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Redemptive Emotion

Redemptive Emotion
Words of Faith 12-20-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 11
[28] And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." [29] When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. [31] When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
[32] When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
[33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. [34] "Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.
[35] Jesus wept.
[36] Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
[37] But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

We often think that because Jesus was divine and had all the attributes of God, that He had no human qualities or feelings. The truth is that Jesus displayed and manifested the very best of human qualities and emotions while revealing the heart of God. His human emotions were not corrupted by sin. They were genuine, unselfish, and transparent.
Jesus loved his friends Mary and Martha deeply. Though He had traveled a long way, Jesus decided to wait out on the road. He asked for Mary to come out so that He might speak with her. When Mary heard that Jesus was there, she jumped up in a rush to see Him. So sudden was her departure that the other mourners followed think she was going to the tomb.
Mary greeted Jesus with almost the exact same words said by her sister. Suddenly the situation touched Jesus deeply. He wept. The Greek is an unusual word that literally means to “snort like a horse”. It describes a sudden burst of emotion such as anger, but in this case the rush of emotion was grief.
The text seems to indicate that Jesus choked or sobbed. One translator renders that "Jesus burst into tears". Here we see the powerful humanity of Jesus. In the shortest verse in the New Testament, John tells all we need to know. Jesus wept.
The mourners, who had followed Mary even commented saying, "See how he loved him!" It appears however that the mourners had missed the point. It was actually the grief of Mary and the weeping of those who had come with her that touched Him so deeply.
Jesus knew that Lazarus would soon be raised from death. Perhaps He was struck by the grief and pain that come from the ravages of death that had entered the human world because of sin. The fact that resurrection was soon to come for Lazarus did not negate the reality of death at that moment. Jesus knew that mortal death would continue to be a painful part of the human condition even after He conquered the grave.
Perhaps the most important thing we see here is the remarkable depth of Jesus’ humanity. We see His compassion. We see His emotions. We see His tenderness. For men especially, this should be a powerful and revealing image.
Jesus was every bit a powerful man. He was strong from years of work with wood and stone. He was a formidable force who could turn over tables in the Temple and send merchants running with His justified anger. Yet Jesus was also tender. The grief of His friends touched Him deeply. The pain of those around Him did not escape His notice. The sting of death in the lives of those dear to Him caused Him pain that made Him choke and then weep. This is the image of a real man. This is image of uncorrupted manhood.
It is a significant question to ask. Are we allowing the Lord Jesus to redeem all of who we are? Have we allowed Him to redeem our heart, mind, soul and strength to love Him and love others? Have we allowed Him to restore our soul, the seat of emotion, so that we can love with power and tenderness?

Lord, I give thanks for the power of Jesus to laugh and to weep. I pray for the redeeming power of Your grace to make me into the person You designed me to be. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.