Jesus the pastor

Over the last several weeks we have seen Jesus interact with Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus. From the other familiar story, we know Martha as the doer, the one who takes care of the meal when Jesus visits, while Mary sits at Jesus' feet. Martha gets frustrated with Mary, and asks Jesus to tell Mary to help. I think we are able to in our head see the differences in these two sisters, and probably know people like them.

In John 11, their brother, Lazarus is sick and ultimately dies. Martha, of course is the one who sends for Jesus to try and do something about it. When Jesus finally arrives, Martha goes out to meet him before he even gets to town and says to him: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus answers, "Your brother will rise again."

Some time later, Martha sends Mary to meet Jesus, and Mary says to her: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus response this time is that he is very moved, asks where they have buried him and then weeps with Mary.

Two very different sisters who have both just experienced the exact same crisis (their brother has died), and each tell Jesus the exact same thing, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." And yet Jesus response to each of them is very different. Why?

To Martha, the doer, the one who wants action and answers, Jesus is very matter of fact, tells her that Lazarus will rise again. The story indicates that she did not completely grasp this, thinking that Jesus was talking about the the future resurrection. There is no sign of emotional comfort here, only answers, which is what Martha wanted.

To Mary, the response is very different. She is the more emotional, the more relational of the two sisters. Her biggest issue isn't the answer to the question, but the hurt she is feeling now which is overwhelming. Jesus knows this as well and instead of providing facts and promises, he weeps with her, he knows and understands her grief.

The reason Jesus responded differently to each sister? Their needs were very different at that moment. Despite the similarity in the experience, their responses are completely different, Jesus the pastor knows this (he did after all create each of them) and responds not with some sort of cookie cutter response but tailors his response to their need.

This truth both comforts me and challenges me. It is enormously comforting to me to know that my savior knows me and desires to minister to me in my need. But it is also challenging to me, as a pastor, and a husband and a father and a friend and a neighbor, etc, to know that I need to be a student of the people to whom I minister and be able to respond according to their need. I think it is human nature to project, to assume that whatever I would need in a situation is exactly what the other person would need. But this little story points to something very different. Each of my kids is very different, and therefore require different responses for the same issue. My wife is different than me and while my natural response to crisis is to fix it, this does not minister to her heart in the same way it does hers.

Paul hints at the same thing when he says: "And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (1 Thess 5:14)" I think that we as individuals and as the church can be guilty of helping the idle, admonishing the fainthearted or encouraging the weak. We use the wrong tool for the job. We paint with broad brushes and fail to recognize as Jesus did that each situation demands a discerning heart, to choose the right tool for the right job.

Reflect on how much Jesus knows you and how it is his desire to meet you in your point of need and minister to your heart individually. This should give you and overwhelming sense of gratitude and peace. On the other hand, reflect also on how we might better shepherd those we are responsible for (spouses, children, friends, employees, coworkers, etc) and see if we might strive to be shepherds and ministers more in the mold of Jesus.

Pastor Derrick