The mourners are gathered around. Jesus is moved and troubled by Mary’s weeping. And so he says…
“Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. (John 11:34-35, ESV)
When Jesus says, “Come and see”, it is a call to believe and so have eternal life. When Jesus says, “Come and see”, it is the voice which brought all creation into existence calling his lost sheep home from the wilderness. When Jesus says, “Come and see”, he is pointing toward the cross upon which he hung.
But when the mourners say, “Come and see”, all they can show Jesus is the consequence of sin. The grave. Our legacy is one of death. Come and see what humanity has wrought in its rebellion. Come and see the fruit of free will and liberty. Come and see, and it is a grave.
It is no wonder that Jesus weeps. But, of course, the story does not end there.
For, with a word, Jesus calls Lazarus to life from death. From darkness to the light. He shows that even the worst outcome, death, is no match for the words of the one who has life in himself even as the Father has life in himself.
There is a richness to God’s word that you can only begin to experience after repeated readings and time meditating. The Bible isn’t an information book or a rule book. It isn’t a magic book or a talisman. But it is powerful.