He Groaned in the Spirit

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled (Jn. 11:33 KJV)

He groaned in spirit, showing a sorrowful woman

The verse above gives us a description of the emotional response of Jesus when He came to Bethany where Lazarus His friend had just died. The scripture says when He saw Mary weeping, and the Jews also weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Verse 35 says Jesus wept. This is a profound emotional response by the Master.

The word “groan” means to have an intense feeling of indignation caused by something that one dislikes or is causing pain. Several explanations have been given as to why Jesus wept or groaned in this passage. Well, before speculating on reasons which are not stated in the passage, the obvious cause is seen in the verse above. When He saw Mary, Martha the Jews weeping, He groaned. Their grief and sorrow were the immediate cause of Jesus’s groaning. This gives us a powerful consolation in the concern of our Saviour for us. Our sorrow and grief move Him. We must come to the place of acknowledgment that the Lord is touched by the sufferings of His people. He is not a distant God who does not care. When you hurt, He feels the pain as a Father. This passage in Hebrews summaries this truth:

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15 KJV).

Do you know that this is the same emotional response of the Holy Spirit to the pains of His people? Jesus is the visible expression of the invisible Holy Spirit. Just as our sins cause Him grief, our sorrows and pains also cause Him “to groan and be troubled” just as Jesus was when He was physically present with us.

We have a Father who is close and is concerned about us.

MEDITATE

Why did Jesus groan in the spirit? Could there possibly be other reasons?

APPLY THE WORD

God is concerned about us more than many of us realize. He is not as far as many people think. In fact, some believers still have a twisted mentality about the Father, thinking He always has some mysterious reasons to make His people suffer to accomplish His ultimate purposes. See the Father’s heart in the earthly life of Jesus. He is with us, and He cares.