Lent Day 30: Mary

Pause

Take a moment to refocus your mind and heart before opening your Bible. If there is anything in your life that could distract you from what God has to show you today—an attitude, a concern or worry, a fear—talk to Him about it and ask Him to give you insight and understanding.

Read & Journal

Read John 11:28-35. Meditate on what you’ve read by journaling through these questions:

• What do you learn about Jesus’ character from His interactions with Mary? About Jesus’ mission or purpose?

• How do you see Jesus entering into human brokenness in today’s verses?

• How is Mary’s conversation with Jesus different from Martha’s? How is it similar?

• When have you seen Jesus act in situations where you believed there was nothing he could do?
  

Ponder

When Mary came to talk with Jesus, she opened with the same sentiment Martha had offered up to Jesus: “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But where Martha had been full of words, Mary was full of tears. She falls at Jesus’ feet and wails, a common practice in Jewish mourning. Her wailing is an invitation for the crowd of mourners who have followed her to join in.

Jesus’ reaction to the wailing, sobbing crowd seems out of character. The man so often moved by compassion for others felt “a deep anger well up within him” (v. 33). The Greek word used here expresses outrage, fury and anger. While Jesus hated death, death wasn’t the problem; the mourners were. Jesus knew He had power over life and death. He knew what He was about to do, and He was frustrated that Mary and the mourners didn’t have the faith to see that.

When Jesus approached the tomb and wept (v. 35), John used a different word for Jesus’ tears than he had used to describe the wailing of Mary and the mourners. “Perhaps the intent was to show that Jesus’ tears emerged for a different reason—not grief over Lazarus; he had that situation well in hand. Surely the same unbelief and theological ignorance that prompted his anger also produced his grief.”1

Jesus’ mission was resurrection, bringing light to darkness, making all things new. And Mary, Martha and the mourners all failed to recognize that. Lazarus was dead and had been for four days. By their reckoning, there was nothing else to be done. The time for miracles was over.

But not for Jesus.

Jesus saw the big picture. He knew His mission was to bring redemption and new life, and it pained Him to see His followers miss the point and focus on the wrong thing. In our own lives, it’s easy to get focused only on the circumstances and the solutions we can see. But we serve a Savior who sees the big picture and is focused on His mission. Rather than focusing on the circumstances that dominate your daily life, ask Jesus by His Spirit to raise your eyes to see the world around you. His mission is redemption and resurrection, and you are His agent in this world. Ask Him to show you how you can help others see His power to make all things new today.

1.Kenneth O. Gangel. Holman New Testament Commentary: John, Broadman & Holman: Nashville, Tenn., 2000.