God Shares in Our Emotions, Death, and Resurrection | Lent Devotional Day 29

Exploring the Meaning of Jesus’ Death
March 18, 2026
Written by Morgan Goymer

God Shares in Our Emotions, Death, and Resurrection

Scripture:

32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?”
They replied, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus began to cry. 36 The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

38 Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.”

40 Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” 41 So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” 43 Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”

John 11:32-44

Reflection:

Today’s Scripture reveals the profound connection Jesus has with us through the lens of Feminist Atonement Theory. As Elaine Storkey, in her article, “Atonement and Feminism,” writes, “God’s power is not tyrannical... those who take a male authoritarian model of leadership do so in rejection of all the New Testament teaches” (p. 235). In this passage, we see a subversion of patriarchal expectations.

Mary and Martha stand their ground, boldly questioning Jesus and lamenting the injustice of their brother’s death. Rather than meeting their anger and lament with fragile authority and dismission, Jesus validates their pain. He is “deeply disturbed and troubled” (v. 33). This is foundational to Feminist and Liberation Atonement: God does not observe our suffering from a distance; God feels it. When Jesus weeps (v. 35), he rejects a stoic, detached divinity in favor of shared humanity.

We also see Jesus navigate the threat of state oppression. Despite the disciples' warnings of being killed in Jerusalem, Jesus chooses community in the midst of their warnings. He joins the grief of his friends while facing his own impending execution—a tortured death mirrored today in the experiences of marginalized people facing domestic violence, lynchings, and state-sanctioned murder. Jesus meets us in our death; God stands in our grave with us.

AND this theory insists that God does not leave us there. Storkey explains, “God's way of power is not that of force, manipulation, or vindictiveness, but of freedom, gentleness and hope” (p. 233). Just as Jesus raises Lazarus from death, from the grave, God raises us from the oppressive systems of our world. Just as Jesus commands “them, ‘Untie him and let him go’” (John 11:44), God liberates people from injustices, pain, and heartbreak. Lastly, Jesus goes toward community in grief, showing that the Triune God invites us to create and lean on community for support and transformation of our world as it is - torn apart - to be beautiful like Heaven on earth.

Prayer:

Communal Jesus,
Validate our pain and experience. Grieve and cry with us. Join us in our pain and anger with injustice. Stand in the grave with us. Liberate us from the oppressive system of our world, even death. And help us do the same for each other.
Amen.

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