A Great Teacher Asks the Best Questions: “Where have you laid him?”

November 5, 2025

“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.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

Jesus wept.”
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭32‬-‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Death. What does it mean for us who are left in the land of the living? And what if I have more questions than answers?

Could anything feel more final?

Is death, in fact, the end?

Or is there life after death?

And why? Why did this happen?

These are just a sampling of the most challenging and natural questions we whisper to ourselves, and sometimes yell toward heaven. Mary’s disappointment with Jesus seems perfectly justifiable doesn’t it? Wouldn’t I have said something very similar?

I want to tiptoe lightly here because I know that even the reading of this scripture, and attempting a conversation about death, pokes our memories and evokes the most primal emotions. Maybe your experience is too recent and raw. Please, feel free to exit here. But in so doing, turn toward Jesus who lives now to love you and intercede for you.

“but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you’re able to stick with me here, I want you to know it’s not wrong to believe that God could have prevented all manner of ailments, accidents and tragedies. You actually are revealing your belief that God is sovereign, powerful and able to be everywhere and know all things in His all encompassing power. And it’s honest to wonder why God did not intervene in the way they wanted.

Jesus didn’t rebuke Mary or Martha for questioning His delay and His lack of intervention. Instead, Jesus listened, and was present to their grief. He cried with the family and friends of Lazarus.

In fact, Jesus grieved the death of His friend even knowing He would soon speak life into Lazarus and then watch him be restored to his life and family. Perhaps, in the bigger zoomed out picture, Jesus was weeping over the fact that death ever entered the world in the first place.

There was much to feel and grapple with in this moment. Jesus was indeed agreeing with His friends that creation was not intended to experience death. And yet God in His sovereignty gave us free will, which is a requirement for experiencing true love. The first humans chose rebellion against God in their free will, and here we are trying to reconcile the goodness of God in the midst of devastating loss.

“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.””
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

With the foundation laid, my goal here is not to focus on death, but to focus on Jesus. I believe, that’s what Father God was doing in this delay. He was pointing to Jesus, the Messiah, to whom God had given authority over death. And thus, Jesus wasn’t shining a spotlight on death, rather Jesus was proving the truth; He is the resurrection and the life.

It is here the lesson about Jesus’ true identity takes a deep dive for all who are leaning in.

“Where have you laid Him?” Jesus asked gently. But, doesn’t Jesus already know?

Yes, He did. He does. He knows all things. And yet by asking the question to which He already knows the answer, He’s inviting you and I into a conversation and an encounter. He’s inviting us into His love, and into His arms of healing.

His questions, sometimes seemingly vague or overly obvious, aren’t a means of obtaining information. His questions are the means of His pursuit. He’s constantly pursuing a relationship with us.

“Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.””
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭40‬-‭42‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus entered into the pain of His friends. He wept with them all the while knowing God’s intention was to resurrect Lazarus. Doesn’t Jesus do the same with us in our heartbreak?

Isn’t it true that God desires to restore all of His creation to complete Shalom?

Yes, and yes and amen.

He knows we’re hurting and wounded. Maybe you are experiencing death in your life, but it’s not a person. Perhaps, you are grieving the loss of a relationship or health or a career. Perhaps, for so long, your identity has been tied to who you’re with and what you do. Perhaps God, in His sovereign will, allowed the separation.

And so, Jesus asks great questions. He asks questions of which He already knows the answer. He asks because He wants you to see the truth. He wants you to identify what went wrong or what you rely on other than Him. Or, He might just be calling you to lean in and go deeper into relationship and faith.

Jesus asks the best questions because He is the greatest teacher. He’s our example, and He already has the solution. Jesus is the resurrection and the life! {John 11:25}

What are you grieving? What or who have you lost? What questions plague your waking hours as you cry out your pain and suffering?

He’s here. Immanuel is already here. He knows what and where. He knows what you’re feeling and thinking, but He’s going to ask anyway.

I’m praying for you to invite Jesus into your wounded heart, “Come and see, Lord.”

I’m praying you will roll the stone away, and let Him enter into the place that binds you. Let Jesus into the stinky place, and be free, in the name of Jesus.

Receive His Shalom, wholeness and peace. For your restoration and life, and for His glory, Amen.

Thank You, Father, for loving me first. I love You too,

Lisa

Eyes on Jesus and Shine

I’m linking up with Joanne