Greg Laurie - Jesus and the Heart that Grieves (02/15/2026)
- Watch
- Donate
- Become Partner
In this message on John 11, Pastor looks at Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' grief when their brother dies, and how Jesus—though He loved them—waited before raising Lazarus from the dead. It shows God can bring good from suffering, that Jesus is the resurrection and life, and we need to prepare now for eternity by trusting Him.
Facing the Reality of Death
Well, we've probably all experienced it, that knock on our door late at night. We're hoping it's just the 48th package from Amazon that week. But then you answer the door and it's something that's very troubling. Or maybe it's that phone call in the middle of the night. And before you answer, your heart starts beating and you're praying, don't let this be bad news. But then you get that call. You hear that diagnosis. The message is given to you. Maybe it's even a text. And it's the worst case scenario. Someone you love has died unexpectedly.
And, you know, death doesn't really care who you are. It knocks at every door. And it takes no prisoners. It doesn't matter if you're a billionaire or a barista, a janitor or a CEO. As it has been said, the statistics on death are quite impressive. One out of every one person will die. And it's something we need to think about. Only those who are prepared to die are really ready to live.
It's not a bad thing to discuss your mortality. It's not a bad thing to acknowledge that death is coming. But it's also a motivation for us to make sure that we're living our life in a meaningful way. But the reality is, death is coming. It's not a friend. It is an enemy. It takes people in their prime. It cuts lives short. It leaves behind sorrowing spouses, children, parents, and friends. And the Bible says, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" in 1 Corinthians 15:26.
Death Was Not God's Original Plan
So, here's the bottom line. It was not God's intention for us to die. When He created us and put us in the Garden of Eden, our first parents, Adam and Eve, if they had made the right choices and not the wrong one, we would not have died. But with their sin that entered into the entire human race came sickness and death and aging and all the things that affect us in this life now. But that was not God's original plan.
So, I bring this up because I'm going to look at a story now with you in the Bible. A familiar story. A beautiful story. A powerful story. About three people. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. They were actual friends of Jesus. A lot of people might claim to be friends of our Lord, but they actually were His personal friends. He spent a lot of time with them. They lived in Bethany. Martha clearly was a great cook. And Jesus liked to spend time there. And they were a tight-knit family.
The Crisis: Lazarus Falls Sick
And one day their brother got very sick. So, they send word now to Jesus that Lazarus is ill. So, John chapter 11. I'm going to read verses 1 to 3. "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.'"
I would underline that phrase, "he whom you love." He whom you love is sick. Now, here's point number one if you're taking notes. Life is filled with pain, sorrow, and the death of loved ones. Is that not the most depressing point of all time? I'm sorry, but it's worth noting. Life is filled with pain and sorrow and the death of loved ones. And we should not be shocked when it happens to us. The Bible even says in 1 Peter 4:12, don't think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though something strange were happening to you.
God Loves Us Even in Suffering
Number two, God loves us even when we suffer. God loves us even when we suffer. Now, we wonder, why didn't Jesus rush to their side and heal their brother? They send word to Him, "Lord, the one that You love." They remind Jesus, "Lord, You love this guy. He's Your friend. The one that You love is sick."
Well, if God really loved us, why would He allow sickness in our life? Well, this is not a question we can easily answer. But I don't think we want to miss this point. God does love us. And no matter what happens to us, we must remember He loves us. Whatever He does or allows to happen in your life, as His child, it's motivated by His everlasting love for you.
And so they lean into that. "Jesus, the one whom You love, he is sick." Another translation puts it this way, "Lord, Your dear friend is very sick." Now Mary and Martha do provide us with an excellent example of what to do in times of crisis. They show us what we should do when someone we love is sick or when we have a need. And so they bring their troubles to Jesus.
Bringing Our Needs to Jesus
And we see this pattern throughout the Bible. When the Israelites criticized and turned against Moses, we read in Exodus 15:25, he cried unto the Lord. Is somebody criticizing you right now? Has someone turned against you? You should follow the example of the great lawgiver Moses and cry unto the Lord.
When Hezekiah received a threatening letter, we read in Isaiah 37:14, he spread it out before the Lord. Have you received a threatening letter? Spread it out before the Lord. When John the Baptist was beheaded, his disciples went and told Jesus. Matthew 14:12. I like that. They just went and told Jesus.
And that's what you need to do and what I need to do and what we need to do when crisis hits—just go and tell Jesus. Why? Because Scripture tells us He is a present help in times of trouble. So they go to Him. They could have said, "We did all this stuff for You." And sometimes we can feel the same. "Well, God, You've got to come through for me because I've been such a good Christian."
I don't even like that phrase, "good Christian." They're a good Christian. I'm a bad Christian. I don't know about you. Are you a bad Christian? I'm a Christian. I'm a follower of Christ. But I fall short. So I don't even like the phrase, "good Christian." "Well, I've been a good Christian and I've read my Bible and I've done my devotions and I've shared my faith with others and I've done all these things. So Lord, You owe me."
No, I never appeal to God on the basis of what I've done. So they say, "Lord, the one that You love is sick." They didn't even say, "The ones that love You are calling upon You." "Lord, You said You loved him. Okay, he is sick." That's a good basis to approach the Lord on.
Jesus' Surprising Response
Now we see His response. John 11:4-7. "And when Jesus heard about it, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.' Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was."
I'd underline that. Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, He stayed where He was for the next two days. Finally, He said to His disciples, "Let's go to Judea." Wow. Wait. He loved them? So He stayed two days.
And so by the time He arrives, of course, Lazarus has died. But this is the question we ask. If God really loved me, why did He let this happen? But here is what we're gonna see. In a few moments, Jesus was gonna do abundantly above and beyond that which they could ask or think. They wanted a healing. He wanted a resurrection.
Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life
So sometimes you're praying for something and you're telling the Lord what you think He should do. And that's okay. But that doesn't mean He's going to do it. You can say whatever you want to Him. But you must recognize that He's looking at the big picture while you and I are looking at the small picture. And He had another purpose in mind for all of this. So He intentionally delays.
And when He finally arrives, they are devastated because their brother has died. So not only did He not heal their brother as they were hoping He would, but He even missed the funeral. Lazarus was buried. It was over with.
John 11:20. "Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Then Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.'"
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
Wow. So Martha's pretty direct. She's pretty accusatory. Even critical. To His face. "Lord, if You would have been here, my brother would not have died."
Honest Prayers and Eternal Hope
Which brings up a very important point. In your prayers, you can be honest to God. You think you're gonna say something that will shock Him? Have you ever read the Psalms of David? Where he laments. He laments about what's happening in his life. He complains about the hardships that he's facing. But then, often he will correct his own thinking. You know, he'll say, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God." But prior to that, he's talking about how hard everything is for him.
So a prayer is just honest communication to God. Friends can tell friends the truth. And the Lord listens. And Martha's accusatory in a way. "If You would have been here, my brother would not have died." But I love how she then corrects it. And says, "However, I know even now, whatever You ask of God, He'll give it to You."
But this reminds us of a couple of very important things. When Christ says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live." And that is that death is not the end. It's a transition from this life to the afterlife. Death does not have the final word. Christ does. We must remember that.
And the final word He gives to us is, "Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." You say, "Well, what are you talking about? Of course we die." Well, yes, in one sense we do. Our body is laid in the ground, but the Bible promises one day we will be resurrected. Our soul, our spirit, goes immediately into the presence of God.
What Happens When a Believer Dies
What happens to a Christian when they die? They go into God's presence. Paul said, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." At one point he wrote, "I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better." And the point is that if he were to die, he would immediately go to be with Christ. And that is the hope that every Christian has.
The moment you take your last breath on earth, you take your first breath in heaven. You close your eyes on earth and you open them in heaven. So this is a promise that God has given to all of us.
And I love this verse in John chapter 11. And I love to quote it and I love to think about it. And I just feel like there's so much in it. And it's helped me on many occasions. I mentioned our son going to be with the Lord and there was a time not long after it happened and I was driving along and I saw something that triggered a memory about him. And I actually said, "I'll never see him again. I'll never hear his voice again."
And then I just preached to myself. I said, "Greg, shut up." It's kind of fun to tell yourself to shut up. Don't use the word shut up. I used it. Because sometimes people need to just shut up. "Greg, shut up," I said. "Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.'"
And immediately, it corrected my thinking. Immediately, even my emotion changed. Though it won't always change, I have to be honest. But it changed my perspective in a nanosecond. That's right. I had to remind myself of the promise of God.
Jesus Wept: Sharing Our Sorrow
But we felt this way. "Lord, where were You? Where were You when my marriage dissolved? Where were You when my parents divorced? Where were You when my child went astray? Where were You when my loved one died?" Well, He was there with you. And He will always be with you. And you should bring your needs and your concerns and your questions to God.
But now, Mary is going to approach. And she's going to say something very similar to Martha. Drop down to verse 32. "Then, when Mary came to where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, 'Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.'"
Jesus, therefore, when He saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" And they said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" Jesus wept.
The shortest verse in the Bible. Don't tell me you can't memorize Scriptures. Say, "Jesus wept." Go. Jesus wept. Jesus wept. Okay, so now you know a Bible verse. At least one, right? You can memorize more as well. You'd be surprised how much you can memorize.
But I love that statement. Jesus wept. You know, we don't think of Jesus weeping. But here He was weeping. And why was He weeping? Well, His heart was broken. He knows what it's like to feel our pain and sorrows. He knows what it's like to lose a loved one. He saw His own Son beaten beyond human recognition and crucified on a Roman cross—wait, no, Jesus is the Son. But the Father gave His Son.
The Bible says in Isaiah 53, He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with the bitterest grief. We turned our back on Him and looked the other way. When He went by, He was despised and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried. It was our sorrows that weighed Him down.
So when you go to Jesus with your heartache and with your pain, know that He's been there. He's walked in your shoes and then some. So you can bring your needs to Him. And Jesus voluntarily put Himself in the way of danger as He bore our sins on the cross and He bears our sorrows as well.
Anger at Death Itself
And why would He do this? The answer is given in Hebrews 2:17. It was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us. That's why He had to enter into every detail of human life. And when He came before God as high priest to get rid of people's sins, He would have already experienced it in all Himself, all the pain, the testing, and would be able to help where help was needed.
So death breaks God's heart. Why did He weep? Because He was heartbroken as well. Let's go back to the text, John 11:33, and then I'm going to read verse 38. Verse 33, when Jesus saw her weeping and the other people wailing with her, He was moved with indignation and He was deeply troubled. And dropped down to verse 38. And Jesus, deeply troubled, they came to the grave and it was a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.
Now this word "troubled" could be translated, He was mad. So He was sad and He was mad. At the same time, who was Jesus angry with? The mourners? No. Mary and Martha? Again, no. Jesus is angry with the grim reaper, if you will. He's angry with death itself.
The Miracle: Lazarus Raised
And He tells them to remove the stone blocking the tomb. Martha protests, knowing that her brother's body is already in the process of decomposition. I love the King James version of what she said to Him then. She said, "No, Lord, by now he stinketh." I just like the word "stinketh." It's a much nicer way than saying, "You stink." And there are people that don't smell that great. And you could just say, "You stinketh." Try it. I don't know. "He stinketh, Lord." He's decomposing. This is a ridiculous request.
But then Jesus thanks His Father. And this happens. Verse 43, Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come forth!" And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. And Jesus said, "Unwrap him and let him go."
Bringing me to my next point. God can be glorified through human suffering. And He can bring good out of bad. God can be glorified in human suffering. And He can bring good out of bad. So He raised Lazarus from the dead. That's great. Lazarus came back to life.
The Cost of Being Raised
Isn't it great, though? I mean, let's think about this for a moment. Imagine if you died and you immediately went into God's presence. There you are in heaven. There you are being reunited with loved ones that have preceded you. And you're so excited. The Bible says it's there in God's presence—fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.
And then you go and you're standing before Jesus Christ and He says, "Welcome. Well done, My good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." "Thank You, Lord. It's so good to be here." "By the way," Jesus says, "I've got some good news and bad news." "Wait, seriously?" "Yeah." "Well, what's the good news?" "You're going to come back again." "What's the bad news?" "You're going to have to return to earth because you're going to be raised from the dead."
Would you want to be raised from the dead? Let me put it another way. Would you want to leave heaven after you had gone there? No. Now, the question is, would we like our loved ones who have died and are in heaven to come back to us? Yes, we would. Absolutely, we would.
But would they, if given a choice, want to return from the glories of heaven back to this miserable planet as much as they love you? I don't think they would. And so, Lazarus had to be raised up, which is a great miracle. But poor Lazarus, he had to die twice. Once isn't bad enough. Yeah, you're going to die another time. So, this poor guy.
But anyway, you know, what choice did he have? You know? "Lazarus, come forth." It's a good thing Jesus said, "Lazarus, come forth." If He would have just said, "Come forth," every body in every grave would have burst out. No, I'm talking about Lazarus from Bethany in particular. And out comes Lazarus, obviously wrapped in the bandages that they would use in the burial process.
So, it's almost, it's a little comical to me. He's coming out, it's not, "Hello, ta-da!" You know, he's more like, "Someone unwrap me." "Unwrap him," Jesus says. So, he's brought back to life and it's a great miracle. And everyone is rejoicing.
Hope Born from Pain
But it is in these hardships that we go through in life that we somehow develop a greater dependence upon God and we learn to trust Him even more. In fact, you could even say through hardship, we develop hope. Romans 5:3 says, tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope.
Here's the bottom line. Hope grows in the garden of pain. And so, Lazarus went to the other side and he came back again. And that's the hope of all of us. If you've lost someone who's died in faith, you need to know that you will see them again. You'll be reunited with them again. Because death died when Christ rose.
You know, it's hard when you're looking death in the face to say these things. But I'm telling you, these things, these truths are something we can depend on. And as we get closer to the next life, we're going to have to really think about them.
Prepare to Meet Your God
And I know when you're young, you think, "Well, I don't need to think about that yet. You old people. What are you, 72, Greg? You probably have one foot in the grave. I have my whole life ahead of me." You don't know that, actually. Do you? You really don't. And so you want to be prepared.
You decide in this life where you will spend the afterlife. You don't want to put this off and say, "Well, I'll get to it later. I'll wait till I'm, you know, 95 years old on my deathbed and I'll call on the Lord." You know, and I've been with people who've called on the Lord on their deathbeds on a number of occasions. And thank God He hears our prayers even when we have literally rejected Him for our entire life. He's so gracious and loving. He'll say, "I'll forgive you and bring you to glory." Just like He did for that thief on the cross.
But you may not have the luxury of a deathbed. Not everybody knows when death is coming and sometimes it happens so quickly. You have no moment to pray, no moment to turn to God. And here's another problem. You say you'll turn to God on your deathbed. Consider this. If you reject Christ throughout your entire life, your heart could grow irreparably hardened against Him.
So it's not that you could not call on the Lord but it's more like you won't call on the name of the Lord because your heart against God, you don't want to let that happen. So while your heart is still a bit tender, this is the time to get right with Him. The Bible says prepare to meet your God.
And I ask you in closing, are you prepared to meet your God? Is your life right with God right now? You go, "Okay, how do you know?" You have to admit you're a sinner. You have to turn from your sin. And you have to put your faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone to save you.
Why would you gamble with something like that? You're so careful about every other area of your life and yet here is the most important decision you will ever make and you're very iffy about it. You can resolve this. You can know with certainty. "I know I will go to heaven."
You say, "Why? Because you're a preacher?" No. "Because you're a good Christian?" I already told you I'm a bad Christian. I know I'll go to heaven not because of what I've done for God but because of what God has done for me. And you can know it too. You can know it too.