Jesus wept.
John 11:35
As the mourners wail, as Mary weeps, as Jesus is at the scene, He finds Himself also crying, which intrigues me because He knew what would be happening. Why, then, does He weep?
Perhaps it is because He was reminded that sin destroys, sin kills, sin stinks. Aren’t you finding this to be so? Aren’t you seeing heartache and sadness all around because of sin? Doesn’t it make you heavy of heart sometimes when you realize that precious people are hurting because of sin?
Perhaps Jesus wept because of the unbelief which surrounded Him. He had given a promise that Lazarus would rise, but no one embraced or believed it. On the contrary, they were all mourning. Jesus said, ‘It’s going to be alright.’ But they said, ‘No it’s not.’
So too, when He says all things are working together for good (Romans 8:28), and we say, ‘No they’re not,’ our unbelief must break His heart as well.
Perhaps Jesus wept because He knew He was going to pull Lazarus out of paradise and bring him back to this planet. Poor Lazarus!
Perhaps Jesus wept because, although He knew everything would turn out well eventually, those around Him were hurting presently. We are told in the book of Hebrews that Jesus is a High Priest Who sympathizes with us, feels for us, and prays on behalf of us. Therefore, even though I should be stronger in faith, when I’m hurting, Jesus hurts too.
So it is that the shortest verse in Scripture becomes the most powerful when seen in light of both the Deity and humanity of our Lord.
