Why Did Jesus Weep?
God showed me something about why Jesus wept.
“11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” John 11:1-4 (NIV)
The Bible tells us that when a man named Lazarus was sick his sisters reached out to Jesus to help heal him. The faith that these women had in Jesus and in the relationship that he had with them and their brother. They referred to their brother as “Lord, the one you love is sick.” There was no doubt in their minds that Jesus loved him. They believed that the kind of relationship that they had with Jesus would warrant an expeditious response from him - but that wasn’t the case. God’s love for us is not dependent on how quickly he responds to our prayers. He loves us unconditionally and wholeheartedly and that never changes.
“8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”
12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” John 11:8-16
Jesus had previously had trouble in Judea and he knew that it was dangerous for He and his disciples to return there but that did not stop him from returning. Jesus is always willing to sacrifice himself for others so he returned anyway. But before he left he had to make it very clear to his disciples that Lazarus was in fact dead and he that he would have them witness something that should strengthen their faith in him and his message.
“17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.” John 11:17-33
Upon Jesus’ return he meets with Martha and then with Mary both, as expected, are devastated due to not only the death of their brother but also the fact that Jesus who always preaches about the love of God and the healing of the sick - somehow did not see it worthwhile to come and help his devoted friends and followers during their time of need.
Martha misunderstands Jesus’ comment about Lazarus rising again and perceives it to mean some time far off in the future at the end of the age. And Mary who was always a devotee of his was sobbing at his feet this also presented a feeling of finality to him. She also has no hope that a change is going to come, despite their belief that he is the Messiah.
Here is where my heart breaks and God shows me that Jesus is watching the sorrow of the women and those who have come to mourn Lazarus around him and that he became “deeply moved in spirit and became sorrowful and troubled.” Now why did he feel this way? He already had a full understanding of what he came to do at this moment. He came to raise Lazarus from the dead. He also knows that his Father in heaven answers every prayer that he has and he will not fail at this task. Lazarus is most definitely going to rise again. So why is he upset? It could be because he can tell that no one around him understands the depth of God’s love and the blessings that the Father wants to convey to those who love him.
And although it could be those things, I now believe it was for another reason. When did Jesus start weeping? Once they said to him “Come and see, Lord,” then…
“35 Jesus wept.” John 11:35
I believe that he became overwhelmed because he was now going to come face to face with his own mortality.
“36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” John 11:36-39
Did you notice it? In verses, 38 & 39?
“Jesus once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.”
What does that remind you of? Maybe Matthew 27:57-61?
The Burial of Jesus
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. Matthew 27:57-61
Jesus is forced to go and confront a tomb in a cave (cut out of the rock) with a big stone laid across the entrance. I believe that Jesus wept because it is one thing to know that you are going to die, it is another thing to know that you are going to die in a particular way, and yet it is another thing to come face to face with your destiny and knowing where you are - that your own demise is rapidly approaching.
Jesus is sorrowful, deeply moved, troubled, and weeping because he has to see what is awaiting him in technicolor 3-D. Not only is this stressful for him but he has to shoulder this burden alone because his disciples don’t understand what this trip is costing Jesus emotionally.
Why would he cry about Lazarus? As far as he is concerned Lazarus is just sleeping, but to face your own end and to understand the terrible suffering that he will after to go through before that even happens - this has become all too real for Jesus at this point. Jesus is fully human and he knows what the scriptures say about the demise of the Messiah there are clues alluding to it all through the Old Testament something that he understands very clearly.
Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Fear, maybe even Hopelessness because he knows he has to carry this cross because that is why he came - Jesus understands our emotions because he has had to deal with the hard things too. When you are broken in spirit and trembling due to stress and fear, Jesus understands, Jesus cares, and Jesus has compassion on you because he has experienced it as well.
“40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” John 11:40-44
Although we go through some terrible things in this world, we are not without hope. There is nothing too hard for God to fix and it is never too late for him to do it either. So “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3-5
God knows why we weep because he has wept too.
