Today, I am finishing up John 11. I invite you to open your Bible and read along with me or find it online here.
Here are the verses/thoughts that stood out to me...
John 11
35 Then Jesus wept.
Growing up, we would always joke about having memorized this verse because it wasn’t much of a challenge being the shortest verse in the Bible. However, one evening while I was still in college, I was reading through this story for the first time in a long time and as I got to this part of the story I actually started crying too. I knew Jesus wasn’t crying because Lazarus had died ... He was going to reverse that. In that moment, I felt the true humanity of Jesus. More specifically, His great love for humanity in understanding the pain that moments like this cause. Later on, a friend also reminded me that His tears flowed from a deep anger at sin which causes moments like that. My prayer for you is that you too would memorize this verse; and that every time you recall it, you will remember how much Jesus loves you and how much He hates sin.
43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
Just in case you didn’t know how the story ended, Jesus demonstrated His power over death. I love the phrase ... “let him go!” I know Jesus was talking about the graveclothes he had been wrapped in; but there is also a reflection of how Jesus speaks toward sin and death regarding us ... “let them go!”
1 comment:
I remember in my senior year in high school our English teacher asked the class what was the shortest sentence in the Bible. I don't know why because I know there were other believers in the class, but I was the only one to raise my hand. Of course, it is John 11:35. I remember her talking about how much impact that one sentence had over the story. She went on to talk about how one sentence can influence an entire story. I recall thinking that I could never possibly write a sentence that had the same magnitude as one about our Saviour weeping. As I much as I enjoy writing even now, I know nothing I write could hold such weight. I guess in that lies a liitle confession. Why would anyone want to outdo a sentence written in God's word? In case you can't tell I'm a blue and I can't believe I actually had the audacity to think I deserved to be the one receiving the praise. It is a disgusting, twisted lie & I am breaking free from those chains.
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