A Time to Weep

Have you considered why Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died (John 11:1-44)? Before he left for Bethany with his disciples, Jesus told them he was going there to awaken Lazarus, who, he said, "had fallen asleep." We know, then, that he planned to raise Lazarus. Jesus knew Lazarus's death would be temporary—at least this time around. As Jesus wept, he knew that in minutes, Lazarus, his sisters, and all those who loved them would see the glory of God, and they would all be rejoicing like never before. But still, when Jesus saw Mary, Lazarus's sister weeping, and others weeping with her, he was “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled,” and he wept, too.

Do you think he wept because he knew that however brief their sorrow this time round, and however joyful their coming reunion, Lazarus would die again? Was he deeply moved because he knew their sorrow would return, inescapably, over and over for the rest of their lives. Was he greatly troubled because he saw the terrible results of sin in the world, and knew that overcoming them would require his own death on the cross?

When I was young, every church I knew had a service on Good Friday afternoon. My present church  doesn't have a service on Good Friday, but we do have one on Thursday night—a Maundy Thursday service. We sing a few hymns, share the Lord's supper, and hear the story of Jesus's betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion read aloud from scripture. The readings—and the service—end with Jesus on the cross, "[breathing] his last." Only a hard-hearted person could listen to this solemn story and not be moved by it.

Not all churches have a special service before Easter to remember the death of Jesus. Some go straight from Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry (if they celebrate Palm Sunday, that is) to Easter Sunday and the resurrection. Whether your church has a service centered on the cross or not, I hope you'll pause sometime during this week between the commemoration of Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the celebration of his glorious resurrection to contemplate his humble death.

Before Jesus raised Lazarus, he wept over sin and suffering and death. Mourning came first, and then those words with power over death: "Lazarus come out!" Shouldn't we, then, weep for Jesus's suffering and death before we rejoice that he has risen? Shouldn't we pause to ponder the dreadful results of our sin and be deeply moved in our spirits? On Sunday morning, the beauty of the resurrection of Jesus will shine brighter if it's set against the darkness of his obedience "to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). Let the mourning come first, and then those words of true glory: "He is not here, for he has risen. The Lord has risen indeed!"

Beneath Thy Cross 

Am I a stone, and not a sheep,
That I can stand, O Christ, beneath thy cross,
To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss,
And yet not weep? 

Not so those women loved
Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;
Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;
Not so the thief was moved; 

Not so the Sun and Moon
Which hid their faces in a starless sky,
A horror of great darkness at broad noon--
I, only I. 

Yet give not o'er,
But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;
Greater than Moses, turn and look once more
And smite a rock.

—Christina Georgina Rossetti

Which Jesus?

During this time of year, it is more acceptable to bring up Jesus. I've seen plenty of nativity scenes in people's yards and even in front of businesses. (The fortune teller with the plastic creche out front broke the cognitive dissonance meter, though.) Even traditional Christian Christmas carols are being played on the airwaves. Many see the story of the baby in the manger as just that, a feel-good myth about love, joy, and peace on earth in sentimental but indistinct terms that don't offend anyone's sensibilities. But is that good enough? Many people say they believe in "Jesus," but sadly we live in a day when we need to press the issue and ask "Which Jesus?"

Even among professing Christians, this question needs to be asked. We may not be as vague as the secular world, and one does not need a D.Min. to be saved, but the message of the gospel cannot be separated from the Savior of the gospel. So to get the gospel right, we need to get Jesus right.

In the latest round of posts, Rebecca and Kim reminded us of Jesus' full humanity and deity, which is the doctrine of the hypostatic union. This is not just a topic for an advanced seminary class. This is not a secondary or tertiary issue of minor importance. Our salvation hinges upon the fact that our Savior is God and man.

In the 1st century, one heresy that crept into the church was Docetism. According to this teaching, Jesus only appeared to have a physical body. Thus there was no problem with His deity but a rejection of His humanity. This fit in well with the Gnostic idea that the physical and material was evil, and the metaphysical and immaterial was good. But the implications for the gospel are dire.

There was no need for resurrection if Jesus did not have a physical body, but where would that leave us? According to the Apostle Paul, if Christ was not raised, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins. (1 Cor. 15:17) We were made sinners by the transgression of one man, but how could we be made righteous through the obedience of another man if He was not a man? (Rom. 5:18-19) Also how could Christ fulfill the law and live a life of perfect righteousness as a man for our sake? (Gal. 4:4-5) No active obedience means no imputation which means we have no right standing before God. If Jesus is not a man, this is really, really bad news.

But we have good news of great joy. Our Savior was born who is Christ, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11) He lived, died, rose again, ascended on high, and is coming again. This gives us reason to rejoice and worship Him, not just at Christmas but every single day of the year. So with the words of the Nicene Creed, I gladly affirm:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

Resurrection: The Ground of our Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  1 Peter 1:3

The following excerpt is from the Puritan, Jeremiah Burroughs, on hope and the resurrection. However, the hope of which Burroughs writes is for more than just Easter Sunday. It is very practical and applicable 24/7. These are perilous times both near and far, and we need a hope that goes beyond this life. (1 Cor. 15:19) We also need a hope that will give us confidence for the day of judgment. (1 John 4: 17) And may God help us to be ready and eager to share this hope that the world so desperately needs. (1 Pet. 3:15)

Question: "How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead come to be a means of giving hope?"

Answer: The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the cause of true lively hope in the hearts of the saints. By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, God has declared that He is fully satisfied for the sins of man, and that the work of redemption is fully wrought out; otherwise Christ must have been held in the prison of the grave forever. But when Jesus Christ is let out of the prison of the grave, and the bonds of death are taken from him, this declares to men and angels that the work of redemption is perfect; it holds this out to the soul upon which faith is grounded and hope is raised. So there is an efficacy in this to work hope in the soul...

I am as vile and wretched as you can make me, but it is not presumption for me to hope because that which I make the ground and bottom of my hope is not in myself but on the doctrine of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ has come and taken my nature upon Himself, and being in the form of a servant has had the sins of the people of God laid to His charge. He has stood before the Father clad with their sins. He has satisfied the justice of God the Father and has wrought a perfect work of reconciliation and redemption. The Father has discharged Him, and He is raised now to the Heavens and sits at the right hand of God the Father, there making intercession for sinners - upon this I ground my hope. I am begotten to a lively hope through what Jesus Christ has done, and therefore, though I am never so poor, vile, and sinful, yet I have enough to raise a lively hope that I shall one day attain to such things are are written in the Book of God. Indeed the things that are written there appear to me sometimes as if they were too good to be true!

Hope by Jeremiah Burroughs, Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2005, pp. 26-27. This book was originally published in 1654 as The Tenth Book of Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs, Being a Treatise of Hope.