"Behold How He Loved Him"

Hello To All:

The title for this posting, comes from verse 36 of John chapter 11: "Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!" This statement was made in response to verse 35, where it is recorded, that: "Jesus wept." The Jews were looking at the outward appearance. They did not know the heart of Jesus. They, much like many today, assumed that Jesus was weeping for the same reasons that everyone else was weeping. They were wrong. They, like many of us, were only viewing their circumstances in the natural realms. They could not see beyond the calamity, of their own condition. They were not able to comprehend the possibility, that God would bring victory to their lives and deliverance from their calamity. They did not believe!

Earlier in the chapter, at verse 5, it is written: "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus." The fullness of the love of God, directed towards us, is beyond our ability to fully comprehend. We are too quick to think, that if God truly loved us, then He would immediately respond to our perceived needs. Our tendency, regarding delays, is to come to a rationalized conclusion, that says that God's answer to our prayers and our needs is no. It is rare, for us to consider the possibility, that the reason for no apparent response, on God's part, is directly related to the fact, that we do not believe. Let us be reminded of what is recorded in verse 15: "...to the intent ye may believe..." God's intent is that we might believe. God's perceived delays, are always related to His "intent."

What the Jews did not comprehend, was the tension and the relationship between God's wrath and God's love. We often have, the same problem. We began to look at this tension, in our previous post: Jesus: "He Groaned In The Spirit." We need to go deeper in our understanding. We are very inclined to think of God's love for us; but, we rarely consider the fearfulness of God's wrath. It is written (Hebrews 10:31): "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Ultimately, God's wrath falls on those who have not repented and have not turned to Jesus. Those of us who belong to Jesus, are spared the ultimate wrath of God. It is written (First Thessalonians 5:9): "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." It is also written, at Romans 5:8-9: (8) "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (9) "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." God's love for us, manifested through His Son Jesus Christ, and received through His Son Jesus Christ, spares us from the wrath to come.

In our previous posting, we came to recognize, that the "groaning," of Jesus, was directly related to His wrath, directed towards sinners. We also came to recognize, that His wrath was tempered, and thus internalized ("He groaned in the spirit"), because of His love for those involved. Ultimately, in God's dealings with those who come to Him, in and through His Son Jesus Christ, His love for us triumphs over His wrath. This is made possible, because, at the cross, the full wrath of God was directed towards Jesus! It is written (First Thessalonians 1:10): "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." We, that is those of us who belong to Jesus, are spared the wrath to come, because of God's love for us, manifested through His Son Jesus Christ.

We began this series of essays, on John chapter eleven, with the posting: "Jesus wept: because of unbelief." We conclude this series, with this posting: "Behold How He Loved Him." Even though, the Jews were looking on the outward appearance, nonetheless, they did speak the truth, for Jesus truly did love Lazarus and He truly does love us.

We began by stating that Jesus wept because of unbelief. We end by stating that He weeps, even today, because of our unbelief; and He weeps over our unbelief, because He loves us; and because He loves us: His intent is that we might believe! Let us, once more, ask ourselves the question: Do we believe?

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus