“Jesus wept.” Yeah, we left off wit God Himself weepin’ over that death of His homebwoy Lazarus, the grief of his homegurls Martha an’ Mary, the lamentz of they crowd of friends an mournerz, an tha whole wackness of death and the disrupting, dislocating suffering and loss it brings.
In fact, Jesus’ grief was so “Real,” dat some peeps in tha crowd remarked:
“Look how deeply He loved him (Lazarus).”
But, like any crowd theyz wuz haterz durr, too:
“Well, if He loved him so much, why didn’t he do something to keep him from dying? After all, he opened the eyes of a blind man.”
Mang. That’z cold, fam. Even ruthless. An’, don’t that sound jus like tha cynical vibe of our “post-modern” world today? Itz hard to believe dat wuz spilled in 33 A.D. ! Them peeps betray a small-minded, critical attitude, dat boosts’ they own ego at Jesus’ expense. At JESUS’ expense! That wackness comez str8 from tha pit of Hell. I mean, Jesus’ is tha humblest Kat that evah walked or will walk this earth. An, He ain’t no stage magician, fam. His bizness izn’t turnin’ madd sleight o’ hand for public propz. Yo, but tha Move that Jesus’ gonna bust real soon, iz gonna deflate them windbagz like a chain gun blastin’ a hot air balloon.
An’ I think Jesus may have felt this, on top of all His own grief an’ pain of loss, cuz that narrative states:
“Now Jesus, again sighing repeatedly and deeply disquieted, approached the tomb.”
A more contemporary translation puts it this way:
“Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within Him, arrived at the tomb.”
Now, dis is tha first time we talked about Jesus’ feelin’ anger in this whole drama. Some scholars feel they’s a dimension of anger implied in the New Testament Greek word translated as “troubled,” dat we peeped last episode. I don’t quite feel dat, but if it iz true–itz madd interestin’ to speculate what would be getting’ at Jesus to make anger “well up” witin’ His heart.
One obvious idea iz dat Jesus’ anger iz tha natural part of grieving serious loss, like the death of a loved one. Second, the fact dat some peeps in tha crowd were dissin’ Jesus fo not “doing something” to prevent Lazarus’ death could be another plausible reason. But, if Jesus were feelin’ deep anger, along wit deep sorrow an’ anguish, I’m feelin’ they’z a deeper reason, lol:
It wuzn’t supposed to be this way. Death was not part of God’s original plan for man and woman.
Yo, God created man and woman to “Glorify God and to enjoy Him forever” as an old Christian teachin’ puts it. God never meant for Adam and Eve to succumb to satan’s temptation, to disobey Him by munchin’ on tha forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, to destroy the hitherto pure, unbroken fellowship they had wit Him. And, dis scandalous outcome wuzn’t God’s plan. But, He took the risk of that outcome, in hope that Adam and Eve would freely love Him by they free will choice: to obey His very easy request not to eat tha fruit of just one tree. You see, authentic Love is freely given. It’z not coerced or manipulated into existence. Adam and Eve had the choice to love God and obey Him, or to not love God an’ disobey. They busted the latter move and cursed all they descendents after them. An’, we inherit from our original parents—right from birth—this anti-God mindset. That’s tha essence of what tha Bible calls Sin. And bitterly, the wages of Sin iz…Death.
So, if Jesus wuz any angry, I’m feelin’ it wuz mosly over the death’s wack pain and loss—pain and loss thatwuzn’t s’posed to happen, an’ didn’t have to happen. But, it wuz happenin’–to peepz Jesus loved, an’ loved…deeply.
By this time, Jesus—prolly barely keepin’ tha lid on a crazy mix of emotionz churnin’ inside–wuz standin’ right in front of Lazarus’ tomb. Yo, many tombz in 1st Century Palestine, “back in tha day” lol, were simple cavez, carved into rocky hillsides. Lazarus’ tomb wuz one o’ these, an it had a huge stone, a boulder, rolled in front sealing the entrance.
An’, right in tha midst of all this drama, Jesus ups an’ spits three words that no peep on tha scene, in they wildest imagination, evah expected Him to utter:
“Remove the stone.”
Mang! Can U imagine what peepz were feelin’ when Jesus dropped dat jawn?! U talk about buggin’ an’ trippin’. It musta been crazy. Yo, an’ I’m sure them cynic katz musta thot dat Jesus had ill bumped His head on som big ol’ olive tree branch, on His way to Lazarus’ tomb.
An peep dis: even Martha–who earlier confessed dat Jesus indeed wuz the Messiah, an’ affirmed dat God the Father would give Jesus anythang He’d axe—had a real hard time catchin’ His Vibe:
“Lord by this time, there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
Yo, I like tha ol’ King James version of dis Spillage for itz Realness:
“Lord, by this time he stinketh…”
Yeah, an’ Lazarus’ corpse prolly been madd funky by dis time, too. Cuz he been dead not one, not two, or even three, but FOUR days. Jesus’ request: “Remove the stone.” iz ill wreckin’ tha joint. It defiez all logic. It rudely disrespectz all “proper” empathy and compassion demanded at such an emotionally raw and sensitive time. Worse, it doesn’t take into account the “reality” of the sitchiashun: Lazarus iz dead, an’ has been dead for four days. What is UP wit Jesus??
Fam, Jesus iz never intimidated by “reality.” He clearly saw what “reality” wuz, an’ it wuz breakin’ His Heart. Despite His own anguish an’ pain, he focused on His plan, proceeded wit His mission, cuz He iz Master over “reality.” Moreover, He ‘bout to school tha unbelievers an’ haterz, an’ give His homiez—his loved ones Martha and Mary—a window on the Reality dat undergirdz “reality,” the only reality that they knew—an’ that we know.
So earnestly, wit boundless compassion an’ love, Jesus—prolly lookin’ his homegurl Martha right in tha eye, an’ ill tearin’ Hisself–gently helps her come correct:
“Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the Glory of God?”
An’ Jesus’, millennia later, still tearin’, spitz dat same trak to us today:
“Did I not tell…you…that if you believe, you will see the Glory of God?”
Can’t ya hear His Voice…?
Peace. I’m out.
ONE
sun
John 3:30
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