Who Are You Crying For

Text:

John 11:33-35:

33: When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and    

       was troubled,

34: And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35: Jesus wept.

 

Luke 23:28:

But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

 

Theme:

Who Are You Crying For?

 

Introduction:

• Our text comes out of the Gospel of St. John, written by the Bible says, “the one whom Jesus loved”. John was that special disciple who was close to Jesus.  So much so that John chose to focus on the Divinity of Jesus in his written Gospel.  Jesus the Son of God!  Jesus the Master of the universe!  Jesus the one who came to save the world from sin and shame!  This was the focus of John in this Gospel.
• The text focuses on the story of the Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus!
  • After Jesus and the disciples had left Judea, the message was sent to them that Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha was dead. Against the opinions of the disciples, Jesus and the disciples went back.
    • They feared death themselves
      • Thomas said that they should go back and die with him. Seemingly in jest!
    • Jesus dearly loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha
    • Jesus saw it as an opportunity to exhibit the power of God unto the people’s belief in Jesus.
      • John 11:4, “When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.”
  • By the time that Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days.
    • God knows how to do things.
    • God knows His children.
      • At a few hours or a day, there was still hope that Lazarus was alive.
      • At 2 days, they still believed that Jesus could do something.
      • At 3 days, they looked for the presence of Jesus to comfort them in the loss of Lazarus.
      • BUT AT 4 DAYS, they had given up and saw no need for Jesus and, therefore, no power great enough to change the situation.
      • The people were now fertile to Jesus coming and bringing about the glorification of God.
        • Sometimes God has to break us down to build us up.
        • God leaves in difficult situations so that the scales of our own intellect and ability are taken away…then we can whole-heartedly see and believe
          • YES, God is at work even before He arrives!
          • God is there before He gets there!

 

Body:

• Our text begins at the time after Jesus’ arrival to the scene of Lazarus’ death and then closes with the shortest passage of scripture in the Bible… “Jesus wept.”

While studying this passage, I looked at my daughter, Alisabeth, who was getting a doughnut at the other end of the table.  The spirit moved me to look to Lisa, Alisabeth’s nickname, to get direction.  I asked Lisa, “Why did Jesus cry?”.   She responded, “Because He died on the cross.”  I felt God moving.  There was a word and from my baby’s mouth it was to come!  I just did not understand her answer yet.  I then clarified my question, “When Jesus was living here on earth, before He died on the cross, why did Jesus cry?”  Then my baby responded with the same confidence and innocence, “He cried because He knew that He was gonna have to die on the cross.”

• When we cry? à It’s all about us!
  • It’s about our fear.
    • I’m scared! — I don’t want to die! — Don’t let ME fall!
  • It’s about our failure.
    • I did the wrong thing. —  I did not make it.  —  I did not do it.
  • It’s about our pain.
    • It hurts ME so badly. —  I can’t take it any more.  —  I ain’t never going back to them again
  • It’s about our sorrow.
    • Oh, I can’t go on without them. —  I can’t.  —  I have no one to be with ME.
  • It’s about our joy.
    • I am so happy! —  The Lord has been good to ME!  —  I thank the Lord for MY journey!
  • When the Lord cries? à It’s all about US!
    • He has paid attention to our tears

“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her”

• Jesus speaks in the following passage regarding Mary Magdalene when she used her own tears to anoint the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:44, “….but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.”
• Even when He does not change our situation when we want Him to, we can stand on His promise as outlined in Revelations 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

• He has groaned in His Spirit

“he groaned in the spirit”

• Jesus hurts to see the weeping of the people!
  • Romans 8:22, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
• It hurts to have to be in this world but be children of the Most High God!
  • Romans 8:23, “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”
• We all know that, if you don’t do what you were supposed to do, you will be cut off!
  • 2Corinthians 5:4, “For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened”
• Sometimes we go through so much that we can’t even grown for ourselves!!!
  • Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
• He is troubled

“was troubled”

• We must not be troubled…It is a sign of unbelief in US
  • John 14:1, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
  • 2Corinthians 4:8, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;”
• Also Jesus was “troubled” at the time of His betrayal and death:
  • John 12:27, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” – The Humanity of Jesus was troubled.
    • He didn’t want to die but He had to.
  • John 13:21, “When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.” – The Divinity of Jesus was troubled.
    • His Divine self knew that He was going to be betrayed.
  • For Jesus to be troubled is an emotional indication of His Divine Love towards us…HE CARES!
    • 1Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
  • The Master’s tears are evoked when we let Him see our situation…don’t hide from Him

“Lord, come and see”

• He groaned and was troubled, but Jesus did not weep until He was shown where Lazarus lay.
• Take the Lord to YOUR grave site à Take Him into your closet!!

• Was Jesus Compassionate vs. Empathetic

à Compassion is “the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with the desire to alleviate it”

à Empathy is “the capacity to participate in another’s feelings or ideas”

• Jesus cares and wants us to be happy, but Jesus does not participate in our “mess”.
• Jesus knows what you are going through, but Jesus is not going to go through it with you.
• Jesus will call you out of junk, but Jesus won’t get in the junk with you.
• Jesus is there for you, but He is not there with you!!!

We are driven by the Holy Spirit to act on COMPASSION, but we must be careful to not act on EMPATHY. It is dangerous when we act on empathy!

So, WHO ARE YOU CRYING FOR?

• Others?
  • Act on compassion but not on empathy
    • CARE for another fuels our own relationship with God but each one must seek their own soul’s SALVATION.
  • Who are YOU… to cry for, pray for, or live for someone else?
• Our selves!!!!
  • Luke 23:28 says, “But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.”
  • The hymn says it best:

“I surrender all

I surrender all

All to Thee my Blessed Savior

I surrender all”

• We are to give God all INCLUDING OUR TEARS for the sake of building our relationship with Him and winning the lost to Christ!

 

Conclusion:

• The don’t worry about the tears having to fall. The compassion of God toward His children is endless.  He can do what none other can do.  The compassion of God is explicated in this description by Rev. Jasper Williams, Jr. when he said:

“Every time a child of God cries, before that tear hits the floor, it is believed that God dispatches an angel from Heaven to come and to catch that tear and take it up to God’s laboratory in Heaven and put it under the Holy Ghost microscope to find the very cause and the problem in that life through that tear.  And, before you even get to the end of the prayer, before you even get off your knees…it is already done!”

• He knows!
• Don’t worry!
• Like the Hebrew boys said in Daniel 3:17, “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us”

• So, WHO ARE YOU CRYING FOR?
  • Don’t cry for me
    • I know WHO I am and WHOSE I am!!

#135