1. "Man of Sorrows, what a name for the Son of God who came. Ruined sinners to reclaim, Hallelujah, What a Savior"
2. Jesus is called a Man of sorrows - Isaiah 53:3
3. We’ve all heard the saying, "Big boys don’t cry"
4. Hopefully, we all know that that statement is not true
5. The Bible tells us of three different occasions on which Jesus cried
6. We can learn a lot about Jesus by looking at these three heart-breaking occasions
A. The Occasion
1. Lazarus had become sick and Mary and Martha had sent word to Jesus - John 11:1-6
a) Notice that when Jesus heard of Lazarus’ sickness, he delayed two more days before he left to go help
b) Jesus had a plan - Hebrews planned to let Lazarus die and then raise him so that God would be glorified
2. When He arrived, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already
3. After Jesus had a conversation with Martha, they called for Mary
4. When Mary arrived, it was too much for Jesus - John 11:32-36
a) "Groaned in the spirit…" To snort with anger like a horse - Violent displeasure
b) "was troubled…" to be agitated or disturbed
B. What does this teach us about Jesus?
1. He was a man of compassion
a) He knew that He was going to bring Lazarus back from the dead but seeing all of those people weeping for him caused Jesus to weep
b) Compassion - sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others
c) Mark 6:34
d) Jesus knows what it is like to lose a loved one!
2. He can sympathize with our sufferings - Hebrews 4:15
A. Why was Jesus weeping over Jerusalem? - Luke 19:42-44
1. Jesus’ tears in this instance were tears of sorrow for the lost
2. Imagine how hard it must have been for Him to see these things before they occurred
a) To see the children playing and know that those children’s children would one day be killed by the Romans
b) To know that the city itself was going to be completely and ruthlessly destroyed
3. They had brought this destruction on themselves by their rejection of Jesus
4. But Jesus took no comfort in the fact that they were going to be destroyed
1. God takes no joy in punishing the wicked - Just like we, as parents, take no joy in punishing our children
2. What about us?
3. Does it bother us that some (most) of the people that we know are going to be lost?
4. How many tears have we shed for the lost?
A. This must be referring to His prayer in Gethsemane - Matthew 26:36-39
1. In these tears, we see Jesus’ humanity
2. He did not look forward to going to the cross
3. The Hebrew writer tells us that He despised the shame of the cross - Hebrews 12:2
a) Notice he endured for the, "joy that was set before Him"
b) In these tears we see His love for us!
c) Luke 19:10
B. In these tears we see His submission to the Father
1. He desired the will of the Father to be done instead of His will
2. His prayer was answered in that God’s will was done
3. The words of Paul are appropriate here - Philippians 2:5-8
1. The tears of Jesus teach us that He was a…
a. Man of Compassion
b. Man who cares for the lost
c. Man who understands what it means to submit
2. Do you serve this risen Savior? Have you chosen to accept His Salvation His way? Are You Saved?
-- Ralph Price at Streetsboro, January 2010 --
|
|