The scriptural meaning of Jesus Wept
Jesus Wept talks about God showing compassion for our pain and Jesus brings healing. This two-word verse “Jesus wept” is a great window into Christ’s heart, highlighting to us the depths of His very heart.
We serve a God who is closer to us than we can ever imagine. He loves us and is affected by our grieves, this is comforting to those who are troubled. He is not far from us and our emotions. Our God who has come to us knows what it means to be in the sorrow of heart and greatly troubled. Jesus wept as a way of comforting Mary.
God is close to the sorrowful and those grieving. Psalm 34 verse 18 tells us
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit”
Often times, what we do when the reality of life hits us, is to accept the reality of our situations which most times hurt. Some of the ways to express such feelings are through anger, fear, or tears.
One of the Swedish Proverbs says that” shared joy is a double joy. Shared sorrow is half sorrow” Jesus is always willing to take our pain, regardless of whatever pain or hurt we are experiencing in life, Jesus Christ is right here with us in that pain.
He will meet us in our darkness and hopelessness. Nothing is impossible for the one who raised the dead. Jesus is the first to meet us in our low moments and valleys.
God can identify with our hurt and empathize with our weakness. He gives us strength and comforts us with peace on all sides. He does not only heal the sick but raises the dead. He has the power over death.
That is why He is the resurrection and the life whoever believes in Him will not die but live. No matter what your challenges are, take it to the feet of Jesus and He will give you rest for your soul. He is no stranger to loss and sorrow.
God knows the sharp sting of death of hurting. Jesus Christ, more than anyone else knows the pains and grieves of each heart. He knows that life is more than just a moment but a greater purpose and plan than we could ever understand.
When Jesus wept, His tears were rendered as comfort to the pain He felt for his dear friend Lazarus.
What is the importance of the verse “ Jesus Wept”?
This short verse talks about Jesus being acquainted with grief and not ashamed of His humanity.
He didn’t feel ashamed to express His feelings among the people. He felt what Lazarus’ sisters and his friends were suffering. Jesus has sympathy for humanity and suffered all the infirmities of our nature. The Greeks believed in a passionless, and compassionless God. That is not the God of the bible.
Some believers restrain their emotions, they believe there are verses that make a statement such as Philippians 4: 4
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice”
They think it is inappropriate for them to grieve. They bottle up in pride instead of grieving. They fake their joy in such moments. This is so wrong and inappropriate.
Jesus was willing to cry. He, who was in the form of God did not count equality with God but emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, born in the likeness of men. He became humble and obedient to the point of death on the cross. (Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 to 8)
Jesus was humble to the point of shedding His glory, coming down from Heaven to cry with people in mourning. He cannot withstand it when we go through pains or challenges. He is a sympathetic God, He takes no glory in the grief or affliction of His children according to Hebrews 4 verse 15
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
We have a great high priest in Jesus, who is affected by our infirmities and touched by our weaknesses. He sees our grieves and is touched by our sorrows. What a loving and compassionate father we have.
The scripture says in Jeremiah 8 verse 22
“Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?
His tears are a reminder that Jesus loves sinners and cares for every soul.
The reasons why Jesus wept in John 11:35
The reason why Jesus wept in John 11:35 is out of compassion for the grieved, over the calamity of sin, about the cost of sacrifice and the cause of His death.
Jesus did not weep because His friend had passed away. Rather, for the grief, the pain she had gone through for the loss of their brother. The pain of human limitations and Jesus groaned in His Spirit and was troubled because it bothered Him to see the pain of humanity.
Although Jesus knew the will of God and that Lazarus would be returned to life. He did not weep because He was uncertain of His ability to do this miracle or because He feared Lazarus would stay dead. Jesus wept because He experienced and understood the same feelings as the people around Him.
The Lord Jesus lived a perfect life, overcoming sin, suffering, and even death itself despite being clothed in flesh and subject to human weaknesses. Despite living a perfect life, standing before a tomb, He cried.
Jesus has compassion concerning those who are suffering. He does not take delight in our afflictions or challenges. Rather, He chose what would bring His Father glory by allowing Lazarus to die so that they could believe He who sent Him. No matter how wicked an earthly father will be, he will not rejoice over the sickness of his child, allowing him to die.
He will always have compassion for his child. Similarly with Christ, He cannot watch us go through pain without being by our side. Jesus would have spoken the word of healing from a distance just like He did to the centurion and his servant in Matthew 8 verse 8.
“The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed”
But He chose that Lazarus would die and be raised again.
The second reason Jesus wept was because of the wages of sin which is death. 1 John 3 verse 8 tells us that God came into the world to destroy the works of the devil.
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil”
Death will be swallowed up in victory. However, sin grieves God so much and so do the wages of sin. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis, Christ Jesus had endured sin’s horrific destruction. When it took Lazarus, it was tears of anger and longing mixed with Jesus’s tears of grief.
The third reason why Jesus wept was the cost He was about to pay to redeem not only Lazarus’s short-term resurrection but life eternal. Lazarus’s resurrection would look like a gift of grace by everyone but it becomes with a price, the death of Jesus, a horrific death.
He who knew no sin became Lazarus’s sin, and the sin of all who had or would believe in him so that in him they would all become the righteousness of God.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5 verse 21)
The fourth possible reason Jesus wept was that he realized that raising Lazarus would cause the religious leaders to eventually take steps to put Him to death. Calling Lazarus out of the tomb would have taken a different kind of resolve for Jesus than we might have imagined.
Giving Lazarus life was sealing Jesus’s death. He knew He also would die and be put in the tomb.
Our God is all-powerful and compassionate. He knows all things and there is nothing hidden before Him. The scripture says in Hebrews 4 verse 13
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account”
Nothing can be hidden from God, He created us and knows what each one will become. He knows the next step we will take, He knows what our future holds. He is the Lord of all!
John 11; 35 “Jesus wept” is one of the shortest verses in the King James version of the bible and the English bible with only a two-word verse but not in all languages but the Greeks argue against it.
They believe 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 16 is the shortest “Rejoice always” Some sentences are shorter in some other languages because of the language structure.
Weeping is not a sign of weakness or lack of faith. It’s part of our human emotions. Some people say it’s not right for men to cry. Do you know we all, both men and women have emotions? It is the same blood that is running through our veins.
Weeping is one of the ways some people express their emotions, either good or bad. God feels, therefore, we also are created to feel. It is logical to express our emotions when we weep over the death of a loved one. We have a God knows what it means to be troubled. He identifies and empathizes with us when we are hurt.
Many translations relate Jesus’s weeping out of grief at Lazarus’ tomb. Jesus weeping makes Him more understanding of the present situation while the original Greek and the Egyptian gods are void of emotion.
Let’s deep dive to see more reasons why Jesus wept in the New Testament.
Where can we find the phrase “Jesus Wept” in the bible?
The phrase “Jesus Wept“ can be found in the book of John 11 verse 35. it was written by an anonymous writer but was uniformly agreed by the early Christian tradition that it was written by John between 90 and 100 CE.
What is the context of John 11?
The context of John 11 is about the compassionate tears of Jesus being coincidental to His anger over lack of belief.
The weeping and sadness around led to Him feeling pain and He wept for the loss of His friend. Jesus does not take pleasure in the affliction or grief of His children, He feels their deep grief and pain.
Jesus was called upon to come and see His friend, whom He loved Lazarus was sick. Even though He loved him, Jesus stayed two more days in the place He was so that scriptures will be fulfilled and the prophecies about Messiah would come to pass.
He knew Lazarus would die and be raised but He did so that His disciples and others would believe.
In John 11:14 “Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
This is so they will believe He is the Resurrection and life. If Christ had been there at the dying bed of Lazarus, His empathy would have made him heal him and the scriptures would not be fulfilled.
Lazarus died, Jesus then showed up on the fourth day after he had been buried. When Mary and Martha (sisters of Lazarus) told Him if You had been here, our brother would not have died John 11:21.
They both met Jesus at different times but said the same that if Jesus had not delayed His arrival their brother, Lazarus would not have died. They accused Jesus of late arrival. Jesus wept at this point because He felt the pains of Mary and Martha. It is not easy to bear the loss of someone you love.
Remember, Jesus came through flesh, He is God and a human at the same time. Like our earthly father, who doesn’t want to see us in pain. He is hurt when we are hurt. Also, Jesus was grieved because all the answers they needed were right in front of them, still, it appeared they missed it. They missed the power of Jesus.
Their lack of faith made Jesus weep because what He truly wants from us is our faith. Hebrews 11: 6 tells us
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”
All Jesus wants from us is to believe in Him because it’s only through our faith that we find the salvation, peace, and joy that we can find in Him.
Jesus was not crying over the death of His friend. Rather, He showed empathy to the sisters of His dear friend, Lazarus. He weeps or grieves for Martha, Mary, and the mourners because He feels compassionate toward them.
Even though he knew Lazarus would die and be raised again on the fourth day, He wept so that the scriptures would be fulfilled. He knew he was about to see Lazarus again and that His tears of sadness would be transformed into tears of joy shortly.
When Jesus saw Lazarus’ sisters, He wept. Not because He didn’t know what to do but because He was moved by their tears and the unbelief of the people of Jerusalem.
The scripture recorded in John 11 verses 23 to 24
“Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again. Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
“And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” When Jesus said these words, Martha thought that was the end of her brother and that they were never going to see him again until the resurrection of the saint.
The resurrection and life were right with them but they never knew. Even though she knew that whatever Jesus ask of God, God would give Him. Both sisters and Lazarus had eternal life because they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, but most of the people in the city of Jerusalem did not believe and therefore did not have life.
Verse 25 of John 11 tells us that “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Whosoever believes in Jesus will live even if he dies. They didn’t recognize that He is the resurrection and the life. When Jesus called Lazarus forth out of the grave, it proved the deity of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. The one that dead hears His voice and they live again.
What is John 11:35 prayer?
Loving God, thank you for sending Your son Jesus to show us Your love and compassion. Thank You for the suffering, and pain felt. Grant us grace to continue to trust in You and that the promise of Your resurrection will uphold us. Thank You for destroying the power of death.
Gracious Father, let the Spirit of faith come upon us afresh. Empower us to overcome every challenge that comes our way. Make us good examples in words and deeds to the world at large.
Holy Spirit breathe upon us and renew Your Spirit within us. Grant us power and strength to do greater works than Jesus according to Your word. Grant comfort to everyone grieving at this time all around the world.
Help us through tough situations and give us comfort on all sides. May we continue to trust in Your words even in difficult situations. This we pray through Christ our Lord. AMEN
Conclusion
God invested so much in us that He paid the price with the blood of His son, Jesus. How then will He watch us go through pain and suffering without providing us a way of escape? He cares about us more than we can ever understand.
Jesus wept because He genuinely cares about us and He is greatly moved by what we are going through. Therefore, don’t ever think you are in that situation alone, Jesus is there with you in that challenge.
As children of God, we are called to be active followers of Him. God desires that we have an intimate relationship with Him. Even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He says He will be with us.
There is nothing difficult for Him to do if He calls forth Lazarus who died after four days back to life, that difficult situation that stares you in the face can also be walked over. Only believe and trust in Him.
He has passed through such situations before and He knows how we feel and sees what we are going through. When Jesus was to be crucified, He pleaded with His Father to take the cup of suffering away from Him but because the scripture and prophecies must be fulfilled, He went through the suffering and came out victorious. Glory!
He is not a cruel or selfish father, He feels our pain. John’s gospel demonstrated the importance of “Jesus wept” as an example of what needs to be felt. He showed us that grief is a part of life.
Although He knew that Lazarus would be raised to life by Him and that He would defeat death which is the final enemy to be destroyed, He still cried over the loss of His friend. It is alright to grieve, feel sad, or feel angry about death because Christ did too. Weeping is an expression of nature not a lack of faith and religion does not condemn it.
What religion does in times of grief is to temper our grief and to teach us to mourn with submission to God. Weep without complaining or restraining of tears nor hardening the heart but bringing the soul to tender, to find calmness and peace in the God of all consolation.
Do not lay accusations, don’t tell a grieved person that you understand what they are feeling, or that their loved one is now in heaven. Remain quiet if you don’t have the right word of consolation because we grieve differently.
Just like Martha, the sister of Lazarus called on Jesus, saying “Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Mary also made the same statement. How many times have we called out to God asking Him questions when tragedy occurs like, why didn’t He rescue us, why did He show up late, why did He take our loved one?
What is it that causes you to weep or cast down your head? Is your burdens, challenges, frustrations, and pains driving you to tears? I have good news for you, Jesus is the burden lifter come to Him just as you are.
He will not turn you away but will take away your shame and sorrow and grant you peace on all sides. Jesus is the resurrection and life. Whoever believes in Him will live even if he dies. Come to Him today!