Jesus Comforts

             One of the most difficult parts of life is saying goodbye to someone we love, and when death makes that separation final – at least for this life – it is even more difficult.  There’s an empty place at the table and in our hearts.

            Sometimes, it’s the little things that make it the most real.  I still remember the first time that I went to the grocery after my father died.  One of the things that I was purchasing was hot dogs.  My dad ate very little meat but when he did, it had to be beef.  So, I remember very clearly standing at the display of hot dogs, wondering “Do I still need to buy all beef wieners?”  Seems like a silly thing now but that day a flood of emotions washed over me because I knew that question meant he was really gone.

            All of us deal with grief in different ways, including Jesus.  Yes, even Jesus had to deal with the loss of people He loved in His short time here on earth.  We’ve probably all heard the story of Lazarus’ death and the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept” (John 11: 35).  I think His sorrow then was more for the pain and grief that Mary and Martha had endured.  After all, He knew that He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead.

            However, there is another account where I believe we see Jesus’ grief over His own loss.  Matthew tells us of the death of John the Baptist in chapter 14 of his Gospel.  After making a thoughtless promise, Herod had no choice but to give his stepdaughter what she requested – John’s head on a platter.  Afterward, John’s disciples told Jesus that His cousin, the one who had prepared the way for His ministry, was dead.  Then, in the next verse, you see Jesus’ reaction: “He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place” (Matt. 14: 14 NIV84).  I think He wanted to be by Himself to grieve the loss of someone He loved.  As a human being, He knew the pain of loss and He understands and empathizes with our grief and pain.

            As God, He does so much more than just empathize and understand.  Freeing us from that pain is one of the reasons that He came to earth.  Isaiah 61: 26 says He came “to comfort all who mourn” (NIV84).  Even more than “comfort”, He came to give us hope.  Jeremiah 31: 15 tells us that God turns “mourning into gladness” (NIV84).

            How can that be? Only through the blood of Christ!  Paul tells us clearly that those who are in Christ will be raised again (I Thess. 4: 13 – 16).  John’s Revelation puts the “icing on the cake” when he tells us that there will be no more death or mourning (Rev. 21:4).

            Yes, we grieve when we lose a loved one, but we can take comfort in knowing that the separation is only temporary.  We can also find solace in God because He knows what it means to experience loss – whether it be His friend or His Son on the cross.  He feels our pain and looks to the day when He can wipe every tear away – permanently.

Revelation 21: 3, 4