In John 11, there's a story of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead. When he gets there, people start to question why he took so long to get there.
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept.
In a span of three verses, Jesus is angry and sad. He is both. This is interesting to me because it's not the only time we see Jesus with this combination of anger and sadness. When the Pharisees are waiting for him to heal on the Sabbath so they can bust him out on it, he is angry and sad at the same time.
I work in pastoral ministry, specifically to high school and middle school students. I also have two children. And every time I read stories of Jesus being angry and sad, I can relate. I feel both often. Angry because people can't get their crap together. Sad because if they only knew the better life waiting for them they might not make the same mistakes.
So the past few times I've read this account of Jesus being angry and sad at the same time, I think the passage is for me because Jesus felt the same way. And this morning when I read that, a new thought came over me.
How arrogant are you Russ?
Maybe the passage is for me, because when Jesus has every reason to back out on me he doesn't. When he's angry with me because I can't get my crap together, he sees me through it. When he's sad because I'm not living into the better life he has for me, he is still there. Providing. Waiting. Caring. He's still there.
This passage is for me, but not for me to pat myself on the back and say "I feel ya, Jesus." It's so I'll realize the infinite patience the creator has for me and my hang ups.
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept.
In a span of three verses, Jesus is angry and sad. He is both. This is interesting to me because it's not the only time we see Jesus with this combination of anger and sadness. When the Pharisees are waiting for him to heal on the Sabbath so they can bust him out on it, he is angry and sad at the same time.
I work in pastoral ministry, specifically to high school and middle school students. I also have two children. And every time I read stories of Jesus being angry and sad, I can relate. I feel both often. Angry because people can't get their crap together. Sad because if they only knew the better life waiting for them they might not make the same mistakes.
So the past few times I've read this account of Jesus being angry and sad at the same time, I think the passage is for me because Jesus felt the same way. And this morning when I read that, a new thought came over me.
How arrogant are you Russ?
Maybe the passage is for me, because when Jesus has every reason to back out on me he doesn't. When he's angry with me because I can't get my crap together, he sees me through it. When he's sad because I'm not living into the better life he has for me, he is still there. Providing. Waiting. Caring. He's still there.
This passage is for me, but not for me to pat myself on the back and say "I feel ya, Jesus." It's so I'll realize the infinite patience the creator has for me and my hang ups.
No comments:
Post a Comment