Grieve As People With Hope

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

The Gospel of John

August 23, 2024

Grieve As People With Hope

 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.

John  11: 38

Why was Jesus angry? In the previous passage John said, when Jesus saw Mary “weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled” (John 11:33). In today’s passage, “Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb” (John 11:38). Why? Weren’t Mary and her friends responding appropriately to their circumstances? Yes, their response was well within the cultural norms of their times. I believe Jesus was angry that the people were still clinging to their cultural norms and not embracing the Kingdom of God he was laboring to establish.

What were Mary and her friends missing? Here is how the Apostle Paul answered that question: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

Yes, I know Jesus had not died and risen to new life when Lazarus died. Mary and her friends did not have the resurrection of Jesus to help them grasp what Jesus was teaching them about eternal life. Even so, I believe Jesus was troubled that his people still grieved like people who have no hope.

My Takeaway: Jesus longs for us to grieve as people with hope.

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.