God Will Have the Final Word

John wrote his whole gospel on the theme that in Jesus we see the mind of our heavenly Father. Again and again we discover that His heart is touched with our pain and our grief. 

John records Jesus' response to those grieving the death of Lazarus: "When Jesus saw her [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled" (Jn. 11:33).

William Barclay may be getting close to the real meaning of this last phrase when he translates it, "Jesus...was deeply moved in spirit so that an involuntary groan burst from him, and he trembled with deep emotion." 

Here is one of the most precious pictures in the Gospel. Jesus entered so deeply into Mary's sorrow that His heart ached with anguish. In Jesus, we see a portrait of our heavenly Father's compassion.

The words "deeply moved in spirit" are sometimes translated "moved with indignation." Why was Jesus indignant? We can only imagine what fueled Jesus' indignation, but surely it was directed towards Satan who caused sin that brought death, the cause of Mary's deep sorrow, to come into the world.

Mary was weeping and Jesus couldn't stand to see her weep. He must do something. First, He wept with her. Jesus who is the "same, yesterday, and forever" is still weeping with those who weep. He feels their pain. He weeps even for those who deny He exists.

Then He revealed to Martha who He was. "I am the resurrection and the life." Satan who comes to steal, kill, and destroy had to flee.

Believe that He is the resurrection and the life in your situation. God will have the final word. 

I praise You, Father, for Your heart of compassion.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him" (Psalm 103:13).