Jesus: "He GROANED In The Spirit"

Hello To All:

Our beginning text, for today's posting, is found in John 11:33-38, where we find written: (33) When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he GROANED (emphasis added) in the spirit, and was troubled, (34) And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. (35) Jesus wept. (36) Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! (37) And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? (38) Jesus therefore again GROANING (emphasis added) in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

We now come to a place, in the King's Book, where we are offered a view into the deep mystery that is God; a view that we are not, often, privileged to see; a view that dramatically shows us, the juxtaposition of the wrath of God, directed towards sinners; and the love of God, also, directed towards sinners. In this particular perspective, of the mystery that is God, we should be reminded, that for the sake of Jesus Christ and because of Jesus Christ, the wrath of God is turned aside from those sinners who have turned to Jesus Christ. Have you, my beloved, turned to Jesus Christ; and asked Him to take control of your life?

Now some of you, might be thinking, that Theophilus has lost it, on this one. You are asking yourselves: How could this text, speak to us, regarding the wrath of God; especially, when we consider, that Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the dead? Where is the wrath of God evident? Please bear with me, my beloved; and, together, we might just gain some insight, that will serve us well, as we travel, together, on the path of victorious discipleship in Jesus Christ.

The Greek word, that is translated as "groaned" and "groaning," in our text, only appears three other times in the New Testament portion of the Kings's Book:
1. (Matthew 9:30) "And their eyes were opened; and Jesus STRAITLY CHARGED (emphasis added) them, saying, See that no man know it."
2. (Mark 1:43-44) "And he STRAITLY CHARGED (emphasis added) him, and forthwith sent him away; And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man..."
3. (Mark 14:5) "For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they MURMURED AGAINST (emphasis added) her."

Take a close look at these three additional occurrences of the word translated as "groaned" and "groaning," in our text. In each instance (pay attention to the words emphasized), the context of the word usage is a firm stand, taken against a certain type of behaviour.

In examples one and two, Jesus is emphatically commanding someone to not undertake a certain behaviour. He is telling them to keep quiet about what had happened; but, the people commanded, did not obey. In Matthew 9:31, we find written: "But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country." In Mark 1:45, it says of the healed leper, that: "...he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter..." Jesus took a position against the possibility of their disobedience; by straitly charging them to obey. He anticipates the possibility of their future sin; and positions Himself, firmly against that sin. (I use the word possibility, because of the tension between, and juxtaposition of, the sovereignty of Jesus Christ and the free will of those that He is commanding. That tension, will have to be further examined, in future posts.)

In the third example, the disciples are very much opposed to what someone had done; and they "murmured against her." A woman had come and anointed Jesus with a precious ointment. This was contrary to their own interests; and they were very much opposed to this; never mind that it was Jesus who was being anointed. The disciples had their own agenda; and they were emphatically set against what the woman had done. Thus, with the disciples usage of the word translated as "groaned" and "groaning," in our text, we get an additional sense, that the person or persons, using this word, would be most emphatically and firmly against the behaviour, that would be specific to their circumstances.

Returning to our text, we find that Jesus had internalized His reaction to what was happening: "He groaned in the spirit" (verse 33); "Jesus therefore again groaning in himself" (verse 38). Let us be reminded, that throughout this chapter, our Lord Jesus Christ has sovereignly intended for people to believe (please see previous posts). Every word that He spoke; and every action that He took was done with the intention of causing people to believe. Nonetheless, because He is God, His very nature causes Him to stand against sin. Thus, He internally groans, against the sinful behaviour of those around Him.

Jesus is surrounded by sinners. No one believes. But, because He is Jesus, the One who redeems us from our sins; His wrath, against sinners, is held in check. (It is recorded at 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.") Instead of His wrath being manifested against the sinners: against the unbelievers; He internalizes that wrath; and He groans. He holds back His judgement. He works to cause people to believe. His love for us, provides us an opportunity to repent and believe. We need to ask ourselves: Have we repented? Are we allowing Him to work in our lives, so that we might believe?

This would be a good place to close, for now. So, until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus