The Compassion of the Christ, Part 3
Another active day, as per the norm for winter term. Theatre at mid-day, Taylors Elementary from 2:30 to 4:00, Theatre observation from 4:30 to 6:00, and then dinner at last. Tonight will be nice, though, with BCM at 9:00. No drama or praise band this week, but still plenty of activities in store. We'll be continuing our five-week course on the stages of love (eros, phileo, and agape) and how they are viewed in the world today.
Well, I'm more than slightly relieved about my Theatre situation. I made an A on our first test on playwrighting. It certainly feels good to start off the course on solid ground rather than putting myself in an early hole and spending the remainder of the term digging myself out. Dr. Peyrouse was better today; he still raised my eyebrows with a few statements, but I've decided that if this man wants to play hard ball with me, I'm game.
But enough about that. Moving on to part 3 of "The Compassion of the Christ." We've already covered the fact of Jesus weeping in the story of Lazarus' death (John 11:35). Last time, we discussed numerous possibilities and suppositions as to why our Lord would do this. It should be pointed out that there is no right or wrong answer to this question. All of them have a gem of truth. But what does Jesus weeping mean for us? Read on to find out...
There are several suppositions as to why he wept, but whatever the reason, the point is, he wept. That alone speaks volumes of his capacity to express emotion and humanity. John 11:35 is evidence of his ability to love, to care, to show compassion, and to humble himself which are the essential ingredients of what he came to accomplish.
The interesting aspect of this verse to the story is that Jesus is weeping, a response that leads one to wonder whether the son of God truly had an emotional reaction to Lazarus’s death? Does that mean that Jesus’ divine nature includes human emotions and that because of Christians’ belief in the Trinity God shares these emotions as well? Does this not go against the ancient church’s perception of God and Jesus?
Jesus wept. Maybe that frightens us or embarrasses us. After all, Jesus does not weep. That action alone reveals his humanity, not his godliness, much more than anything else. Jesus was not only the Son of God, but also the Son of Man.
This God cares. What a stark contrast this interpretation is with the ancient Greek concept of God that was popular back in the ancient times. In those days, gods were soulless, possessed no emotions, and tended to shy away from the messy affairs of humanity (Walvoord 314). They did not care about humans and flaunted their superiority over the weaker mortals. Their affairs were no concern of the gods, and they usually only came down to Earth to mess around and cause trouble. In the eyes of the people, the gods of the ancient world were powerful and strong, but devoid of compassion. They even used the Greek word apatheia, a word that means the “total inability to feel any emotion,” to describe God.
Yet Jesus is different. In Jesus, the personification of God, we have a deity who freely expresses compassion, indignation, sorrow, and even frustration. Jesus weeping reveals that God will help humans and that we are not alone. The connectedness of God to humanity was a major departure from religions of biblical times. The verse explains how people have to learn to wait on God. It also explains how quickly God can end sorrow and replace it with happiness. The verse shows the humanity and its accompanying emotions of Jesus Without this verse, then Jesus and God would be seen in similar fashion to the Greek gods and other religions of the times. A major message of Christianity is that God cares about humans and loves us so much no matter what we do. God wants humans to come and form a relationship with him. This verse represents the clearest example of Christianity’s message of the love of God. Jesus displays more of his human personality here than anywhere else, and the verse adds more depth to the gospel stories.
This verse shows the importance of having faith in Jesus the Son of God. Those followers who saw Jesus preparing to do this miracle lacked faith that he could do it and grieved Jesus in their lack of belief. We see in John’s story of Lazarus that we must undertake the act to believe in Christ and his divine revelation. For it is only in undertaking the task of believing that we can best understand Christ’s divine significance. For without belief, we fail to see what Jesus reveals to us and calls us to do. It means that not only do these believers not show faith but they also fail to understand the larger message at hand.
In John 11:35, we learn an important lesson. We are all “unbelieving and sterile, so unconcerned and indifferent. How bereft we are of honest emotion.” In today’s society, we view emotions as weaknesses, but for Jesus to cry, that makes it okay for us.
Throughout the Gospels, you see actions of Jesus that spawn from his compassion. Why else would he teach people to love and support the least of the world? Why else would he have uplifted the lowly and unclean? In Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes, Jesus blesses the poor, the meek, and the oppressed. When Jesus washed his own apostles’ feet at the last supper (John 13:1-19), he humbled himself to the work of a servant to show his love for his disciples. If Jesus did not have compassion for us, why does he offer us grace, mercy, and forgiveness when we do not deserve it? Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) That is the fullest extent of love and compassion. There is even a separate word, agape, to describe Jesus’ unconditional love because it is so beyond our comprehension.
In John 11:35, we see a Messiah who cares. Instead of being the all-powerful Son of God who raises Lazarus from the dead in verses forty-three, it is a man who wept. The verse brings out another very important facet of Jesus’ personality, which mirrors his mission of earth. Instead of being the strong military leader whom everyone expected would overthrow Rome and rule as a conqueror, he was going to die for humanity’s sin. Jesus was never what anyone expected. There are several suppositions as to why Jesus wept, but regardless of the direct reason, he wept because he loved us all.
Song of the Day: Twila Paris - "How Beautiful"
Quote of the Day: "Paradigm? You'll have to explain what that word means." - Kelly Criss as Carol ("Oleanna")
Verse of the Day: "Let whoever is wise understand these things, and whoever is insightful recognize them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them." - Hosea 14:9
Well, I'm more than slightly relieved about my Theatre situation. I made an A on our first test on playwrighting. It certainly feels good to start off the course on solid ground rather than putting myself in an early hole and spending the remainder of the term digging myself out. Dr. Peyrouse was better today; he still raised my eyebrows with a few statements, but I've decided that if this man wants to play hard ball with me, I'm game.
But enough about that. Moving on to part 3 of "The Compassion of the Christ." We've already covered the fact of Jesus weeping in the story of Lazarus' death (John 11:35). Last time, we discussed numerous possibilities and suppositions as to why our Lord would do this. It should be pointed out that there is no right or wrong answer to this question. All of them have a gem of truth. But what does Jesus weeping mean for us? Read on to find out...
There are several suppositions as to why he wept, but whatever the reason, the point is, he wept. That alone speaks volumes of his capacity to express emotion and humanity. John 11:35 is evidence of his ability to love, to care, to show compassion, and to humble himself which are the essential ingredients of what he came to accomplish.
The interesting aspect of this verse to the story is that Jesus is weeping, a response that leads one to wonder whether the son of God truly had an emotional reaction to Lazarus’s death? Does that mean that Jesus’ divine nature includes human emotions and that because of Christians’ belief in the Trinity God shares these emotions as well? Does this not go against the ancient church’s perception of God and Jesus?
Jesus wept. Maybe that frightens us or embarrasses us. After all, Jesus does not weep. That action alone reveals his humanity, not his godliness, much more than anything else. Jesus was not only the Son of God, but also the Son of Man.
This God cares. What a stark contrast this interpretation is with the ancient Greek concept of God that was popular back in the ancient times. In those days, gods were soulless, possessed no emotions, and tended to shy away from the messy affairs of humanity (Walvoord 314). They did not care about humans and flaunted their superiority over the weaker mortals. Their affairs were no concern of the gods, and they usually only came down to Earth to mess around and cause trouble. In the eyes of the people, the gods of the ancient world were powerful and strong, but devoid of compassion. They even used the Greek word apatheia, a word that means the “total inability to feel any emotion,” to describe God.
Yet Jesus is different. In Jesus, the personification of God, we have a deity who freely expresses compassion, indignation, sorrow, and even frustration. Jesus weeping reveals that God will help humans and that we are not alone. The connectedness of God to humanity was a major departure from religions of biblical times. The verse explains how people have to learn to wait on God. It also explains how quickly God can end sorrow and replace it with happiness. The verse shows the humanity and its accompanying emotions of Jesus Without this verse, then Jesus and God would be seen in similar fashion to the Greek gods and other religions of the times. A major message of Christianity is that God cares about humans and loves us so much no matter what we do. God wants humans to come and form a relationship with him. This verse represents the clearest example of Christianity’s message of the love of God. Jesus displays more of his human personality here than anywhere else, and the verse adds more depth to the gospel stories.
This verse shows the importance of having faith in Jesus the Son of God. Those followers who saw Jesus preparing to do this miracle lacked faith that he could do it and grieved Jesus in their lack of belief. We see in John’s story of Lazarus that we must undertake the act to believe in Christ and his divine revelation. For it is only in undertaking the task of believing that we can best understand Christ’s divine significance. For without belief, we fail to see what Jesus reveals to us and calls us to do. It means that not only do these believers not show faith but they also fail to understand the larger message at hand.
In John 11:35, we learn an important lesson. We are all “unbelieving and sterile, so unconcerned and indifferent. How bereft we are of honest emotion.” In today’s society, we view emotions as weaknesses, but for Jesus to cry, that makes it okay for us.
Throughout the Gospels, you see actions of Jesus that spawn from his compassion. Why else would he teach people to love and support the least of the world? Why else would he have uplifted the lowly and unclean? In Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes, Jesus blesses the poor, the meek, and the oppressed. When Jesus washed his own apostles’ feet at the last supper (John 13:1-19), he humbled himself to the work of a servant to show his love for his disciples. If Jesus did not have compassion for us, why does he offer us grace, mercy, and forgiveness when we do not deserve it? Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) That is the fullest extent of love and compassion. There is even a separate word, agape, to describe Jesus’ unconditional love because it is so beyond our comprehension.
In John 11:35, we see a Messiah who cares. Instead of being the all-powerful Son of God who raises Lazarus from the dead in verses forty-three, it is a man who wept. The verse brings out another very important facet of Jesus’ personality, which mirrors his mission of earth. Instead of being the strong military leader whom everyone expected would overthrow Rome and rule as a conqueror, he was going to die for humanity’s sin. Jesus was never what anyone expected. There are several suppositions as to why Jesus wept, but regardless of the direct reason, he wept because he loved us all.
Song of the Day: Twila Paris - "How Beautiful"
Quote of the Day: "Paradigm? You'll have to explain what that word means." - Kelly Criss as Carol ("Oleanna")
Verse of the Day: "Let whoever is wise understand these things, and whoever is insightful recognize them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them." - Hosea 14:9
posted by david @ 4:29 PM
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