saw the pain that His friends Mary and Martha were experiencing as a result of death. And He wept for their grief. Jesus is moved by our infirmities; we have such a great High Priest, who is touched by our weaknesses. He sees us in our frailties. He sees us in our griefs. And He's touched by our feelings of grief and sorrow, by our weaknesses. He's just a loving and compassionate Lord, and One who is moved by our own sorrow and grief. And so, He wept for them."

1 comment:

Ken said...

Very true. Last week I was reading the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and did a post on it also. One of my favorite scriptures verses is when Jesus told Martha "I am the resurrection and the life..." before He went to the grave and raised Lazarus. Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus and He knew where He was. He felt the pain of the people grieving.
Blessings,
Ken