Jesus - Part 5, He wept
2003 : Week 25  |  Printer Friendly Version  |  Read Previous:  Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4

We have stated before, the Christian life should be the most joy-filled life of all; this we believe with all our hearts, souls and minds. We have received the greatest gift possible: a relationship with Almighty God. Through this relationship, God gives us eternal life, and knowing this should make us sing and dance.

Yet, there are times when all of us suffer tragedies: the passing away of someone we loved, sickness, injury or the failure of a relationship. Unfortunately, these are everyday realities in our world. Simply put, there are times when life can hurt. We pray the suffering is only for a season and our joy will return. Nonetheless, that season of pain is very real and can be very lonely.

As you weep, remember Jesus wept; He felt the pain, sorrow, and heartache of this world. Jesus suffered more then we will ever suffer. He was rejected more then we will ever be rejected. He felt grief more then we will ever feel grief. The Book of Isaiah is beautifully written and has many prophesies about Jesus. They describe His Deity, His victories and His holiness, but they also describe the pain and suffering He would endure:

³He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. ⁴Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. ⁵But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. - Isaiah 53:3-5 (NASB)

Today’s passage from the Gospel of John is set near the tomb of Jesus’ friend Lazarus. Lazarus had been dead four days, and Jesus arrives to hear wailing and tears over his passing. Jesus begins to weep. However, we don’t know why Jesus wept; the scripture isn’t specific. The Bible is clear that Jesus allowed Lazarus to die, in order to perform a great miracle. Why then, was He now crying?

We can argue Jesus cried for a couple of reasons. First, Jesus may have been upset at the lack of faith the mourners were showing. They had failed to recognize who was standing amongst them. Here, before them, was the One who spoke the universe into existence. Here, before them, was the One they had seen perform many miracles. Here, before them, was the One scripture promised, but they failed to see all these things. The Gospel of John explains it this way,

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. - John 1:9-11 (NASB)

Many of the people in Jesus’ day, even those who new Him well, simply didn’t grasp all that He was. Their failure to understand Him may have been the reason for His tears.

Verse 53 from the book of Isaiah, shown above, might provide a second reason that Jesus wept. Look closely, at verse 4: “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried.” Jesus helps us carry the sorrows and burdens of this life. We were never intended to suffer alone. When Jesus was amongst the mourners, He felt their pain intimately, and perhaps, this is why He cried.

We will all suffer in this life. Some of us will suffer more then others. Let your tears flow; they fall from your face and into your loving Savior’s hands. He sends them forth as rain, to water the flowers in the valley. He will make something beautiful of your suffering and pain. Through them, we are refined into a closer likeness of His image. Through them, we learn obedience and faith. Through them, we learn the power of God who is King over all.

Praise God, the story of Lazarus doesn’t end with crying before the tomb. It ends in a miracle that left those who saw it stunned. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and two thousand years later, we still talk about it. The miracle Jesus performed brought glory and rejoicing to the only one who has ever deserved it: God. Jesus may be about to perform a miracle in your desperate circumstance. You may be tired of lifting your situation up to God in prayer. You can tell yourself that it’s hopeless, but the Bible disagrees with you. It teaches that there can be victory even when all appears lost. Let’s not weep at Lazarus’ tomb; instead, let’s understand that God is in our midst; nothing is impossible.

When life hurts, remember the lesson Isaiah 53 teaches us about Jesus. You will find comfort knowing you are not going through the fire alone:

‘Our griefs He Himself bore
Our sorrows He carried’

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always…



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