Hope for Caregivers: Three Ways Christ Carries Your GriefSample

After Martha calls for her, Mary repeats the same lament as her sister: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (vv. 28b, 32). Upon this second hearing of the sisters’ aching if, Jesus does something extraordinary. The text tells us He was “deeply moved” and “greatly troubled” by the sight of their weeping, so much so that—when they direct Him to come and see the tomb—again, He does not go right away. Instead, “Jesus wept” (v. 35). The One who has the power to resurrect the dead—who would soon prove that power by raising four-day-dead Lazarus from the grave—paused to weep. The God who seems far off when we cry out on behalf of a loved one is, in fact, drawing near in our time of need. He comes close to reveal Himself as the One we need more than answers, more than earthly healing, as the One who enters into our suffering. Even when He does not stop the pain right away, we can be reminded that, one day, He will. And we can know, right now, that He weeps with us.