If you'd please open your Bibles to John chapter 11. John chapter 11. We're continuing through the Gospel of John. John 11 is a special part of Scripture. We see the raising of Lazarus from the dead. It's a part of Scripture that children know very well, and adults have great comfort and hope in this part of the Scriptures. I just want to look back at the gospel of John. Remember, everything in John has a purpose, and that purpose, according to John himself, is that we might know that Jesus is the Son of God and believe in Him and have eternal life. In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus the reason he came into the world was that God loved the world and sent His own Son, that all who believed in Him would not perish. In John 10, He states that He came to give His sheep life, and said it would be an abundant life. He claimed to be the great I Am, and He made seven clear statements of His divinity, the I Am statements of the Gospel of John. This is the fifth one that we will read today. All of the I Am statements show the great need of a fallen world for the saving grace of God, and really show something of the great love of God for this world. First in John 6, he says, I am the bread of life. Three times he says it, I am the bread of life. We need nothing more than Jesus for life. In John 8, he says, I am the light of the world. We are blind, we are dead in our sins, and without the light of Jesus Christ, we cannot see truth. We cannot see God. He's the light of the world. In John 10, Jesus says, I am the door. We are excluded from God and apart from God unless we come through Christ, unless we come through Jesus. He's the door. In John 10, he also said, I am the good shepherd. We talked about this for many weeks. We are safe in the care of our loving shepherd, of our God. Now in John 11, we read that I am the resurrection and the life. I am the resurrection and the life. Remember the I am in every one of these statements, hearkens back to Exodus chapter three, where Moses said, who shall I say sent me? And God said, I am that I am. I am who I am. That's who sent me. Jesus claims that name for himself by saying, I am who I am. I am the resurrection and the life. He holds the keys of death in the grave. He's reversed the curse of Adam and Eve that death would be on all humanity. Because of their sin. So the context of the narrative is important. It's the death and resurrection of Lazarus, of course, but this event is the link between Christ's earlier ministry and the week of His passion. This event is the link between those two things. It points forward to the death and resurrection that awaits Him as His disciples see the death and resurrection of Lazarus. In just a few weeks, they'll see His own death and resurrection. So it points forward to that. It also points for us and for everyone who knows this piece of history. It points to the one who provides the power for our own resurrection, and that is Jesus himself. So I'll be reading John 11, verses 1 through 37. It is a long passage, but as you are able, would you please stand for the reading of God's holy word Feel free to sit if you're unable to stand for this whole portion of Scripture. John 11, verses 1 through 37. Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, he whom you love is ill. But when Jesus heard it, he said, this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God that the son of God may be glorified through it. Now, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this, he said to his disciples, let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you. Are you going there again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in a single day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. After saying these things, he said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said, told them plainly, Lazarus has died. And for your sake, I am glad that I was not there that you may believe, but let us not, but let us go to him. So Thomas called the twins, said to his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. Now, when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. But Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know He will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to Him, Yes, Lord. I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, The teacher is here and calling for you. When she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now, Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her there in the house consoling her saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now, when Mary came to Jesus, to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, My brother would not have died when Jesus saw her weeping. And the Jews who had come with her also weeping. He was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. So the Jews said, see how he loved him. But some of them said, could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying? Amen. Please be seated. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Let us pray. Our Father and our God, we thank you for your holy word. We pray that this word would not return void. Lord, that I would speak your words faithfully and boldly, that this congregation would chew up the meat, spit out the bones. Lord, that you would be honored and glorified in the preaching of your word. May your sheep hear your voice and may you change us and be glorified in it. In Jesus' name, amen. So this week, we're only going to discuss the death and the grief and the hope that we have in death. You know, in the story of Lazarus and the account of Lazarus, you see really two things, the great power of almighty God of Jesus himself in raising this man from the dead, but also the great love and compassion of Jesus for his own. We're going to focus on the latter, the great love and the compassion of Jesus this week. Next week we're going to look more closely at the resurrection. I commend to you Dr. Gordon Keddy's commentary on John. It was greatly helpful to me as I prepared this message. And I'm grateful for him. So we're going to talk about the death of Lazarus. Death is going to be the first point of our discussion. We've recently seen death in our own body, and it is something that grieves all of us as humans, especially when we know and love the one who has passed on to glory. There's a company in Arizona called Alcor Life Extension Foundation. If you want your body frozen, you can go to Alcor, and for a hefty sum, They will freeze your body. Some people can't afford the whole body frozen, so they will freeze your head or just your brain with the hope that someday they can restore you to good health in the future. The idea is that somehow the medical community will finally establish perfection in health and that these frozen people can be brought back to life, can forego death, Well, just an example of human nature, the desire to live forever. Even those who know nothing of the Bible desire to live forever, desire to avoid death. Death is something that is difficult for image bearers. Regardless of culture, religion, or faith, death is difficult. We hate death. And somehow I think we're convinced at times that it's just part of our nature. This is just meant to be. But it's not. It is an imposter. Death is not the reality that we were created for. Nevertheless, we hate death. Most city dwellers never see death at all. In the country, you might see more death as you have animals who die. But in the city, it's so sanitized, we want to avoid death even so much so that our loved ones who are dead are made to look alive in the coffin before they're buried. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. It's just our nature to not want to see anything that relates to death. Well, as context, it's difficult for us in our culture where the life expectancy is near 80 years for almost everyone on earth. It's difficult for us to fathom just how much closer to death people lived in the scriptures. Life expectancy is a measure of how long an infant can be expected to survive. And until very recently, life expectancy was around 30. 30 years old. Now, of course, this includes all of the infants who died early in their lives. So infant mortality was very, very high. until very recently in our history. But if you made it through childhood, it still wasn't a guarantee that you would live. I mean, of course, it's never a guarantee, but you would not expect to live to be 70 or 80, although this did happen frequently. Why is that? Well, there was no medicine, there was no penicillin, there was no insulin. They had medicines, but not as effective as what we have today. No aspirin, no antibiotics, If you lost your eyesight, there was no prescription eyeglasses. Simple illnesses could, for ancient people, very quickly lead to death. So, when you hear the message sent to Jesus from Mary and Martha, this isn't just, well, your friend Lazarus, he's got a fever. Please come and heal him. They're concerned for his life. This is a message of desperation. They're calling for help. They think their brother is going to die from this illness. As so many people around them had died from many illnesses, certainly. So let's look at verse 1 and 2 and 3 of chapter 11. Lazarus of Bethany. In the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Lazarus was ill. Now we know these people. from the book of Luke and from John. These are special friends of Jesus. Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus. Jesus loved him. They were beloved by Jesus. They didn't follow him around the countryside like many of his disciples, but they loved him dearly. They provided comfort and rest and a much needed friendship to Jesus in his ministry. In Luke 10, we know something more about these women. We know a little bit about their personalities. If you remember, Martha is a doer. She's a doer. I find in many marriages, you have the same dynamics as you see in Mary and Martha. You have a doer, and you have one who wants to sit at Jesus' feet. That's a joke for my wife. She's very much a doer. Martha was upset that there was so much work to do and she was slaving away and she was upset that Mary wasn't helping. Mary was just sitting by Jesus and listening to him talk. And Jesus corrects Martha. He says Martha Martha. You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed. Or indeed, only one speaking of himself. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her. So certainly it seems that Martha has grown since this event, because now she sees also the great value, the preciousness of Jesus in her own life, and it comes out in this text. So Lazarus grew ill and they sent word to Jesus. And what did they say? Lord, he whom you love is ill. It was an appeal not to obligation. They weren't saying, Lord. We've fed you 100 meals and we've been good friends to you. So now you come to us because of all these things we've done for you. It wasn't that at all. He whom you love is ill. It was an appeal to the love of Jesus. They knew that Jesus loved Lazarus. And it's the basis of their request. The love of Jesus. If you'll turn a few pages over to Ephesians 3. Romans 1 and 2 Corinthians. Galatians, Ephesians 3. So it's no surprise that Paul references the great love of Jesus. The great love of Jesus when He calls us to prayer as well. If you look at verse 14, this is the prayer of Paul. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven on earth is named. that according here's his prayer that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. That you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the Saints. What is the breadth and length and height and depth and know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Jesus Christ through all generations forever and ever. Amen. Paul makes the same point. It's our knowledge of the love of Christ, how wide the length and breadth and height and depth of the love of Christ. He wants the saints to know how vast is the love of Christ. And based on our knowledge of the love of Christ to present our requests to him because he is far abundantly far able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think. According to the power at work within us. You see, our starting point for any request from God is just a knowledge that He loves us. It's not exactly how we would think about it, but this is the starting point. We comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of God and Christ Jesus, and we request, God, based on Your love, please help. Lord, He whom You love is ill. And Jesus heard it and said, this illness, this is verse four, does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Our Lord, upon hearing of this illness, confirmed that the illness really was nothing to worry about. Lazarus did die, of course, but it didn't lead to ultimate death. He would be raised again. And Jesus, of course, knew that this was going to happen. But he tells us more. Look at verse four. It is for the glory of God. And that the Son of God may be glorified through it. The sickness of Lazarus was for the glory of God. This is good theology. It's good to know, of course. It's more difficult to remember when life gets hard. Unless you've been trained by the Word of God, that what is happening is for the glory of God. We're in the same boat really as Lazarus and Martha and Mary. All that happens in our life happens for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. It's ultimately all for His glory and for our good. What's our primary purpose, our chief end? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. He made you. The children's catechism. He made you and He takes care of you. And you're on earth to glorify Him. By loving Him and doing what He commands. So when you feel anxiety or you face difficult trials in your life, including death, as Mary and Martha did, remember God's goodness and His love. Verse 5, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. He loved them. Why is John telling us this? Well, the love of Christ, the love of God, is not always expressed in exactly the way we want it to be expressed. The love of Christ is a pure, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable love. It's a love filled with wisdom, and goodness, and holiness, and justice. So he loved them so much that when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. They wanted speedy help, and he said, no, I love you, so I'm going to delay. And his great love for them, he stayed two more days. This is not what we would do. If you call me. I'm going to try to come to you immediately. Because I don't know the mind of God. I just know it's my duty to come to you as soon as I can. From a human perspective, it's shocking that He would delay two more days. Why? Because that delay certainly increased their suffering, didn't it? They suffered greatly because of this delay. They saw their brother die. Their brother suffered because of the delay. He died himself. And yet, Jesus did it because He loved them. So when God delays to send help on our timetables, or doesn't answer our prayers the way we want, we should never as Christian people, the sheep of His sheepfold, the people of His pasture, we should never say, well, God is not loving me now. We should never doubt His love. His ways are higher than our ways. He says in Isaiah 55, 8 and 9, my thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. His purposes are much higher than ours. Even in death. Well then, as they begin to depart, the disciples remind Jesus. He says, we're going back to Judea. And the disciples say, Rabbi, they tried to kill you there. He's been sought after for death. We've seen it in the Gospel of John a few times already. They tried to kill Him, to stone Him. And Jesus answers by basically saying, we're going. Man up. We are going. He's not afraid of death. The whole reason He came into the world was to die. He's going to help His friends. And then eventually to face death Himself a few weeks later. But the disciples were still concerned that Judea was dangerous. So Thomas, the twin, I love this. He says, let us go that we may die with him. I've heard preachers talk about this verse like it's just a despair. It's just a fatalism that Thomas is expressing. We're just all going to die together. I don't see that. I see more of courage. Courage is doing something even though you're afraid to do it. You do it anyway. That's courage. So I see the courage of Thomas. He's basically saying, if we're going to die with Jesus, well, let's go. At least we're with Him. Let's stay with Jesus. Well, in every situation in life, this should be our attitude as well. We don't fear death. Come what may, let's go with Jesus. Let's go with Him. Well, in verses 11 through 14, we see that Jesus explains to them exactly what has happened. Lazarus has died. And we see part of the purpose of their delay. I'm glad I was not there. Verse 14, so that you may believe. It's God glorifying to increase their faith. And it's part of the purpose of difficulties in our life. That our faith would be increased. That we might believe. Lazarus had died. But Jesus says, and I was glad that we were not there. He knew what he was about to do. He knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, and this was going to be a strong point of faith for his disciples in the future. He is the Lord of life and death. Certainly all of us know we're going to die someday. Little autumn, beautiful little baby. Someday she will grow old and die. All of us will. The death rate is, except for a few people in Scripture, very nearly 100%. Statistically, so close to 100%, we can say it's 100%. We all will someday face death like Lazarus. And all in Christ certainly will be raised from the dead. Although not like Lazarus, because he died again. We'll be raised with an imperishable body, like Christ. So this event, this death that Jesus speaks of, this death that will help their faith, also helps our faith. It's a preview of Jesus' own death and resurrection as well. When He was eventually, imagine the disciples, they see Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, and then a few weeks later, they see Jesus died and raised from the dead. It's a preview of the resurrection of the dead that they had seen very recently when they see Jesus. Ultimately, I would say Lazarus' death was part of God's sovereign plan. It was ordained for the glory of God and of Christ. The same can be said of all of our lives and our deaths as well. But there's also hope. There's hope in this narrative. There's even hope in death. We see this in verses 17-37. Jesus came and He found Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. Four days. There's no way that anyone could doubt that Lazarus was really dead. He's in a village called Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem. He's been dead for four days. The mourning was still in full swing. The mourners had come from Jerusalem to console the sisters. And Martha heard that Jesus was there. In verse 20, she ran to Him. And she cried out to Him. Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. The sorrow, the grief of the scene It's palpable. You can feel it. She cries out to Jesus. Don't just read the words, but try to grasp the feeling that she is expressing. She's in the depths of despair, of grief, and yet she has a hope. I also find it interesting that Mary stayed in the house. They're grieving differently, aren't they? Mary stayed. She remained seated in the house. Maybe no energy to move. Whereas Martha runs to Jesus. And she says if you had been here, my brother would not have died. She she maybe feels rejected by Jesus or or feels like she's been ignored. Her prayers have been ignored in some way. She doesn't know that this was part of the glory that was going to be revealed in Jesus Christ and it was part of his great love for her. and yet she's dismayed. It seems the worst of her fears had been realized. And yet, there is a glimmer of faith in her response. If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But then she says, but even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. No matter how great or small your faith is, if you have a spark of faith, God will honor that faith. Because it's from the Holy Spirit. If there is a spark of faith, and you trust in Christ, He will honor it, and He will answer. And she says, now I know that whatever you ask from God, He will give you. And Jesus responds with great comfort. He says, Jesus said to her, verse 23, your brother will rise again. This interaction I think is wonderful. It's kind of a back and forth about the doctrine of death and the resurrection. It's actually a little bit strange conversation to have in the moment to be talking back and forth about this doctrine of the resurrection And yet this is what Jesus and Martha do, and it becomes clear that Martha believes that it's probably all too late. Martha says, yes, I know He will rise again on the last day. I know my doctrine. I know what the scriptures teach. You might think, well, does the scripture actually in the Old Testament, that was her scripture. Did it teach the resurrection? Well, yeah, the Old Testament is full of the doctrine of the resurrection. David proclaims it throughout the Psalms. Let me just read a couple. Psalm 16. Therefore, my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices. My flesh also dwells secure, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, to the grave, or let your Holy One see corruption. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 17, As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness. When I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. Psalm 49, 15, God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, from the power of the grave, for He will receive me. Psalm 73, 25, Whom have I in heaven but you? and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You, my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Job 19, 25-27. Famously, Job says, For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day. This is the King James Version. He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and though after my skin Worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God. Whom I shall see for myself, mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my veins be consumed within me. Isaiah 26, 19. Two more. The dead men shall live. Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Finally, Daniel 12, verse 2. Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting content. So Martha knows well the doctrine of the resurrection. She's been instructed by Christ Himself. She knows the great and certain hope of every true follower of God. She knows that what Jesus says is true, that He will rise again. She knows her doctrine. This is important for us as well to know doctrine. We are a church that values sound doctrine. As you know, why is it so important? Is it because we just want to be smart? No, we want to know God. We want to know God. Theology is the study of God. We want to know our God. If you know information without knowing God, it's pointless and worthless. She knew not only the doctrine, but she knew her God. And Jesus adds more to this doctrine of the resurrection. He says in verse 25, I am the resurrection and the life. He is the resurrection. He is the life. Its source is in Jesus. He's the firstborn from the dead. He's the fountain of every believer's resurrection. He is the reason we have hope. New life begins and ends in Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega. He says, whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Jesus states very clearly the doctrine of death and eternal life for the believer. He's definitely speaking of a physical death. And he's comforting, remember, he's comforting a friend whose brother had recently died, and he states that in physical death, it's not the end. Those who believe in him, death is only one step forward to eternal life. Actually, the moment you come to faith in Christ, you have eternal life. There's a long line, a straight line between you and eternal life from the moment you have faith. And death is just a slight interruption in that. This is what we believe. Our Shorter Catechism, number 37, says, the souls of believers are at death made perfect in holiness and immediately pass into glory. This is what has happened to Lazarus. His soul has immediately passed into glory. His inner man is with God. And their bodies, still being united to Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection. See, we are body and soul. When He saves you, He saves you body and soul. Which is why the theologians at Westminster said our bodies are still united to Christ. It's more than just a tent that our soul lives in. It is that, but it's much more. It's united to Christ. You've been created as an image bearer. And our bodies rest in the grave until the resurrection, in which case they are renewed. We're given new bodies, imperishable bodies. So Jesus tells her, everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. And then He asks her for faith. He says, do you believe this? Do you have faith in Me and in My words? Do you believe this? It's critical. It's critical to really, truly believe. This is what Jesus is asking. Do you truly believe? Often, we see that we believe certain things about God up here, But only crisis often will bring out the true nature of our faith. This is why Jesus tells in the parable of the soils. Some people face trials and persecutions and they quickly fall away. They were never saved. There's no root in them. But those who truly believe, as Mary and Martha did, will persevere to the end. And this crisis has brought about the true nature of their faith. Do you truly believe? Or are you going to fall away as well with so many others? And her response is one of the most powerful and precious and clear statements of Jesus' identity that you will ever read in Scripture. This is verse 27. Her response is one of great faith. Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. Wow! I don't know if anyone says it as well. What has she just declared? Number one, yes, Lord. Lord, this is the word Kyrios in Greek. Kyrios means master. It's a reference to the king. To the Lord, the sovereign ruler of the universe who deserves our allegiance. Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Messiah. The seed of the woman promised to Adam and Eve, the seed of Abraham who would rule The Savior, the Messiah, the hope of Israel for a thousand years, the guarantee of the covenant. You are the Messiah. You're the Christ. The son of God, the divine and only begotten son of God, through whom all things were made of one substance with the father who came down from heaven to show us the father. You're the one coming into the world. You are God made flesh, the incarnate word who reveals the father, God become man. who left His glory and took on human flesh, who came to save us. And when she says, I believe, this is in the Greek the perfect tense, which means it's a firm foundational belief. I have believed already. It's certain and settled and long established. She believes in Jesus. I believe this conversation between Jesus and Martha is one of the most instructive conversations in all of Scripture. For in our own distress, God similarly calls us to believe. Children, He calls you to believe as well. He asks you, do you believe? You may be in the twilight of your life. He asks you, do you believe? Do you really believe? Do you trust your Lord and your Master Jesus? to do what is right for you? Do you trust in your Messiah to save you from your sins? Do you trust in the incarnate Son to show you compassion and kindness? The One who has taken on our flesh and come into the world and tabernacled among us? Had flesh and bones like we do? Who has shared our grief? Do you believe? And He has shared our grief. He knows death. He knows suffering. He knows grief. I'll conclude with verse 28-32. We see great compassion in the response of Jesus. Mary came. She cried out saying the same thing Martha did. And Jesus was overwhelmed by grief. He saw her weeping, the Jews weeping with her. He was deeply moved in his spirit. There's a sense of frustrated anger as well in this. He's troubled not only by the death of his friend, but he's also troubled by the curse, it would seem. The fall. The guilt that brought death into the world. He's frustrated by it, as we all should be frustrated by death in one sense. This wasn't how God created us as men. Adam and Eve were created perfectly, and they would dwell in eternal communion with God if they had not sinned in them yet. They did, and it brought grief into the world. It brought brokenness and despair and pain and frustration. And Jesus feels this deeply. He knows more than anyone there and more than any of us exactly what that sin brought into the world. He's deeply moved in His Spirit and greatly troubled. He's sorry for the death of His friend. He's comforted only in His Father. And yet, Jesus wept. Shortest verse in the Bible. Profound statement of Jesus' compassion for us and for His friends. See how He loved Him. He's so deeply moved by this grief. This unnatural situation brought about by sin. This death that will affect all of us. Do you think he's not also deeply moved by your grief and your pain and your sorrow when you face death? He is. He sees all of your pain clearly. He sees all of your anxiety and your hardship. And for him, it's also very, very personal, just like it was for Lazarus. Just like it was for Mary and Martha. Just like it was when He was there with them. You say, well, Lazarus was His close friend. You see, but Christ has called you friend. And He lives in you. So when you see the compassion of our Lord, when you see Jesus weeping, remember that He loves you. He's compassionate and gracious. And He's full of love. He knows your weakness. Yes, He knows your grief. And yet as a good shepherd, he meticulously cares for his own. And when we grieve, when we cry out, we turn to the one who knows our grief and pain. The only one who can help the one who gathers us into his arms and carries us in his bosom and gently leads those with young. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that you truly are the only one who understands. The grief and the pain that each one of us experience in our lifetimes. Lord, you know, and not only do you know, not only do you have wisdom and knowledge, but you have such great and infinite love and compassion, such personalized compassion and care for each one of your children. That you bring your comfort by your spirit into our souls. Lord, we pray that we would never doubt your love, but we would remember. How wide and long and high and deep is your love for those of us who fear you.