Tearful Rage!

A struggling father was talking about their severe financial situation and closed his report with this sentence: “I’ve concluded that Jesus just doesn’t care about my finances.”

My response surprised him. “Nobody grieves more over the pan in your life than Jesus,” I told him.

In my book, When God Breaks Your Heart, I tell how Jesus’ reaction to Mary’s tears helped me understand this. Look at what Mary’s grief did to Jesus.

The depth of Jesus’ friendship with Mary brought on a display of emotion so profound that many Christians feel a need to explain it away. Uncomfortable with John’s vivid description of Jesus’ emotions, they ascribe cosmic theological motives to the Son of God. They speak of Jesus as an objective, but beyond emotion observer of Mary’s pain.

I have a better explanation, the same explanation offered by those who were there that day: “See how He loved him [Lazarus]!” (John 11:36) Jesus could not hide his feelings when he saw the pain of this family he loved.

“Therefore, when Jesus saw her [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” (John 11:33)

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