"The Raising of Lazarus: "Jesus Wept' Explained" Kathryn Kuhlman

There is nothing in the ministry of Jesus that so brings out the difference between the glory of God and the human as much as this part of his ministry. I'm not going to review one single thing. I'm going to begin reading from the 11th chapter of John. and begin exactly where I left off yesterday. Now, a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethlehem, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Martha which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Sure, we all know about Martha and Mary. And here... The young brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sisters sent unto him that unto Jesus, saying, And remember, Jesus was a full day's distance from Bethany. So they had to send a messenger to Jesus, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. And when Jesus heard that, he said, The sickness. is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. And let me just pause to say that death is never final when it's a child of God. If you are one of his children, when what we call death Death comes to anyone who's had that new birth experience. Death is never final. And every time a saint of God leaves this old earth, God gets great glory because it is a verification of that for which Jesus died. The death. The resurrection. The eternal life of the redeemed. All right, go on. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. And when he heard, therefore, that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. He didn't hurry. He didn't get nervous. He didn't get excited. In fact, he heard the message. He's very calm. He didn't get excited. And he continued two days long in the place where he was. Then after that, saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again. He didn't say, Come on, let's rush over to Bethany. No. Let us go into Judea again. And his disciples said unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone me, and goest thou thither again? And Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbeth not. because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbeth, because there's no light in him. Oh, I'm going to preach on that one of these days. That's wonderful. These things said he, and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. Evidently. He had not told them before. Evidently, when the messenger, and it was a full day's journey from Bethany to where Jesus was, evidently, Jesus had not told his disciples that Lazarus was sick. Watch our friend Lazarus sleep. but I go that I may awake him out of the sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Now watch the human part of this. This is so human. They didn't have the slightest idea of that which he was speaking. Why they say that's wonderful. If he's sick and he's sleepy, that's the best thing in the world that can happen to him. How dear. That's the reason this incident is so confusing to even the theologian because we had the human and then we had the glory and the power of Almighty God. How be it Jesus spake of his death? But they thought that he had spoken of taking rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. Now, I don't want to be sacrilegious. Please forgive me. And I'll tell you at the outset of this that I do not in any way want to be sacrilegious. and don't accept it as so. But remember, Jesus was as much man as though he was not God. On the other hand, as much God as though he was not man. Over and over again, we had the word that there was indignation. His wrath was as perfect as his love. Watch it now. He is just beginning to get impatient. Here are his disciples. Very nicely he had said to them, hoping that they would have some understanding of what he was saying, Our friend Lazarus sleep. But I go that I may awake him out of the sleep. They had no understanding whatsoever of what he was saying. Oh, they say, isn't that wonderful? He's sleeping. That'll give him good rest. Jesus plainly then said, Lazarus is dead. Three words. He's getting a little impatient. There's still three words short. And I am glad for your sake that I was not there. to the intent that ye may believe. Nevertheless, let me go unto him. Then said Thomas, Unto the fellow disciples, let us also go, that we may die with him. Oh, Thomas didn't mean that any more than anything. Oh, oh, Thomas didn't mean that any more than... Anything. We humans, you know, under stress and strain and... Dear goodness. You see human nature through all of this, the weeping and the wailing and... The whole thing is so human. Haven't you seen? I have over and over again. I've seen men stand by open caskets. Their wife... A corpse bawling and crying. I swear they wouldn't crawl right in the casket with their wife. Oh, darling Jane. Oh, they couldn't live without it. The weeping, the wailing. Oh, let me die. Let me. Five months later, they're married to somebody else. Loving another woman. As they never loved Jane before, you know. Oh, and introduce their second wife to me and say, she's the most wonderful woman, and yet they forget that I saw them right at the open casket. Weeping and caring of, human nature's so fickle. At that moment, I guess Thomas did feel pretty badly. Let us also go that we may die with him. Jesus knew he didn't mean it. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. That's what I told you. It took one day for the messenger to get to Jesus. Jesus tarried two days longer. It was another full day's journey back to Bethany. Four full days. Therefore, by the time that Jesus received the message, Lazarus was already dead. And he knew it. Mm -hmm. Now, Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about 15 furlongs off. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. All the neighbors came in. All the folks came in. Can't you just see them? You folk who have been to Bethany. You folk who have been to Jerusalem. I can just see all the townspeople walking up those dusty paths, walking up the road. I can hear them bawling and waving and crying and making a great to -do, you know. I've learned a long time ago that it's usually the folks who, Cry the loudest, feel it the least. Mm -hmm. I've learned from experience that the folk who smile the bravest are the folk who are carrying the heaviest burden and feel things most. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him. But Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. If he'd only been here, he wouldn't have died. But I know that even now, Whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Watch this human now. And Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. And Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. What a contradiction here. Martha said to Jesus, But I know that even now, Whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it to thee. I have all the faith in the world, Martha is saying in substance. Uh -huh. But when Jesus put it right point blank to her, thy brother shall rise again, she said to him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. She had absolutely no faith whatsoever in what she was just saying to Jesus, that all things are possible to him that believe it. And Jesus knew that she didn't get it. And he said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth. In me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And I want you to see something very marvelous. He did not say he shall live again. No, ma 'am. There is no death at any time for a Christian. Know that. Believe it if you don't hear anything else that I have said. In this heart -to -heart talk, never forget it. There is no death for a Christian at any time. He did not say he shall live again. Jesus said, though he were dead, yet shall he live. He continues to live, and whosoever liveth. and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? And she saith unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which shall come into the world after all of his teaching. Now follow me because I want you to see why Jesus wept. Jesus Christ never wept. out of sympathy. Sympathy never has helped anyone. There is no power in sympathy. Sympathy never gives courage. Know that. There is no help in sympathy. Jesus never gives sympathy. Jesus did not. cry out of sympathy, why did Jesus weep? From the very beginning, through this entire incident, he saw they had no understanding whatsoever of that which he had been trying to give them, that which he had been trying to preach to them. Let me, if you are a parent, had you had that helpless, hopeless feeling sometime, you had that youngster, and I shouldn't say just a youngster, maybe they are a teenager, you've given 17 years of your life, you've given 18 years of your life, you may have given your life in teaching that youngster, in training them, in detail, and then suddenly you throw up your hands in holy horror and say, Has this all been in vain? Has all my labor, has all my work been in vain? How often I have preached and preached and given a series of messages on something and have my heart out, given every ounce of strength that I have in my body, given it in detail, and then suddenly someone who has heard it all sat down. there, listen to every word that I have said, will come forth with a question that I have answered over and over and over again, and I have looked up and have said, dear Lord, has it all been in vain? Have I been a failure? Up until now, everything. Even to where he had to plainly say to his disciples, Lazarus is dead. Oh, Martha says, I know, I know. Whatsoever thou shalt ask of God, God will give it to you. But when he came right down to it, she really didn't believe it. He comes right every step of this thing. Mary didn't even come out to meet him. It was all so final with him. Uh -huh. Yeah. And so Martha goes and calls Mary, her sister, secretly saying, The Master is come and calleth for thee. And as soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came unto him. And now Jesus were not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. And the Jews then, which were with her in the house, and comforted her. When they saw Mary that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to eat there. They missed it all. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, she saw him. She fell down to his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. All they could see was the past. They didn't see the future at all. They didn't see the hope. They didn't see the life. That's the way some of God's children weep and carry on at death. They only see the present. They only look to the past. They never look to the future. Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus, therefore, saw her weeping, And the Jews also weeping, which came with her. He groaned in the spirit. Do you want to know what I think that groaning in the spirit was? It was with impatience, indignation. parent, many a dad, many a mother has groaned in the spirit. No. Oh, no. All of this weeping, all of this wailing. Even Mary. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Why was he troubled? Because he felt like he had done everything possible to give them the light. He had taught them light after death. He was troubled. because here he was face to face with that which he had taught them low those many, many months, and yet he felt like his teaching had been such a failure. He groaned in his spirit and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? And they said unto him, Lord, come and see. Now, yeah, those two words, Jesus wept. And the old infidel can even quote those two words. He knows that's in the Bible. Jesus wept. But watch. He did not weep out of sympathy. I can prove it. He knew that Lazarus would be literally raised from the dead. He knew when he said to them, where had ye laid them, that there was going to be great victory. Oh, sure. From the human standpoint, there was nothing to weep about. He was, he knew that in moments Lazarus would be standing before them. Why should he weep? He had no cause to weep. He could hardly wait to get there because he knew that their own wailing and weeping would be turned into joy in just a few minutes. That's right. He wept, my friend. He was troubled. He groaned within at the fact that in... of all of his teaching, in spite of everything that he had done for them and had taught them, they still didn't understand and almost acted like heathen. Mm -hmm. Yeah. Where had he laid them? And they said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, here's your human, here's the human side. Then said the Jews, the onlookers, behold how he loved him. Mm -hmm. That's all they saw. And some of them said, could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, coming to the grave, he could hear what they were saying. They'd missed it all. It was a cave and a stone lay upon it. And Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. And Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he speaketh. He still didn't believe, for he's been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee? that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Haven't I told you over and over and over again? And then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou hearest me always, but because the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that. thou hast sent me. And he that was dead, watch. Jesus said all of these things for the sake of the people. When he had thus spoken, he cried the loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes. And his face was bound about the napkin. And Jesus saith unto them, Lucy. and let him go. Now you know why Jesus wept.