When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. (Jn. 11:33-35 ESV)
Jesus loved Lazarus. And then he lost Lazarus. Lazarus died. And though Jesus knew he would raise Lazarus, this loss and its impact upon Mary and Martha was heavy. Jesus wept.
But Jesus also prayed:“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” (Jn. 11:42 ESV)
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me…”
What has the Father heard? It’s as if Jesus is referring to some other prayer which he’s already prayed and he’s now praising God for hearing that prayer. But that cannot be. This is the first prayer recorded in this tragic tale.
What has the Father heard?
It’s as if Jesus has just raised Lazarus by the power granted him through some divine appeal and Jesus is now thanking God for hearing that prayer and answering it so absolutely. But Lazarus is still dead.
What has the Father heard?
In his examination of the Jewish roots of the prayers of Jesus, Timothy Jones argues that what God heard was Jesus’ weeping: “When [Jesus] found himself in the shadow of his friend’s tomb, he couldn’t put his prayers into words, so he put them into tears instead. And his Father heard his cries.” In other words, what catches God’s ear is the sound of Jesus’ tears. Jesus thanks God because the Father has heard his heart breaking.
Such an interpretation of Jesus’ prayer becomes more and more likely when we read the prayers of others who also thanked God simply because God heard their cry:
- “LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted” (Ps. 10:17 ESV).
- “From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears” (Ps. 18:6 ESV).
- “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard” (Ps. 22:24 ESV).
- “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him” (Ps. 34:6 ESV).
- “I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me” (Ps. 77:1 ESV).
When people in pain go to God, what they almost always thank God for is the simple fact that he hears their hurt. The sound of a sob thunders loudly through God’s hallowed halls.
This seems to be what drives Jesus’ prayer of thanksgiving in Bethany. God has heard the sound of his weeping. In fact, Jesus’ circumstance and prayer closely mirror the circumstance and prayer of David in Psalm 6. Jesus is portrayed as “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.” David pictures himself as “greatly troubled.” We are told that “Jesus wept.” David writes “I drench my couch with my weeping.” Jesus praises, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” David remarks, “For the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.”
Could it be that as Jesus faces this trial, he is reminded of one of the similar trials his forefather David faced? Could it be as Jesus searches for the words to pray, he remembers the words David prayed? Could it be that just as David was grateful simply for the way God heard his grief, so now Jesus rejoices in the fact that his Father has heard his grief?
“Father, I thank you that you have heard the sound of my weeping.”
God has heard the unspoken cries of Jesus. Jesus lifts up his eyes, looks into his Father’s face, and says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. You heard the sound of my weeping.”
Timothy Jones writes, “at the heart of all our prayers, what we really want is not an answer but an assurance—an assurance that our Father is listening.” Even more than God’s “I will” in answer to my prayer, I need his “I hear.”
Sometimes all I need to know is that I am heard.
And Jesus takes steps to ensure we know this very thing. Notice that he doesn’t whisper his gratitude to God. Jesus speaks it loud enough for the rest to overhear: “I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” This prayer could have remained just between Son and Father. Instead, Jesus brings those nearby into the intimate encounter. He allows us to eavesdrop on gratitude. Why? Because he wants us to know this basic truth: God hears. John Indermark writes that Jesus speaks out loud so “they may hear that God hears.”
Beloved, know that God hears you. Though no one else does, God does.[NOTE: This post adapted from a chapter in Chris’ book Prayers from the Pit]
