JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Focus on God’s goodness is found in John 11:35.
Jesus wept.
This is the shortest verse in the Bible, but it says a lot about the compassion of Jesus toward those who are hurting and grieving the loss of a loved one. Jesus wept by the graveside of Lazarus, and it prompted witnesses of this scene to respond with these words, “See how he loved him!”
We could go through life without experiencing grief, but that would probably mean living without much love for others. Along with much grief, there is generally a history of love and good memories with family and friends. Jesus knew what it was like to grieve because His love for people was very great.
The heart of Jesus sympathizes with us in our times of grief. He has walked the road of suffering. He is familiar with our pain, and is that voice of encouragement to help us in our time of need.
The empathy of Jesus reveals the goodness of God and is a reason to give thanks in the Year of Gratitude.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines His sympathy to those who are weeping.
To be sympathetic is to express sorrow with someone in the midst of their grief and loss.
Jesus expressed sorrow at the gravesite of his friend Lazarus. He came and was moved by the grief of Lazarus’s sisters-Mary and Martha.
When they greeted Jesus, they said basically the same thing. Lord, if you have been here, my brother would not have died. John 11:33 says that when Jesus saw Mary weeping and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Verse 35 says, “Jesus wept.”
If Jesus was moved by their raw emotion, we can believe that Jesus is also moved in spirit when we experience a season of sorrow. Jesus is not removed from our suffering. Rather, He stepped right into it when He went to the cross.
The sympathy of Jesus for our tears is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines the tears of Jesus.
There were several times in the Bible when Jesus wept. One of those times was by the gravesite of his good friend Lazarus. John 11:35 records that “Jesus wept.”
Also, in Luke 19:41, as Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. He saw the devastation that was coming to that city because the people failed to recognize the time of God’s visitation.
Jesus was a man of sorrows. In these two examples, we see Jesus shedding tears in the death of a friend and the coming tragedy of those who would reject Him. He sympathizes with us in our grief, and He cares for the lost. His tears reveal the genuine expression of His love for people.
The tears of Jesus are reasons to trust in God for today and forever.
John Shirk
john@wjtl.com
