This is part of the worship series,
"Via Doloroso—The Way of Sorrows”
Series Introduction
Lent 1 | Lent 2 | Lent 3 | Lent 4 | Lent 5
Palm Sunday | Easter
Fifth Sunday in Lent
The Via Dolorosa: Jesus Wept
Scripture
Text: John 11:35
Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 22:1-11, 22-24
New Testament Lesson: 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Sermon
In this sermon we plumbed the depths of the littlest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept.” We began with the echoed complaints of the sisters, “Lord, if you had been here . . . ” That is often the feeling of a disappointed believer: Lord, if only you had used your power, this loss would not have brought sorrow to my life. In this story God responds to our “Why?” with a picture of God weeping.
We spent a good deal of time exploring Jesus’ tears. Why did he weep? Love? Compassion? Yes, but more profoundly because of his anger at death. His were tears of rage at the enemy he had come to defeat.
Then why did he allow Lazarus to die when he could have prevented it? We found the answer in Jesus’ frequent reference in this story to faith.
“He who believes in me shall never die. . . .”
“Do you believe this?”
“I said this so that those who hear might believe.”
Jesus “lets us down” because the most important thing to him is our eternal life. And to get that, we have to believe.
So, because Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus and his disciples and the crowd so much, he allowed this deep pain, in order that the demonstration of his love and power in the raising of Lazarus might move them and us to faith.
Sound cruel and heartless? Only when we forget that Jesus stood with Mary and Martha in their pain and wept with them.
No, that is not an intellectually satisfying answer to the problem of pain, but it speaks to the sorrow of our souls. The intellectual answer will come later, maybe. For now, it is good to know that Jesus weeps with us.
Congregational Prayer
Our focus on death widened to include all the principalities and powers that ruin human life. Using the first three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, we asked God to overcome all of them finally, so that our anger, grief, and pain will finally be swallowed up in his love.
Children’s Sermon
We talked about enemies and how angry they make us. We expanded this “enemy” talk to a focus on death and sin and Satan. We wondered if God ever got angry at these “worst enemies.” That led to an explanation of God sending Jesus to defeat all of these enemies, so that we don’t need to fear them.
Music Suggestions
Gathering
“Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies” Wesley
“Come, You Disconsolate” Moore, Hastings
Anthem: “Now Let Us All Praise God and Sing” Gordon Young (Galaxy)
Confession and Assurance
“O Christ, the Lamb of God” Agnus Dei
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” Scriven
Word
“When Jesus Wept” PH 312 Billings
Anthem: “When Jesus Wept” Clarence Dickenson (Mercury Music)
Response
“Come, You Disconsolate” Moore, Hastings
“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” (repeated from previous week)
