John 11 teaches us a lot about Jesus. And while it may not specifically answer whether Jesus would leave room for cream, it does paint a picture of Jesus and his Starbucks tribe, which in turns paints a picture of Jesus and us.
John 11 is most famous for the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and for giving us the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” What is often missed in the chapter is the connection between these two verses:
John 11:5 (NIV)
5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
John 11:32-33 (NIV)
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
We are first introduced to Mary and Martha in Luke 10 when they welcomed Jesus into their home. This scene was made famous by Martha’s attention to hosting Jesus and Mary’s attention to Jesus Himself. Luke brings us intimately into this household. We can easily deduce that within the months between the visit in Luke 10 and Lazarus’ passing in John 11 that the siblings and Jesus had formed a tight bond (John 11:5, 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.)
We can only speculate on the activities of these four friends, but it’s certainly safe to say that Martha, Mary and Lazarus were Jesus’ peeps, His tribe, His Starbucks entourage…the friends with whom each of them processed the events of the day.
This is why the most encouraging aspect of John 11 may not necessarily be a miraculous resurrection, but rather Jesus’ actions leading up to that resurrection. Jesus was deeply moved and troubled by the grief of His friends. In fact, the word John used that we translate “deeply moved” was a word used for a snorting horse. That’s quite the visual and it may be the explanation behind Jesus’ weeping.
Jesus knew He’d be raising Lazarus from the dead. He wasn’t grieving the loss of Lazarus. He was grieving the experiences of His friends, heartbroken over His tribe enduring the consequences of the Fall. This is what caused him to snort cry.
There is something wildly encouraging about that.
Just as Jesus knew He’d be raising Lazarus from the dead, He knows that it’s all going to work out for us in the end, that we will all experience a resurrection so mind-blowing we won’t care about even the heaviest of our troubles. But meanwhile, Jesus’ heart breaks for us as we endure our troubles and the consequences of a fallen world. Thankfully, we can be part of Jesus’ tribe, enjoying the intimacy of processing our troubles and the events of our days with Him over our favorite coffee or coffee drink.
So, why not get a cup of coffee or a favorite coffee drink, or any favorite beverage, and pour out your thoughts to Jesus. As you sip, type into an e-doc or write in a journal your thoughts on any or all of the following:
Your fears. Your anxieties. Your dreams. Your frustrations. Your hurts. Your regrets. Your joys.
Finally, would Jesus leave room for cream? Well, as I picture sitting at Starbucks processing my life experiences with Jesus and enjoying my no-room bold brew, I tend to think Jesus might add to his mug a shot or two of cream and even a pack of sugar, only because I’m remembering He may have a predisposition to things of milk and honey.