Shades of Grief

John 11:21-27

Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. Yet even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” “Your brother will rise  again,” Jesus told her. Martha said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am  the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me,  even if he dies, will live.   Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die — ever.  Do you believe this? ” “Yes, Lord,” she told Him, “I believe You are the Messiah,  the Son  of God, who comes into the world.”

John 11:32-37

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet  and told Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died! ” When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry  in His spirit  and deeply moved. “Where have you put him? ” He asked. “Lord,” they told Him, “come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how He loved  him! ” But some of them said, “Couldn’t He who opened the blind man’s eyes  also have kept this man from dying?”

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Grief. 

Each of us respond to suffering and loss in different ways. Even a response of faith will be expressed in a variety of ways, depending on the person and the circumstance. Martha and Mary lost their brother Lazarus, and their expressions of grief had similarities and differences.

Notice how they both approach Jesus with the same first statement: "If you had been here, he wouldn't have died!" This is a statement of faith in the power of this miracle working Messiah. But it is also a bold and assumptive statement. You could even read into this a kind of bitterness: "Where were you Jesus? Why didn't you get here sooner and save his life? Why were you absent in our time of greatest need? Don't you care?"

Are these not the very questions that haunt us when faced with a seemingly meaningless tragedy? Why would God allow this when he is supposedly able and willing to protect his children from harm?

Faith is mingled with painful unanswered questions.

Now notice the diversity in responses. Martha immediately corrects herself: "I know that God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus takes the opportunity to proclaim his own divinity yet again: "I am the resurrection and the life." This all but reveals the surprise ending and empty tomb just moments ahead.

Mary does not correct herself. She just weeps. She is overcome. She falls at his feet in uncontrollable emotion. She utters her honest question and her expression of faith is a physical collapse upon the friend she trusts so deeply.

And Jesus responds with tears of his own. This translation says he was "angry in his spirit and deeply moved." What was the object of his anger? Death itself had stolen his friend away from his loving family, and this enemy was provoking the deepest emotions of God you can imagine.

To one sister he gives a declaration of words. To the other he gives his bodily compassion. Truth is here proclaimed as both personal and propositional. We hear the word of promise, that resurrection power has arrived and will be ours as well. And we see the tears, the anger, the embrace, and the body of Lazarus once dead now risen and shaking off the grave clothes!

Grief and faith will be expressed in many ways, often together. Questions go unanswered. Fears rage and anger boils as our enemy Death continues on its unholy mission.

And there is Jesus - weeping, proclaiming, and raising the dead again.

Confronted with Eternity

Mark 16:8

And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

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If the events leading up to Mark 16 were not scary enough, here we find the women who came to care for Jesus' lifeless body coming face to face with angelic beings declaring an utterly surprising message. And apparently a terrifying message.

What could be so terrifying about the resurrection of your hero who you thought was dead? Why would Jesus' best friends not be thrilled, but instead refused to believe the news these women shared with them? (16:11 & 13). Wasn't this good news?

I submit that most people will indeed react in fear and unbelief when they are confronted with news of someone coming back to life after death - and not the modern notion of skeptical rational unbelief. I mean willful frightened loudly-proclaimed "no, this cannot be happening!" kind of unbelief.

If we are honest with ourselves, the idea of an afterlife may be more frightening than a simple ceasing-to-exist. Critics of Christianity often tell us that Heaven is wishful thinking - a product of our fear of death. But if you ask them how they feel about death they are often quite comfortable with a quiet sign-off after a full length of pleasant years. In fact, I think that most of us would naturally prefer the privacy of final sleep over the mysterious and revealing prospect of waking up in a new world - especially a world that belonged to Someone else.

It may very well be that the final judgment of God - his reckoning for all the injustices of human history - is what these early disciples were coming face to face with. They had heard and discussed the reality of eternity, but to be confronted by a man who transcended space and time and brought eternity to their doorstep - that was terrifying.

So, what changed their hearts and gave them faith? Mark doesn't give an easy answer. Even if you take verses 9-20 as original to Mark or his contemporaries, the general thrust of the chapter is fear, not faith. From chapter 1, Mark never hesitated to be critical of Jesus' doubtful and confused followers, even in these concluding remarks. (This also adds a level of authenticity to the book, since undermining the reputation of early church leaders would have been a disservice to the strength of the movement.)

In conclusion, I think that we can find a strange hope in this story for us today. When I am confronted by death and the One who holds the keys to eternity, I can take comfort in this company of fearful followers. Ultimately, the story was not about them (or us). It was about the One who overcame death and offered salvation for any who follow him. It is up to us now to share this terrifying and life changing message with the world, so that they too can be confronted with eternity and find hope in the One who can welcome them in:

"And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15, 16 ESV)

Resurrection and Response

Matthew 28:17

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

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There is little doubt about the historical existence of Jesus. In fact, there is ample evidence outside the Bible for many of the details of his life, his ministry, and the circumstances of his death. But, it is the historicity of the resurrection that continues to be hotly debated among people great and small. This chapter offers some insight into the very beginning of this debate and what is really going on in the hearts of men who respond to the news of Christ's resurrection, whether in faith or in doubt. Let us consider three categories of response outlined in this chapter.

1. Willful Denial. The guards at the tomb were eyewitnesses to the angelic episode in which the stone of Jesus' tomb was rolled away and his absence was revealed. We know that their experience of the angel was taken seriously: "And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men" (28:4). While their initial response might have led to potential faith, we find out quickly that personal interest is persuasive enough to choke out the truth and smother the seeds of faith. The guards tell the chief priests what they saw, perhaps hoping to get some spiritual guidance on the matter. Instead, they got a bribe and were directed to lie about what happened. This, they were told, would satisfy the governor and "keep you out of trouble." As counter-intuitive as it may seem, the eyewitness evidence of an angelic vision and an empty tomb was not enough to overcome basic human cravings for money and security. If this was true of these men, how much more for men today who are so far removed from the events?

2. Doubt. We might expect such willful denial from pagan Roman guards who knew very little about Jesus, his promises, and his love. But, what about the doubts of the disciples who were seeing the resurrected Jesus, flesh and blood, right in front of them? Verse 17 reveals that not all of the disciples were convinced that Jesus had risen, that Jesus was truly who he claimed to be, even though he was right there for them to see and touch. Again, we must scratch our heads and question the conventional wisdom that says, "If I could see him risen from the dead, then I would believe." This is obviously not the case, for those who were closest to Jesus did not immediately believe, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. If these men were not convinced, how can any of us in the 21st Century believe in the resurrection with any certainty?

3. Faith. Fortunately for us, Denial and Doubt are not the only responses recorded here. Chapter 28 also gives us a glimpse of those who saw Christ risen from the dead firsthand and were led by the evidence to believe that he was God himself! They worshiped him, an action that was reserved by devout Jews for Yahweh alone. This was a radical response indeed, to believe that this Jewish carpenter was actually God in the flesh. What made them respond differently than the guards or the doubters? Why didn't they succumb to their personal interests or a prideful reliance on human reason? The chapter does not give an explicit answer, but we can conclude that faith is NOT a given based upon evidence alone. There must be a miraculous act of God in our lives to draw us to faith in Christ. The seeds of faith must not be choked out by the cares of this world.

Perhaps, most importantly, there must be a choice to overcome personal fear in the face of life-changing evidence. Isn't this what the angel and the risen Lord repeatedly said to the many witnesses? "Do not be afraid!" (Verses 5 and 10). There must be courage to overcome "reasonable" doubt and trust that God has come in the flesh, has overcome death, and he has made a personal offer of relationship with each one of us. We must be struck by the beauty of this good news, for it meets our deepest needs for love, forgiveness, and reconciliation with the One who made us and knows us inside and out. It is only this kind of courage and commitment that can motivate us to fulfill the commission that Jesus ultimately leaves to his disciples. Let us not be afraid; let us believe that he is now with us; and let us faithfully carry out the mission he entrusted to us:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Ultimate Destruction

Matthew 27:20

Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

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Up to this point, the story of Jesus has been barreling toward tragedy, yet without a certain doom. There was still a chance that Jesus could be rescued, could come out of this conflict at the last minute and achieve some kind of physical victory. But, in this verse I think, there is a point of no return. The people have made their judgment. The Son of God was to be destroyed.

Two things strike me about this passage.

(1) The most pivotal moment in all of history, the most important choice any crowd has ever made, all hinged upon the persuasion of a few envious old men who happened to be positions of religious authority. This highlights the incredible power that is held by those in official positions of authority. People look to them for guidance and often follow their lead, no matter how counterintuitive. And, this is especially so for religious leaders. What an awesome responsibility that can be so easily used for evil. It is only fitting that teachers would be judged by God with greater scrutiny (James 3:1). Of course, let us be clear, that the decision of the crowd to destroy Jesus was not just the result of chaos and chance and human will. Mysteriously, but truly, the plan of God Almighty was unfolding through the persuasion and choices of these envious and cowardly men (Acts 2:23, 4:27-28).

(2) There was a greater destruction taking place here than any of these people realized. It was greater than the unjust murder of a righteous man.

The real destruction that took place here was the destruction of Death and the wall of separation between God and man.

The Pharisees themselves bring up this truth as they are mocking the dying Jesus. "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!" (27:40). Did the Pharisees really not understand that Jesus had made this earlier claim in reference to his own body? No, the Pharisees knew deep down what Jesus had meant; they prove it themselves in verse 63, when they explain Jesus' claim to rise from the dead as a reason to guard the tomb! Amazing. And sad.

No, the real destruction that took place here was the end of Death and the wall of separation. The curtain was torn in two. Men long dead began to rise from their tombs and walk the earth again. All that stood in the way between God and man, generations of sin and rebellion, centuries of attempts to bridge the gap through animal blood sacrifice, all of this was done away with in one stormy night on a hill outside Jerusalem. What the Jewish priests had failed to do for years (cleanse the people of their guilt) Jesus here accomplished, "by the power of an indestructible life" (Heb 7:16). His body was destroyed, but truly it was indestructible. What was really obliterated was something far more astounding. And, as we will see, the morning of the resurrection will bring a picture of what is offered to us as well: new life, a new earth, and an eternity in the presence of our Maker.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?

(1 Cor 15:54-55)