1 Samuel 26-28 / John 11:1-54 / Psalm 117 / Proverbs 15:22-23
Sometimes I wonder if we as the Church, Christ’s body, have lost the sting of sin being among us. We can overlook sin, excuse it, ignore it, some even celebrate it. How are we supposed to respond to sin? You’ve heard it said we should love the person but hate the sin. I agree with that. But is that response enough? Let’s look at a story from John 11 and talk a minute.
John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.
Let’s first put this verse into context. Jesus’s friend Lazarus has died, and He has gone to be with Martha and Mary. No one but Jesus knows this yet, but He is also going to raise Lazarus from the dead. I might expect Jesus’s emotions to be sadness that Lazarus has died, and his family is hurting, and that is part of His response. I might also expect Him to be excited, knowing that Lazarus is going to be alive again very soon!
What I did not expect was the response of anger or agitation. So, I did some searching in a few commentaries for a larger perspective on why Jesus was angry as He witnessed his friends grieving.
The commentaries all agreed that Jesus’s anger was directed at the unjust consequence of sin – death. This goes much deeper than a man having died. Jesus knew He had come to defeat death, hell and the grave. Jesus came that they might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10)
Jesus came to right wrongs, to bring life where death ruled, to forgive sin, and to restore our relationship with the Father. Jesus was not angry at those who were mourning. He was angry that sin had brought death and destruction into the lives of those He loved.
When God created the heavens and the earth, they were perfect. When He created man, they had uninterrupted, perfect relationship, walking with each other daily. Then sin came into the world through satan and all that changed. Sin destroyed the beauty God had made. Sin destroyed the relationship God had with those He had created in His image – His image bearers.
That is why Jesus was angry. And that is where our anger ought to be directed – at sin, not at people who are trapped by sin. There is hope and freedom available for those who Holy Spirit reveals Truth to. Some have hearts ready to receive Truth, and some have hearts that are blinded by the devil.
If everyone could see Truth, everyone would of course choose Truth and relationship with Jesus Christ. So, that must be our prayer. We must pray that those who are blinded by sin will have their eyes and hearts opened by God to receive the free gift He gave through Jesus Christ.
I’ll go ahead and agree that we must hate sin. And I’ll agree that we must love people, even those who appear to be enemies…
