The Carpenter's Apprentice Archives

Volume 5, Number 2                                                                                                                     February 2004

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. And so the Jews were saying, "Behold how He loved him!" (John 11:33-36)

It is somewhat embarrassing to admit now, but this passage was a real favorite of mine as a youngster. Not because of the message mind you, but because it contains the shortest verse in the Bible. When Sunday School teachers gave the assignment to repeat a verse of scripture from memory, I was known to take my turn by standing and saying, "Jesus wept. John 11:35" and then sitting down with a smug look of self-satisfaction. I loved memory work and was good at it, but there were times I just didn’t want to make the effort. It all seems so childish now. Far more disconcerting however was my recent discovery that my understanding of this whole story in scripture has been out of whack! We’ll get to that shortly, but let me set the stage first.

There’s no question but what Mary, Martha and Lazarus were special friends to Jesus. John tells us so in this chapter. The problem is how we have allowed that fact to distort the real significance of the events which unfold here. Let’s start at the beginning and talk it out.

In chapter 10 we read about Jesus saying to the Jews, "I and the Father are one" and how they picked up stones and were ready to stone Him but He eluded them. Together with the disciples, He traveled "beyond the Jordan" to where John had begun his ministry. Christ was within weeks of the end of His earthly ministry and He returned to the very place where the announcement of the kingdom was first made. This location was the beginning and ending of His earthly ministry of proclaiming the kingdom. Now it was time for Him to inaugurate it.. Those who came to Him affirmed everything John had said about Him was true and many believed on Him.

Then one day, the message came that Lazarus was sick. Jesus’ response is most notable, "This sickness is not unto death." How could Jesus make such a statement knowing that Lazarus would in fact die? Stay tuned!

While one might think Jesus would have immediately healed Lazarus from afar or immediately begun to travel to Bethany, He waited two more days before telling the disciples they are headed back to Judea again. They reminded Him the Jews still wanted to kill Him but then Jesus told them Lazarus is asleep. Not understanding, they saw that as a sign he would  recover. Finally, Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead" and Thomas rejoined, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." That was no idle word. The seriousness of the moment was apparent to them all and Christ wass most aware of what was about to transpire. To understand the significance of the rest of the story we need to pause and recall the story of the centurion in Luke 7.

Jesus had visited Capernaum but after he left, some Jewish elders sent word to Him that the centurion’s servant was ill. It was because of this centurion they enjoyed such favorable treatment from Rome and they wanted to grease the wheels of Rome a bit. Jesus headed back and was almost there when the centurion’s servants met Him with a message from their superior, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it." Do you remember Christ’s response? "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Keep this picture in mind we are prepared to understand Christ’s grief in John 11.

As they approached Bethany, Martha met them on the road and lamented that if Christ had just been there Lazarus would not have died. No centurion’s faith here! She then demonstrated her focus on the physical by telling Jesus God could still raise him, if He would just ask.  Jesus reminded  her Lazarus would rise again. We’ve looked at that word before and we understand it to mean stand, or have standing. Though translated "resurrection" in English, we understand it to be a restoration of standing with God spiritually which reverses the fall we all suffer as children of Adam.

Martha confirmed Lazarus' standing "in the resurrection" but she was not concerned about the spiritual. Not satisfied with the response she returned to town and privately told Mary Jesus had come, hoping she might be able to persuade Him. When Mary left the house, the mourners with her assumed she was going to weep at the tomb but instead she went to Jesus and repeated her sister’s lament. Does this surprise you? It should!

We are familiar with Christ’s previous stay with this family and how Martha busied herself in the kitchen while Mary learned at Jesus’ feet. For her to confront Christ about not coming to heal Lazarus is most surprising. She knew better. More than that, she was aware of the danger His presence in Judea represented to Him, but she was focused on her physical needs and not the big picture. 

Let’s pause and put the situation in perspective: review so we don’t miss its significance: 1) these were two sisters left in a male culture without a male over their household (not a good thing), 2) both women understood their brother would rise again in the same way Jesus told them he would (spiritually), 3) it was common practice to hire mourners to make the passing of a dear one seem even more tragic than it was, and 4) what they want is His physical presence right now! Their focus should have been on what was about to unfold in the life of their Master, not only for Lazarus, but for the two of them and all the world as well. His focus was on the spiritual, not the physical and their fuss over the death of Lazarus added insult to injury.

Christ had said the whole incident was meant for glory to God, but He wasn’t referring to the resurrection of Lazarus from the grave. Let’s go back to the text.

When Jesus saw Mary and the mourners, we read His reaction in verse 33, "he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled...." The popular view says His compassion for their loss caused His distress and seeing the tomb caused Him to lose it and weep. Though many commentators share this view, others do not, and for reasons you should find interesting.

First, we’ve spent some time setting the context for the story. It is the end of Christ’s ministry. The purpose of raising Lazarus is not to grant some special favor on the two sisters but to convict them of their unbelief (remember the centurion), and to set in motion the events which will lead to His own death. Why would anyone see things this way? Word studies! Spend some time with the words in verse 33. Look up "groaned" and "troubled." Here’s what you’ll find.

"Groaned" is from Strong’s number 1690: embrimaomai (em-brim-ah'-om-ahee) which means to snort with anger, to have indignation on, murmur against etc. At its root, it has the idea of snorting in disgust! This is not a word of compassion!

Neither is "troubled!" It comes from Strong’s number 5015. tarasso (tar-as'-so) meaning agitated. One commentator attempting to soften the impact of this verse suggested that Jesus was angry at Satan for taking Lazarus but the text is clearly wanting of any such suggestion. God took Lazarus to create the occasion whereby the earthly ministry of Christ would come to an end so that His life would shortly come to be manifest in them all.

It wasn’t what they were looking for, but it was what He had come to Judea to bring "at just the right time." Nevertheless, He did raise Lazarus and the picture is almost comical with the formerly deceased struggling to stagger out of the grave still in the grip of the unclean clothes of death. Have you ever thought of the picture in those terms? Leviticus 22 tells us anything which touches a corpse is unclean. Here is resurrected Lazarus bound by that which was unclean and he is resurrected defiled!

Prior to his resurrection he had been in Abraham’s Bosom (paridiso or paradise) awaiting the resurrection of righteousness which would have soon delivered him from death. Now he is forced to return to the world unclean and await redemption with the living. Can you see how tragic this picture is from Christ’s perspective?

If you’ve been following along in John 11, you should have noticed we skipped two important verses, "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die." (vs. 25-26). These verses represent a Hebrew literary construction called a parallelism. The initial statement is further explained by seeing the rest of the statement alongside it. For the sake of comparison we slightly adjust the way things are stated but it looks like this:

Remember, at the time Christ said this, there were two categories of believers: 1) those who had died prior to His atoning sacrifice and the coming consummation of the kingdom, and 2) those believers who would "not taste death" until they saw Him coming in glory. Jesus’ response to Martha silenced her complaint! Real life was not a matter of the flesh, but knowing Him. Lazarus was physically dead but as a believer he was about to receive life in the grave - real life. It was the life Paul longed for and yet he was content to delay his departure as long as God chose to use him in the proclamation of the gospel.

The other side of the equation was that those who lived until the consummation would never die. They would as Paul said in Romans 8:11, receive life in their mortal bodies. By all means note Paul does not say they will receive life in their dead bodies. Mortal means liable to die, or able to die, not dead! Paul agrees with Jesus, those who were alive and remained until the consummation would receive real life while yet in their mortal bodies and would never die. The life and death in view is spiritual, not physical. Otherwise, some of those first century believers would still be with us today.

Jesus wept not over Lazarus, but the unbelief of the Jews. While many believed, the masses did not and were destroyed. Jesus challenged Martha with, "Do you believe this?" What about us? Do we believe what Jesus did what He came to do? If we believe we have life and will never die, we testify His work has been completed. How is it then so many who claim life eternal deny the consummation of the ages which has given us life in His name?

May Christ not be found weeping over our ignorance and unbelief.

Something amazing is happening in the film industry this month. Without a single television ad, to date, Mel Gibson’s new movie about the crucifixion of Christ is poised to take top billing when it opens February 25^th. The movie is a graphic portrayal of events and is not even in English because Gibson wished to retain the language in which the events took place. The dialogue is unsurpassed since it is largely from scripture, but even though most audiences groan at subtitles, this movie will be an exception.

Although no TV ads have run, the media hasn’t failed to give the movie attention. Jewish groups have complained that the story is anti-Semitic but the text is just scripture. Gibson even went to the extreme of removing the scene containing the Jews shouting, "His blood be on us and our children." Still, the protest resounds.

Is it anti-German to mention the Holocaust? Is it anti-American to mention the abuses of the native inhabitants of this land when we arrived here? If it is, I don’t hear anyone complaining about it. Yet, the telling of history in relation to the events surrounding the life of Christ is characterized as hateful. What about the other side of the story?

Isn’t it anti-Christian for the Jewish community to attempt to keep followers of Christ from telling the story of the murder of their King? Especially since Christians realize their own guilt and complicity in His death as Gibson freely attests?

Know this, the protest is about a Godless, Zionist state wanting to protect its image so Christians and the world will continue to buy the lie they are the chosen people of God. It is time for that myth to be exposed. The Jews themselves don’t even make the claim they are biblical Israel. The agenda of modern Jews is solely political and has nothing to do with the covenantal promises.

To be completely fair it should be emphasized there are Jews who do not share the view of those who try to act as mouthpieces for all. There are Jews who see the hypocrisy in a position which protests things which they consider demeaning to their faith, while rejoicing and sometimes participating in events that demean Christianity or other faiths. In short, there are Jews who want peace.

The Jews responsible for the death of Christ in a special way were the generation which crucified Him. Their judgment came in A.D. 70 when the prophesied destruction of Jerusalem occurred. Modern Jews bear no more of the guilt than anyone else. It is not hateful to tell the story and those who object exhibit the attitude of the Pharisees of old by trying to protect their traditions from the light of truth.

The good news is the controversy is probably drawing more attention to the movie than it would have received otherwise. National ticket outlets are reporting that half their sales are for "The Passion." Theaters are offering special showing times for churches and individuals are buying up whole theaters of seats just so they can be given away to people who will come to experience the event.

The movie presents a great opportunity for Christians to show up on opening day in mass to demonstrate to the film industry we will support quality productions. By all means, see the movie and then buy the video. We need more movies like this and supporting them sends that message. Get some friends together and head to the theater on the 25^th. I’ll write you an excuse for Wednesday evening services if you need one. 

For most of my life I really enjoyed sports. I was never one of those who knew the record of every team since the world began, in fact I never really kept up with the details of my favorite teams. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the competition and the atmosphere of the arena. My enthusiasm for such things began to wane a decade or so ago as sports (especially professional sports) became more focused on commercialism and celebrity and rogue players seeking to be different just to draw attention to themselves in ways other than their performance on the field.

For a number of years, I continued to tune in at the end of seasons to watch the play-offs and championship game, but four years ago, I even gave that up. It just no longer held attraction for me. In the sport of football, one of the real groaners was the transformation of the half-time show from a venue for local bands, into raucous productions aimed at audiences caught up in the nightclub environment.

From a disciplined, enjoyable performance, half-time emerged as an orgy of noise, suggestive lyrics, and weird people clad in even stranger attire. To borrow a phrase from decades ago, I tuned out. Still, as long as the box in the corner of the living room remains, one cannot escape the commercials which appear as these events near. This year was no different. The ads made it clear viewers should be prepared for a half-time show which would be shocking. Even players got in on the act talking about how they couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen. There was so much hype about the anticipated antics that family minded people should have been paying attention. The impression I got was this show was in no way going to be family fare – especially for Christian homes.

Since I didn’t watch the game, I wasn’t aware of the escapades until I heard the news. While I found it sad and disgusting, I have to admit I was neither shocked nor surprised. In fact, what shocked me was the number of people who were shocked by the events. Like I said, I have no interest in the event but even I saw the commercials and easily determined this was not for me and my family. Sure, I’m angry that it happens, but it is what we have become as a culture.

In fact, I’m convinced that if we could know the viewing habits of many of those who complained so loudly, we would find they regularly view similar material, and some even expose their children to it. To cry "foul" over a situation which informed parents knew was being promoted for its shock value, seems to me to be just a bit disingenuous.

Now that we’re well into the new year, I suppose we are all putting our plans in order for the coming months. The big event for the Wade household will be the arrival of our third grandchild in late March or April. Sharon is headed to the Dallas area for one last visit before we get the call to come for the birth. It is an exciting time.

Geren and Joshua continue to enrich our lives in their own special ways and it will be interesting to see how adding a new baby to the mix alters the balance of power. Childhood alliances are quickly formed and broken. Being an only child, Laura enters uncharted territory with each new arrival. Her husband, Read, only has one sibling so number three will break new ground for both of them. We ask your prayers on their behalf for a simple delivery, healthy baby and mother, and patient father and siblings.

On the gardening front, I’m already well behind. Regular rains since Thanksgiving have kept my low-lying garden spot afloat. The weeds are thriving since I can’t get in to till the ground. I have given some thought to just turning it into a rice paddy, but we already have plenty of rice stored.

The birds have returned to the backyard after a few weeks of relative inactivity. Their color and activity is always a welcome addition to the seemingly lifeless brown shades which dominate the landscape this time of year. Actually, the plants around the ponds have mostly survived our brief periods of cold, but they do bear the scars of frost and sub-freezing temperatures. One recent addition to the bird population is a hawk which turned up on three consecutive days. I realize he has to eat too and if he gets an occasional bird, I guess that’s okay, but I would be disappointed if he managed to catch one of our bullfrogs out sunning.

The flower beds are in need of attention and the last leaves of the season still need to be raked and bagged. It’s time to fertilize the lawn but it is just too wet at the moment. The only good thing about the wet is it greatly discourages the fire ants. If you don’t have to deal with them in your part of the world, believe me, that’s a good thing!

©Copyright 2004 ~ Permission to reprint for personal, non-profit use is hereby granted, providing that the context of the quote is maintained and credit is given to The Carpenter's Apprentice.

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