![]() He said to Saul, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). When Saul, the religious zealot who became the Apostle Paul, was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians and throw them in jail, the Lord Jesus appeared to him on the road. This notion is similar to what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus, Who had never sinned and was holy in every way, was repulsed by the very thought of carrying all men's sin, guilt, and shame to the cross (Luke 22:42). He felt the burden of illness before He carried it. Let’s look at another example: When a woman with an issue of blood pushed her way in the crowd around Jesus and touched the hem of His garment, she was instantly healed, Jesus immediately stopped and said, "Someone touched me I know that power has gone out from me" (John 8:46). There was a divine exchange by the Lord, he carried her sickness, and power left Him as a result. Matthew tells us more about Jesus’ healing in this way: “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases’” (Matthew 8:17). What Matthew is saying is that Christ felt the pain of those who were hurting, and the pain touched Him or was "bore" by His innermost being. He felt the pain of His people groaning under the consequences of the fall of His creation. The King James Bible translates it as Jesus “groaned in Spirit” (vs. ![]() The writer to the Hebrews, talking about Jesus being our High Priest, writes:įor we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet he did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). Isaiah the prophet wrote about Him, saying, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). The God of the Bible can feel what we feel, i.e., the things that give us pain touch His heart. A person with empathy understands and shares the feelings of another. This God that we see in the Scriptures empathizes with His creation. Here we see something completely different from any other so-called god of this world. Why does John tell us a second time that he was deeply moved? I think it is because he saw something in Christ that day that he could not let go without drawing attention to the way His heart was touched by the pain of His friends around Him. John emphasizes to us that Jesus was wracked with sobbing as His heart was touched at the raw emotion of each person there with Him at the tomb. In verse thirty-eight, Jesus was deeply moved again. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” 45Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him (John 11:36-45). 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone. ![]() It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ![]() Jesus was moved with strong emotion at the weeping of Martha, Mary, and the mourners at the tomb:ģ6Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. In our last study, we explored the things that led up to Jesus’ return to Martha, Mary, and the dead Lazarus. While being fully human, we witness Him as Lord over death, performing a most miraculous display of the power of God. In the passage which we are studying today, we are given a glimpse into the emotion Christ displayed in His humanity. In the story of the raising of Lazarus, we see a heart-wrenching picture of the pain experienced by the Lord Jesus as He encounters the bitterness of death and suffers alongside His friends. Optional Warm-up Question: What’s the worst smell you’ve ever experienced? What was the reason for the smell, and how did you encounter it?
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