DESTINATION GOD

GONNA, WANNA

In verse 10 of Matthew chapter 13 the disciples asked Jesus, "Why do you speak to the people in parables"?

Quite often people complain that the Bible is too difficult to understand. Or that it is too difficult to be a Christian. And they might use Jesus' habit of using parables to prove their point. It would seem that Jesus wants His message to be vague. But it doesn't appear to me that most of these are terribly difficult to understand. Especially to people who lived in that time and place and were familiar with the illustrations He used. But even now, 2000 years later, they still don't seem to be all that bad.

In addition to that, there are many passages in the Bible that are quite plain. No way to misunderstand. But yet, people still do. There are quite a few lists of sins to avoid in the New Testament. Some will look at a list that includes sexual immorality, homosexuality, etc and say, in effect, "Oh no, that isn't what God meant", while others look at it and say, "Go, God, go. Tell it like it is". But then those same cheerleaders conveniently overlook the remainder of the list that talks about lying, jealousy, envy, gossip, gluttony, etc.

Some who are Pentecostal/Charismatic (and my Mom would say those are not the same) will see passages about tongues and elevate them to the highest level of God's revelation, while completely missing those scriptures that talk about limiting tongues in certain circumstances or that other gifts are to be desired above tongues. But those who do not accept tongues will totally ignore any scriptures that suggest tongues is not just other known languages but is, indeed, also a spiritual unknown language.

Many people extol the virtues of the Ten Commandments, and decry efforts to remove them from public view. But would these same people want to acknowledge the other 600+ commandments as being relevant for today? And some of those people will say, "Keep the Ten Commandments posted!" in one breath and with the next say, "Tithing is an Old Testament law, and we live under grace now."

And, of course, two people can look at the exact same scripture and one come away with a point-of-view that is called in theological circles "Calvinism", while the other will see what is known as "Wesley-Arminianism". Meaning one will see that once they are saved they don't have to worry about sinning. If they do, they do. "Once saved always saved", grace will cover it. The other will see that salvation is a starting point, and that any sin ("in word, thought, or deed") puts your eternal position in jeopardy. And, yes, I know those are the extremes of those theologies.

The point is, if I had been in Jesus' place and the disciples asked me about using parables, I would have been tempted to respond, "What does it matter, you're gonna hear what you wanna to hear anyway." And, actually, that is what Jesus did say, in effect.

JESUS WEPT?

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he scolded them for their lack of faith in Him and their lack of belief in the resurrection. He spoke harshly to them and said, “Quit your crying. I can’t believe you. Your loved one is with the Father now, in a better place. You shouldn’t be crying for them! This is a time for celebration.”

The above “scripture” is from John 11. The setting is the death of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus. And, no, Jesus did not really respond that way I have underlined. The Bible says when Jesus saw the mourners he had compassion on them. In response to their grief, and as an outlet of His own grief, John 11:35 says, Jesus wept.

Now it does say, when He encountered Martha in her grief, He reminded her of the resurrection. But when he encountered Mary in her grief, He wept. I think he wept for her, with her, and in addition to her. But why did He not “weep” with Martha?

The clue to that could lie in an encounter with them when Martha grew upset because Mary was not helping prepare dinner for Jesus and His followers. Mary was worshipping at the feet of Jesus, and Jesus commended her for that.

So, now, when He responds to Martha in her grief, He knows He is responding to a “worker-bee” type personality. It would comfort that type of person to remember that he was not gone forever. That she would see him again. But for Mary, the tender and compassionate worshipful one, a tender and compassionate response was more appropriate.

But do you notice something? Jesus did not respond to either of these women according to His personality or needs. He responded to them according to their personality and needs. He was God. He did not need a compassionate, tender response. He did not need a lesson on the resurrection. He already knew Lazarus was about to “get up”. Why didn’t he just comfort them with that news? Because Jesus meets people where they are and comforts them in a way most appropriate for them.

Also notice that Jesus, in verse 35, didn’t “get misty eyed”, or “tear up”. The Bible says He wept. This suggests to me a “gut-level” cry. A kind of cry that says, “This was my friend, and now I am not going to have him around anymore.” Which is strange considering Jesus is God. He knew what was about to happen. He had planned what was about to happen. Is there something to be learned about our grieving process from this story? Well, duh!

I write this because in my wife’s family we have just had 3 deaths in 2 months. And the types of responses she has gotten from some of her friends has been interesting, to say the least. Is there a rule somewhere that the longer a person who is grieving has been a Christian, the less compassionate their friends can be? Or is the rule that the amount of compassion is to be directly the inverse of the combined Christian walk of the one who is grieving and their friends.

If Jesus Himself can weep with those who weep, and even weep for His own loss (no matter how temporary it was), why can’t we weep for our loss? There is an old saying that goes, “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good”. I think it definitely applies to situations of loss and grief. Let a person cry if they need to cry. Comfort them according to their personality. Don’t satisfy yourself with an attitude that basically says, “This is the way I would want it, so that is the way I will give it”. If we are Christians, be Christians – “like Christ”. And Christ wept.