On our way to Lazarus’ tomb we stumble on still another question. Jesus approaches the grave site with the full assurance that he will raise his friend from the dead. Why then does the sight of the tomb trouble him?
Maybe the tomb in the garden is too graphic a reminder of Eden gone to seed. Of Paradise lost. And of the cold, dark tomb he would have to enter to regain it. In any case, it is remarkable that our plight could trouble his spirit; that our pain could summon his tears. The raising of Lazarus is the most daring and dramatic of all the Savior’s healings. He courageously went into a den where hostility raged against him to snatch a friend from the jaws of death. It was an incredible moment. It revealed that Jesus was who he said he was-the resurrection and the life. But it revealed something else. The tears of God.
“And who is to say which is more incredible - a man who raises the dead or a God who weeps.” - Ken Mire, Incredible Moments With the Savior, Zondervan Publishing
A God who is moved by our pain? One who weeps with those who weep and enters into their sorrow? Yes, this is God, revealed in Jesus Christ. I can bring Him anything life throws at me and, like Lazarus, experience His loving and life-restoring touch, lifting me out of darkness and death.