TEXT: John 11:35

SUBJECT: John Cavoretto's Funeral

There is nothing sadder than an memorial service. We have not gathered today to celebrate John's life, but to mourn his death. His family and friends have received a wound that time will never heal. The tears that flow today will one day be dried, but the pain will linger. Nothing is sadder than a memorial service.

We are not, however, the first people to attend one. Long ago, others met in the town of Bethany, Judea. A beloved resident had died four days before; his name was Lazarus. His sisters were there to mourn their loss, as were many friends. All wept freely, of course. But one Man's grief stood out. He cried with such feeling that they whispered, "Behold, how He loved him!"

The weeping Man was Jesus Christ.

The tears He shed that day were not affected, but sprang from the depths of His compassionate soul. Long had He felt for others in pain--for the poor, for the sick, for the worried, for the bereaved. "In all their afflictions, He was afflicted".

At the tomb of His friend, our Lord's compassion was great. At Mount Calvary, it was greater. For there, He fully entered into our grief. All sorrows are the direct or indirect result of sin. And on the cross, Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sin of the world--and every sorrow that follows from it.

In the shadow of the cross, our Lord's compassion is beyond doubt. Especially when we recall it was borne voluntarily. Unlike you and I, He had a choice!

We cannot escape suffering. But He could have. "More than twelve legions of angels" stood by to answer His cry for help. But it never came. But how could it? The Incarnation was chosen; the life of poverty and pain was chosen; the shameful death was chosen!

Here's the punchline: The sympathy He displayed in Bethany and in Jerusalem has not left Him! He's no longer in the cemetery, of course--no less on the cross. He's now at God's Right Hand in Glory. Yet it is He who is there--"This same Jesus".

His changed status has not changed His character in the least. He is still "Touched with the feeling of our infirmities". He can be touched; He is touched. He is touched by your sorrow--right now.

Therefore, you can now "Cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you". The loss of a loved one is something He suffered. And He hasn't forgotten what it feels like.

Thus, in John's death, there is no comfort but in Christ. But that's all right. For there is comfort in Him. All the comfort you need. Now. And forever.

It's good to know the God we pray to is also a Man. A Man who once stood where you are today. What comfort we find in the Bible's shortest verse. "Jesus wept".