tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105572371299801773.post7389831181492934259..comments2021-10-14T09:25:16.894-04:00Comments on PCC: Easter Soul Prep Day 11Brian C. Hugheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14913614448878574559noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105572371299801773.post-1833310804577462922011-04-16T10:36:01.119-04:002011-04-16T10:36:01.119-04:00To me, this is the best way to study the Bible - i...To me, this is the best way to study the Bible - in the context of community where we work it out together. I am really moved by the thoughts here.<br /><br />One quick note about commentaries. Ginger referred to hers at the bottom of the pages in her Bible. I used lots of commentaries to help me sort out difficult texts, but it's important to remember that they are someone else's thoughts. While well informed, they are not infallible. Just keep that in mind. I try to first figure out what God is saying to me, then move to the commentary when needed.<br /><br />Great work, friends!Brian C. Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14913614448878574559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105572371299801773.post-5580395583752232512011-04-13T23:31:52.385-04:002011-04-13T23:31:52.385-04:00I, too, and intrigued by the verse, "Jesus we...I, too, and intrigued by the verse, "Jesus wept." I tried to piece it all together and visualize when (timing wise) exactly he wept. I came up with this-- Jesus knew Lazarus was sick; He announced that, "This sickness will not end in death..."(v.4); he stayed put for 2 days; he announced he was going to Lazarus and his disciples argued; he said Lazarus was asleep then had to restate it for the disciples to understand-- Lazarus is dead; he is confronted by both Martha and Mary- both anxious b/c they knew Jesus could have prevented this; Mary had others with her and they were all weeping; Jesus "was deeply moved in spirit and troubled" (v.33) and when he asked where Lazarus was they invited Him to "Come and see.." That's when he wept. <br /><br />To me, he didn't go anywhere before he wept. He was there with Mary and others who were so deeply upset. He didn't go anywhere physically until Jesus, himself, was "more deeply moved" (v.38). Therefore- I think he was weeping not for his friend Lazarus or Mary or the others, but for something else entirely. <br /><br />I think Jesus, while a man of God, was still a man/human in many ways. He knows that going to Lazarus and raising him from the dead will be the catalyst for human pain and suffering. He also knows that his time to show the world that he is the Son of God is drawing to a close. How frustrated Jesus seems because people just aren't understanding him or believing him. "Did I not tell you that if you believed..."(v.40) or "But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles..."(John 10:38) I think He knows time is running out and He is anxious...but He still follows his Father despite human fears. I don't think it has to do with Lazarus-- He says "for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe" (v.15)<br /><br />And for me I keep coming back to v.9. In it Jesus says "A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light." I think he is talking about taking those steps towards his fate. God has given him the strength through the Light to walk through his last days without stumbling, without human weakness. His time is up--which, Ginger, may be something with the "fixed time" theory in your comment. I don't know-- something is there to me---I just haven't quite worked it out. <br />(and sorry so long --this one is really sitting heavy with me tonight- typing it out seems to help me work it out!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105572371299801773.post-78971366678361571842011-04-13T21:51:27.269-04:002011-04-13T21:51:27.269-04:00I found the comment about Mary and Martha using th...I found the comment about Mary and Martha using the exact same words interesting. I would never have thought about them "badmouthing" Jesus. Maybe John used the exact same words for Mary and Martha when telling the story to emphasize the fact that even those close to Jesus didn't understand.<br /><br />I think there are many reason that Jesus would have wept. John mentions earlier in the chapter that Lazarus is "the one that he loves." Obviously, Jesus had a special human connection to Lazarus and his family. I'm sure he wept over the suffering the family and friends were going through...as well as the fact that he was calling Lazarus back to earthly suffering.<br /><br />On a much less meaningful note, verses 9 and 10 concerning 12 hours of daylight really confused me. And then I read the notes in my Bible about those verses and really had a hard time following the logic...it basically says that since the hours of daylight are fixed (12 hours), so is the length of Jesus' ministry on earth. I wouldn't have made that leap by myself...would this have made sense to the disciples?Gingernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105572371299801773.post-64154958977540522372011-04-13T12:58:22.059-04:002011-04-13T12:58:22.059-04:00I think you sum up the chapter perfectly when you ...I think you sum up the chapter perfectly when you say "death would not have the final word". Wow! Those 7 words pretty much sum up the "promise" that Jesus gives to all of us who follow him. <br /><br />I think Jesus wept because he felt like a failure in that moment. His time on earth was comming to a close yet even this family, that loved and professed to believe that he was the Son of God still didn't fully understand that God is all powerful even over death. He may have been thinking that if some of his closest followers didn't "get it", then chances are, he hadn't convinced anyone.jfnoreply@blogger.com