The Furious Love of Jesus
Tim Keller | December 8, 1996
Overview
There is absolutely no better place anywhere in the Bible that depicts Jesus as Immanuel, as God with us, as God truly with us in our condition as this passage. We’re going to see who Jesus is and what he came to do.
Outline
John 11:32–44
When Jesus meets Martha and Mary, who are very sad because their brother Lazarus has died, we see how kind and compassionate he is. He shares in their pain. Martha’s trust in him leads to a deep lesson about life after death, and Mary’s sadness makes Jesus cry. John tells us this to show how much Jesus loves us and that this story is real.
1. Who Jesus is
Understanding Jesus as both God and a human is hard, and different churches focus on one part more than the other. But it’s this mix of being divine and human, shown through his power and his kindness, that makes Jesus the answer to our biggest problems. His work, a mix of truth and kindness, shows us what God is like. He offers us the help we need by being both extremely great and extremely humble.
2. What Jesus came to do
Looking at Jesus’ emotions, especially when he cries and gets angry, shows us how deeply he feels. His crying at Lazarus’ grave represents how sad he is about the pain of death in the world, not just for Lazarus and his family. Jesus’ love is for everyone, and he is angry at death itself. This leads to the religious leaders planning to kill him after they see Lazarus come back to life.
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