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John 11 – The Death of a Loved One – The Problem of Pain (Sermon)
No one told me about the pain and the suffering, about all the funerals. As a young man focusing on the supposed glories of becoming a preacher, never did I ever think of emotional and spiritual tribulations found at the bedside, in the hospital, at the funeral home, and by the graveside. If I had the power to ease their pain by providing healing and life, I know I would have. To have done so would have been glorious.
I cannot remember attending a funeral as a child except for one – my Great Grandmother. But as an adult, way too many I have attended. As an older man, I have lost grandparents and friends, and seen loved ones suffer, both the living and the dying. If I could have stopped the pain, that would have been glorious.
Jesus attended a funeral and it was glorious. Jesus knew his friend Lazarus was sick and about to die. And yet He stayed away. And yet He let someone He loved die. And it became glorious.
The story of Lazarus usually focuses on his resurrection, on Christ calling out loud, “Lazarus, come forth” (Jn.11:43) – and then Lazarus still wrapped up walking out like a mummy. And that is a story I want to tell, but not yet. To jump too quickly to the resurrection is to miss the true glory.
The death and resurrection of Lazarus is filled with shadows. Of course there is the foreshadowing of Christ’s resurrection and ours (Jn.11:25-26). But surrounding that, there is the very real “shadow of death” (Ps.23:4) of Lazarus, coupled with the foreshadowing of Christ’s death found in the fact and word that He was “troubled” (Jn.11:33). Then there is the shadow cast upon one’s faith by confusion (11:21,32), wonder how a loving Savior could have allowed this – If you had been here, my brother would not have died (Jn.11:21,32). And finally there is the shadow cast by Satan as we see him use, abuse and manipulate people and situations in order to cause further pain. His shadow creates the darkness in which when people walk they stumble (Jn.11:10).
Behind all shadows there are realities, often cold and hard. And the realities within John 11 are both divine and human. It is easy to read the chapter and focus on the divine element by emphasizing the glorious words of Jesus when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn.11:25). But may I suggest that is another element that without it, without this other reality, would make the resurrection of Lazarus and us impossible. And that reality is the cold hard truth of pain, suffering and death. That is the human element. The story of Lazarus is the about the power of God, and the pain of mankind.
John 11 is not just about the resurrection power of God, but rather the death of a friend, the friend of God in the flesh. And it is glorious.
I. THE PROBLEM OF PAIN – For People
The resurrection of Lazarus is a story not just of jubilation and celebration, but of evil and pain. It is the reverse story of Adam and Eve. Theirs was life leading to death; and Lazarus, from death leading to life. But if we focus only on the resurrection without seeing the pain, the glory is diminished. The evil and pain is everywhere. There is sickness (v.2); concern for the suffering of others (v.3); death (v.14); impending death (v.16); consolation (v.19); confused faith (vv.21,32); weeping (v.33); blame (v.37); decay (v.39); selfishness (v.48); murderous intent (v.50); and sinful collusion (v.57). The pain is physical, mental, emotional, societal, and spiritual. It is around, and within.
It is important for us to learn and remember several important lessons.
- First, the world is filled with suffering and the Bible does not deny nor diminish that reality. To do so would be a lie. There is no pretending or idealism with the scriptures. There is no philosophy or theology that suggests suffering is a state of mind caused by sin.
- Second Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Divine love is a fact. But God loving people – loving us – does not prevent pain and suffering. There is no magical end to problems once we become believers in Christ. If becoming a Christian ended all problems whether physically, mentally, financially, within marriages and with our children, or whatever other realm there is, people would become Christians not so that they could serve God, but so God could serve them.
- Third, there is no truth to the belief that being spiritually minded takes away all concerns in the world. Martha and Mary believed in the resurrection to come, but that belief did not erase her present pain of losing their brother. Yes, it can ease our suffering, and it should (1 Thess.4:13-18). Pain and suffering are real. Death is real. But it is not ultimately victorious.
- Fourth, there is no denying that for even Christians, pain and suffering creates confusion, doubts, and even causes people to blame God. This is a reality that has to be dealt with and not discarded. The problem of evil is a problem, but it can be answered. But we do see a solution. Martha and Mary were prepared for the problem of death by their prior belief. The best way to be prepared to handle pain and suffering is to already believe in God, His power, and His love.
II. The Problem of Pain – Spiritual Disconnects
When reading John 11 we can empathize with those that hurt because we see them suffering the same pain we do. That pain is not just physical or emotional. There is spiritual pain also. We can see this in what I am calling “the confused conviction” of Martha and Mary. We have all asked, “Does God care?” In the very beginning of this narrative, please notice what Martha and Mary say…and what they do not say.
John 11:3 HCSB So the sisters sent a message to Him: “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
What do they not say? “Please come.” They did not need to ask Jesus to come because they knew He would. And He did. What they did not know was that Jesus, for reasons unknown to them, would delay His coming for 2 more days. So when He finally shows up, both sisters independently say the same thing – “Lord, if You had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” I do not hear an accusation. I hear confusion. I do not hear, “You don’t care.” I hear, “Don’t you care?” Hourly they probably looked for Jesus walking down the road. And yet Jesus waited.
This spiritual suffering is caused by a disconnect between:
- Physical and Spiritual Reality (vv.25-26)
- Hope in Future and Pain of Present (vv.21,24)
- What God Had Done and What God Can Do (v.37)
- What God Can Do and What God Will Do (v.21-22, 40)
- What God Can Do and What We Think God Can Do (v.37)
- God’s Timetable and Man’s Timetable (vv.6-7,21,32,43-44)
Let’s look more carefully at each of these. But first let me explain what I mean by “disconnect.” A “disconnect” is that separation between two realities that we as people, and as Christians, strive to “reconnect” or “connect” for the first time. That struggle is found within the dual paradoxical truths that we in the world but not of the world (Jn.17.15-16). It is this struggle, this life struggle, that is the source of much of our pain and suffering.
1. Physical and Spiritual Reality (vv.25-26)
John 11:25-26 NASB Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, (26) and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Physically we live, and then we die. Spiritually, we have died and now we live. The physical realm mirrors the spiritual. I hear echoed within the words of Jesus the words of God spoken to Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2:16-17 NASB The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; (17) but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Within the words of God, there is both a spiritual and physical reality. The dual worlds within which we live are physical and spiritual realities. The sinful world around us, and the spiritual world of the kingdom. The physical world inhabited by our flesh, and the spiritual world of our souls. Connecting both troubled the Gnostics of 2000 years ago. Connecting both troubles the monastic mindset of today.
2. Hope in Future and Pain of Present (vv.21,24)
John 11:21, 24 NASB (21) Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. (24) Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
It is the hope of the future that eases the pain of the present. But the pain in the here and now is just real as the future reward.
3. What God Had Done and What God Can Do (v.37)
John 11:37 NASB But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”
The amazing aspect of the former miracle – as if any miracle itself is not amazing – is that “since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of the a person born blind” (Jn.9:32). The friends of Martha and Mary believed that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’ death. There is even a hint of blame directed towards Jesus.
4. What God Can Do and What God Will Do (v.21-22, 40)
John 11:21-22,40 NASB (21) Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. (22) “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” (40) Jesus *said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
God in the flesh had the power and the right to prevent the death of Lazarus. But to do so would have prevented something more glorious. Seeing the unseen because it has not happened yet is often the source of much of our pain and suffering.
5. What God Can Do and What We Think God Can Do (v.37)
John 11:37 NASB But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”
The friends of Martha and Mary believed Jesus had healed a blind man, something that had never been done. But somehow they did not believe Jesus could resurrect Lazarus, something that Jewish history had already witnessed with the great prophets Elijah and Elisha. Not believing what God can do is often a source of painful disconnect.
6. God’s Timetable and Man’s Timetable (vv.6-7,21,32,43-44)
John 11:6-7 NASB So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. (7) Then after this He *said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
John 11:21 NASB Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
John 11:32 NASB Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
John 11:43-44 NASB When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” (44) The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
One of the most frustrating, and yet necessary aspects of belief in God in found in the command to “wait on the Lord.” Waiting is submitting ourselves to God’s timetable. In fact the whole resurrection of the dead is waiting on the Lord for the total abolition of the effects first found in the garden of Eden – physical death. Notice the temporal shift in the triumphal words of Jesus – I am (present) the resurrection and the life; he who believes (present) in Me shall (future) live even if he dies” (Jn.11:25)
Pain and suffering is real. It is lessened by connecting these “disconnects” but is can only be partially connected until all is made whole. We live in the world, but not of the world. We live in pain and in hope.
III. THE PROBLEM OF PAIN – For God
In addition to all that has been said, one of the wondrous revelations within John 11 is that the problem of pain is not just a problem for mankind. It is a problem for God. Does that strange at best, or at worst, blasphemous? If so you are missing the reality behind the relationships which are filled with pain not just for the people involved but for God Himself. The problem for God is not that pain overcomes Him. The problem for God is that pain overcomes those whom He loves. God hurts when we hurt; God hurts because we hurt (vv.33-36). If we truly believe that Jesus was God walking the earth in flesh, then we must truly believe that Jesus weeping on earth is accompanied by weeping within heaven. If there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk.15:10) there must also be weeping over one sinner who does not (Ezek.6:9). If God tells us to weep with those who weep (Rom.12:15), then He must weep too.
The very concept of God suffering was a problem for the Greeks and is still a problem for some Philosophers today. For some Greek pagans, man’s suffering was a source of amusement for the Greek gods. Therefore why would the gods suffer when man does? For those more serious ancient philosophers, they believed god could not suffer.
“To any Greek reading this – and we must remember that it was written for Greeks – this would be a staggering and incredible picture. John had written his whole gospel on the theme that in Jesus we see the mind of God. To the Greek the primary characteristic of God was what he called apatheia, which means total inability to fee any emotion whatsoever.
How did the Greek come to attribute such a characteristic to God? They argued like this. If we can feel sorrow or joy, gladness or grief, it means that someone can have an effect upon us. Now, if a person has an effect upon us, it means that for the moment that person has power over us. No one can have any power over god; and this must mean that God is essentially incapable of feeling any emotion whatsoever. The Greeks believed in an isolated, passionless and compassionless God.” (Barclay, John, vol.2, p.98)
Even today, Classical Theology of Religion has not changed much from this paganistic view of God by teaching the impassibility (from Latin “not able to suffer, experience emotion”) of God. This describes the theological doctrine that God does not experience pain or pleasure from the actions of another being.
“Classic theism teaches that God is impassible — not subject to suffering, pain, or the ebb and flow of involuntary passions. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God is ‘without body, parts, or passions, immutable.’
“It is important to note that the debate regarding the doctrine of impassibility does not center on whether God has feelings or emotions. Though some would argue for the position that God does not possess any feelings or passions, those such as Paul Helm who seek to preserve impassibility do not view God as completely apathetic. Rather, the question is whether or not God’s passions are voluntary or involuntary. Does God actually react to his creation in an emotional way? Can humanity hurt God, emotionally?” (theopedia.com)
Yes, yes, and again yes.
John 11:33-35 HCSB When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved. (34) “Where have you put him?” He asked. “Lord,” they told Him, “come and see.” (35) Jesus wept.
Why? Without getting into all of the foreshadowing aspects of John’s use of “troubled” let’s keep it simple, yet sublime. Why did Jesus weep? Why did He hurt? We are told at the beginning of the narrative – Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus (Jn.11:5). When people we love hurt, we hurt. – weep with those who weep (Rom.12:15).
When we suffer, I wonder if we forget that God is suffering too. We focus on the omnipotence of God and wonder, “Does God care?” We sometimes forget the omnibenevolence of God which focuses on His love and forget that love hurts.
The chapter begins with pain and ends with pain. In the forefront of the story is the sickness and death of Lazarus, the concern and sorrow of Martha and Mary. In the end there is fear, loathing, and plans for murder. In between Jesus weeps.
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