Written by Pastor Jack Wellman“We understand and acknowledge that the Resurrection has placed a glorious crown upon all of Christ’s sufferings!”
– A.W. Tozer
A. W. Tozer Glorious Crown Quote Commentary
The shortest verse in the Bible is ‘Jesus wept.’ It is easy to think that Jesus wept for Lazarus because Jesus came several days late and his best friend was already in the early stages of decomposition. It would be easy to think that Jesus felt disappointed that he could not come to save Lazarus in time. However, this interpretation would be absolutely wrong. Jesus is God. The same God who created everything in six short days. Jesus is also all-knowing and could look way into the future and know what will happen to Lazarus. So why did Jesus weep? He wept because of Lazarus’ sister doubted that He was the resurrection. Jesus didn’t need to weep because he could have easily resurrected Lazarus and he knew that he’ll bring Lazarus back from the dead. Instead, it pained him that the people that he loved-the same people he to Earth to die for-did not properly understand the Resurrection.
The Resurrection is bigger than we think
Resurrection is not just about coming back from the dead. Resurrection is not just about rejoining the living after having died. Christ’s resurrection pointed forward to what God intends for all us-life. Not just life after death but life with Him. Life with our creator. In essence, the resurrection. is the gateway to God’s highest hopes for his lost human creations-to be reconciled permanently with Him without fear of death. Without pain. Without loss. Without separation. The resurrection encapsulates, in crystal form, God’s plan for us. You see, we are extremely important to God. We are his priceless treasures. We are so valuable in God’s eyes that he gave up his only Son just so we can be together with Him. Failure on our part to understand that Jesus is the Resurrection brought pain to God and continues to bring him pain.
More than coming back to life
The resurrection, therefore, involves more than someone dead being brought back to life. It is a reminder that God wants to truly and finally liberate us from death once and for all. He never intended for humans to die but, due to sin, death entered the world. We need to focus on the resurrection because it is God’s ultimate promise to us-He will destroy death and reconcile us to him forever. This is the end goal of Jesus’ journey and it brings him tears when we don’t make the Resurrection a key part of our hope. It isn’t just a promise of eternal life-it is also a testament to God’s unquenchable love for us.
