So you can once again, the Lord's
help in granting me the words to speak to this morning. I'd like to direct your attention
to the chapter that we read together, John 11, and the text you'll
find in verse 36. Then said the Jews, behold, how
he loved him. Then said the Jews, behold, how
he loved him. I suppose my mind really was
taken up with the funeral on Friday and as we were there around
the grave, many, many people were there at the service, maybe
up to 900 people and around the grave there was a few hundred
people around the grave. And everyone reacted in a different
way. Some were deeply upset and weeping. Some were subdued and quiet,
quietly weeping. Some seemingly unaffected. But there was an atmosphere,
a peace that was there, a quietness. as people stood and thought about
what was taking place and what had happened. And as you look
at the different ones and how they react to the events that
are unfolding you see the deep way in which so many people are
affected by what had taken place. my mind went to this verse, behold
how he loved him. By the outpouring of the grief
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jews that were round about looked
at that grief, looked at the fact that Jesus wept and they
came to that conclusion. Because of the tears that are
being shed that shows us that Jesus loved Lazarus. As they looked on they came to
that conclusion. Now many people, some people
may love somebody and say at that funeral for instance around
the grave they may deeply love that person but they may not
be emotional They may be able to restrain themselves, but those
sad thoughts and that emotion is held within. But others can't
contain themselves. Others break forth in public
weeping. And this is what happened to
the Lord Jesus Christ as he witnessed the sadness going on round about
him, as he saw the weeping of the Jews, as he saw the weeping
of Mary, and the pleading of her. If thou hast not been here my
brother had not have died. Jesus therefore saw her weeping
and the Jews also weeping which came with her. He was groaned
in the spirit. He was deeply moved by the sorrow
that he saw. Mary was loved by the Lord Jesus
Christ. So was Lazarus and so was Martha. Their family was well acquainted
with the Lord Jesus and he loved them and they loved him. And as he witnessed this outpouring
of emotion at the grave of Lazarus, so Jesus himself touched with
that emotion wept publicly for Lazarus. In Luke 10 verse 38 we read there about
the relationship that Jesus had with the family, that he was
well acquainted with them and with their household. Verse 38,
And it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a
certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him
into her house. And she had a sister called Mary,
who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word, that Martha was
cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord,
I do not care that my sister has left me to serve alone. Bid
her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto
her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many
things, but one thing is needful. Mary hath chosen that good part
which shall not be taken away from her. And so there was that
natural relationship, that natural love that they had one for another. And when Jesus received the news
that Lazarus was sick they didn't come and tell him Lazarus is
sick, they came and told him he whom thou lovest is sick. in the chapter that we read together
in verse 3. Therefore his sisters sent unto
him. They sent messengers to find
the Lord Jesus Christ and the message was, he whom you love,
the one who you love is sick. And Jesus knew exactly who it
was that was sick, being that he knows all things but that
shows us there was a natural close relationship between them
as a family. In chapter 12 also after Lazarus
had been raised from the dead we find the Lord Jesus again
at their house. Chapter 12 Then Jesus, six days
before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which
had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. And there they
made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of
them that sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of
ointment of spikenard very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus
and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with
the odour of the ointment. And so there we see that Christ
had a deep seated love to Mary, Martha and Lazarus. But they
also had a deep seated love for the Lord Jesus Christ. They sat
at his feet and they learned of him. They followed him and
they were his disciples. They believed in verse 11 and
verse 24 or 23. Jesus says unto her, thy brother
shall rise again. Martha saith unto him I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. So she had been sitting at the
feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, she had been listening to his
teaching, she had believed in his teaching and she says I know
that he will rise again and he will rise again at the resurrection
on the last day. She believed the teachings of
the Lord Jesus. Not only was she just a follower
of the Lord Jesus but she believed the things that he said. You
think of how many followed the Lord Jesus Christ. They were
just after his miracles. They were after the bread. They
were after the miracles of the healing and such like. there
were those who listened to his teaching and who received his
teaching as truth and they followed him and Martha or Mary. Martha believed that her brother,
although he was dead, that he was going to rise again at the
resurrection of the dead on the last day. So she had been listening
to what Christ had been teaching and she believed. But not only
did she believe the teaching, she also believed in the one
who was teaching her. That makes all the difference.
Verse 27, she says unto him, Yea Lord, I believe that thou
art the Christ the Son of God which should come into the world. Jesus tells us doesn't he in
John 3 16 that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but
have everlasting life and this was Martha's confession this
was her testimony that I believe that thou art the Christ, the
Son of God, which should come into the world. And those who
believe have eternal life. So her heart had been opened,
her eyes had been, her spiritual eyes had been opened, and she
saw Christ, who he was, and she received his teaching as the
truth of God from, as it were, God's holy word. She says, I
know that my brother will rise again on the last day and I know
that you are the Christ, the Son of God, which should come
into the world. And as he came into the world
He was faced with human suffering, human sorrow and he did not walk
through this world untouched by that sorrow and by that suffering
but his emotions were stirred, his human emotions were stirred
when he witnessed the sorrow and sadness of those round about
him weeping for their loved one. The scripture tells us that he
himself knew what he was going to do. He delayed his coming
to the grave of Lazarus because he knew that he was going to
raise him from the dead. But as he witnessed that sadness,
as he witnessed that weeping, the effects of sin on his creation,
Jesus wept. and his compassion was seen. You see some people are able
to we talk of the British stiff upper lip and we as a culture
don't like to show our emotion and we will do all we can not
to cry in front of of people. You go outside of our culture
into the Arabic cultures and the African cultures and there's
no restraint. There is an outpouring of emotion. There's no silence around the
grave. There's an outpouring of emotion.
And it would seem in Jesus' culture that that was how it was. The
mourners went about the streets. The more who were mourning, the
more loved it was seen that the person was. And Jesus, as he
saw that emotion, was moved with compassion. And as they saw him
weeping, they came to that conclusion. how he loved him. And we can
tell, can't we, a lot about a person by the way that they act. They
could not see what was going on inside of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the thoughts that he was having or the prayer, the communion
that he was having with the Father. But what they could see was an
outpouring of his compassion with his weeping I don't think we should be surprised
that Jesus wept. The scripture tells us that Christ
is the very image of God. What we see in Christ is a visible
manifestation of all that God is, his attributes. We know that the great characteristic
of God is that he is a God of love. Now we know that true love
is not selfish. It is not unmoved by sorrow and
hardship and difficulties. True love considers others greater
than itself. And Christ was a man of compassion. A man of love, yes he rebuked, but just because you love doesn't
mean that you can't rebuke. True love rebukes in love. In Mark, the Gospel according
to Mark, chapter 1, It tells us there from verse
40. And there came a leper to him,
beseeching him and kneeling down to him and saying unto him, if
thou wilt thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion,
put forth his hand and touched him and said unto him, I will
be thou clean. And so as he is presented with
this leper, this unclean, ceremonially unclean person, a sick infectious
person, he is moved by what he sees. And that is spoken of as
compassion. He feels sorry for the man. He is moved with compassion and
he acts on that human emotion that he is feeling and he heals
the man. In chapter 6 we have the same
in verse 34 And Jesus when he came out saw
much people and was moved with compassion towards them because
they were as sheep not having a shepherd and he began to teach
them many things. And so as he saw the multitude
as it were separated and without a shepherd wandering this way
and that way as the loving shepherd, as the tender shepherd he gathers
them together and he begins to teach them. teaches them his
word which is truth, he seeks to instil in them the word of
God and so he preaches to them, he teaches them from the scriptures,
moved with compassion, he's sympathetic to their wanderings, as a sheep having no shepherd. He is not hard-hearted towards
their ignorance but he is tender-hearted and wants to instill in them
the word of truth which is good for sanctification. Thy word
is truth. Sanctify them through thy truth. And so we see presented to us
throughout the scripture a sympathetic, a soft-hearted, a compassionate
man, the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the scripture tells us that
one of the reasons why Christ clothed himself in human flesh
was that he was After fulfilling all the will of God upon the
cross and raised again on the third day he was to be seated
at the right hand of God to become our high priest, our great mediator. And because he has experienced
those human emotions he is able to be sympathetic to those who
come to him. Hebrews 2. And from verse 16
it says, For verily he took not on him the nature of angels,
but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore, in all things
it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might
be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in
that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to
succour them that are tempted. And so it behoved him, I've forgotten what the meaning of
that word was, to be made like his brethren, that he may be
a merciful and faithful high priest. In chapter four We have
again similar words. Verse 14, seeing then that we
have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus,
the son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not
an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of
our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like us we are
yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. What does it say? That he cannot
be touched or he is touched by the feelings of our infirmities
because he has walked a pathway. He was touched as he witnessed
the sorrow, the outpouring of sorrow for Lazarus. As he saw
the Jews weeping, as he saw Martha and Mary weeping for their brother,
Jesus wept. He was touched by what was taking place. And
even today, he is still touched. It doesn't mean that he was touched
then, but he's not touched now. No it says we have a high priest
which cannot be touched with, sorry, we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.
In other words, he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
He's not too far elevated out of this earth not to remember
the weakness of our frame and the pathway in which the Lord's
people have to walk through. He is touched by what takes place
on the earth and to his people and as he wept there they said
ah how much, look how much he loved him. So if we see that on that day
when Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus the people said look
how much he loved him. How much more when we witness
the cross should we say behold how he loved them or loved him. You see the compassion of Christ
or the love of Christ, the sympathy of Christ brought him down from
heaven. As his compassion at the grave
of Lazarus caused him to weep by what he witnessed and they
responded oh look how much he loved him. But His love and His
obedience to God the Father, His own will brought Him down
to earth. His compassion for His people
brought Him from heaven to earth. From the manger, from Bethlehem
to the cross. from the cross to the grave and
from the grave to the right hand of the Father where he still
is compassionate towards his people. He is there today, our
great high priest who is able to be touched with all that we
pass through. He remembers our frame, he remembers
the tears, He remembers the difficulties, he remembers the thirst, the
hunger, the tiredness, the persecution, the pain. He is touched by what we pass
through. John 10 is described to us as the good
shepherd. Verse 11, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. Those of you who have had anything
to do with children will know that there is a children's hymn
that says, Jesus, tender shepherd, hear me bless a little lamb tonight. And Jesus is presented to us
as the good shepherd, a compassionate shepherd, a tender shepherd who
cares for his sheep. Not only does he care for his
sheep, but he lays down his life for his sheep. And Jesus himself
tells us that there is no greater love that can ever take place
in this world than that a man lays down his life. John 15,
13. Greater love has no man than
this and a man lay down his life for his friends. Moved with compassion,
Christ descends from heaven into the manger through the Virgin
Mary. Moved with compassion, he goes
to the cross, is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. Moved with compassion, he is
laid in the grave. Moved with compassion, he is
raised again and is at the right hand of the Father, interceding
as our great high priest moved with compassion with sympathy
and love towards his dear people who he says are his dear sheep
and he knows them individually by name and they know him behold
how he loved them. Jesus went on to call Lazarus
from the grave. He rose again from the dead. We know as Lazarus continued
to live he would have had to face death again and even today
his body will be in the grave somewhere but it is waiting It
is waiting for that great day when the words of Martha will
come true. I know that he shall rise again
in the resurrection of the last day. I wonder if you and I can
say behold how he loved me. as we read the scriptures as
we see Christ and as we read about him coming to earth fulfilling
that work of salvation can we say behold how he loved me how
he did all of that for me as he spoken to us like he spoke
to Lazarus, Lazarus come forth you were dead in your trespasses
and sins in rebellion against God did God speak to you come
forth come out wake up follow me can you say behold how he
loved me how he called me out of darkness how he died on the
cross for me and for my sin Can we say that we are waiting
for him to come on that final day when he would come with a shout
as he shouted to Lazarus as he groaned in the spirit and was
troubled as he shouted to Lazarus, Lazarus come forth and he that
was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes And
on that great day as Thessalonians tells us, 1 Thessalonians verse 16, for the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. the voice
of the archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in
Christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air and so we shall ever be with the Lord wherefore
comfort one another with these words. And so as we looked at
with Isaac and Abraham how they acted out a a spiritual or a prophetic acting
out of what was going to take place and so we see even here
with Lazarus almost a prophetic acting out of what is going to
take place on that last day. that Christ will come with a
shout the shout of the archangel with the trump of God and as
Lazarus is is called out of the grave so all of the Lord's people
are going to be called up out of the grave on that great and
that dreadful day as Martha says I know that he shall rise again
in that last day and then in heaven the funeral, the pastor
there spoke about heaven and the experience, those things
that will be experienced there, no more sorrow, no more sadness
and no more pain forever with the Lord. But there we will be
able to say, behold how he loved them. When we see that great
number, that innumerable number of all that Christ died for.
Those whom he wept over will be with him in paradise which
is far far better and we will be able to say behold how he
loved them and as we looked at the Lord's Supper last week where
Jesus says, I will that they also whom thou hast given me
be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou
hast given me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the
world. I will that they whom thou hast
given me will be with me where I am. Behold how he loved them,
behold how he loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus naturally
but also he loved them with a deeper love to die for them and to rise
again for them. And as the Jews came to that
conclusion just because of the tears behold how he loved him. Think of that greater love conclusion
when we view him upon the cross at Calvary. No greater love as
any man than this and a man lay down his life for his friends
and as we witness Christ upon the cross we say behold how he
loved them his sheep and his people. May we be found amongst
that number of the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, tender
shepherd, hear me, bless our little lamb tonight. Amen. Our closing hymn for this morning's
service is hymn number 675. Come boldly to a throne of grace,
ye wretched sinners come, and lay your load at Jesus' feet
and plead what he has done. Hymn number 675 to the tune 129. to our throne of grace, the ancient
sinners come. And we, O Lord, that dreamed How can I count out all who may
say her name and cannot know? My guilt and sin has caught my
eye. of grace, and the host of life
and faith. Behold, thou is the sinner's friend, and ever
was He makes the deaf to hear His
voice. He makes the blind to see. The sick, the lost, He came to
save, and set the bridge up. ? To the throne of grace ? ? Oh,
dear, his eyes tell the truth ? ? And those he kills, he makes
alive ? ? And he is the Son of God ? ? And from souls with pain and
woe ? ? The help of sin we feel, come, Lord, return to us. ? Dear Lord we pray that thy spirit
may teach us that we are found amongst the number that we may
be able to say behold how he loves us and we ask Lord that
we may be granted that greater measure of faith to lay hold
of thy son the Lord Jesus Christ and the wonderful promises that
he has granted unto his people. Do dismiss us, we pray, with
thy blessing. Do watch over us in the interval
of the services and do return us here in peace and in safety.
And now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love
of God the Father, with the fellowship and the communion of the Holy
Spirit, do rest and abide with us each now and forevermore. Amen.