Jesus wept

Jesus wept (John 11:35, KJV)

John 11:35 above is the shortest verse in the scripture. It simply says Jesus wept. His friend Lazarus had died, and He could see Mary and Martha weeping. The historical context was that of a funeral packed with the grief of the loss of a loved one.

The Bible does not explicitly tell us why Jesus wept. An interesting fact we know of is that Jesus knew He was going to raise up Lazarus from the dead so His weeping was more than an ordinary grieving for a friend that has died.

The verb “to weep” means to shed tears because of sadness or pain. Something pierced the heart of Jesus with sorrow. He cried. He certainly did not just see Lazarus in the grave. He cried as a Man, but as God, He was seeing His beautiful creation from Adam now under the torturing hands of death and the Devil. Heb. 4:15 tells us He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities and sorrows. Humanity has been in pain, grief, and sorrow since the fall. Our pain touches the Lord’s heart.

Jesus still sees the grief and sorrow of His people that made Him weep many years ago. What do you think goes through His heart when He sees you tormented by that disease or satanic oppression? What do you think goes through His heart when He sees that young girl being raped and sexually abused? What do you think He feels when He sees the world sold out to wickedness, rejecting the salvation He brought and rushing to hell in droves? It is not what He wants. He weeps. He is still weeping in intercession over our condition.

Know the Lord loves us and is touched by our suffering and grief.

MEDITATE

Did Jesus know He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead? Why then was He weeping?

APPLY THE WORD

The Lord’s heart is touched when your heart is touched. Whatever makes you cry touches His heart too. Let this consciousness be in you, that our sorrows and grief touch him. Furthermore, do not add to His grief. Do not live in sin. Do not hurt your brother or sister. Preach the Gospel to save people from hell!