Unity Baptist Church

There are two separate occasions in the Gospels that record Jesus weeping. One is when he wept over Jerusalem, not because his feelings were hurt by their rejection but because he knew they would remain under God’s wrath. The other verse, John 11:35, simply says “Jesus wept.” It is famous for being the shortest verse in the Bible but originally there were no chapters or verses, those were all added later.

Jesus and his disciples arrived after Lazarus had died. Some questioned if the one who could open blinded eyes not have kept him from dying. Jesus had already told Martha that her brother would live again, and she believed he would in the resurrection “at the last day.” Jesus reveals to her that he is the resurrection. Jesus is not weeping because Lazarus is dead; he already knows what he is going to do. Look at verse 33: “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.” Jesus did not weep because Lazarus was dead, he wept because of the family members and friends that were weeping. They were hurting and mourning, and it affected him. Romans 12:15 tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. That’s what Jesus is doing here.

As a man, I can tell you that men are sometimes the worst at expressing their feelings. I sometimes quip that I have no feelings of which I’m aware. When my wife tells me that’s not true I admit to feeling hungry; and sometimes angry. The truth is that feelings were created by God and he uses them to inform us of things that are happening. Sometimes they are warnings that something is wrong or a sign that something is right; don’t forget to offer praise when things are right just like you pray for peace when things are wrong. We can’t always trust our feelings and they will sometimes get us into trouble. But ignoring them is like seeing that Check Engine light in your car and just pretending it doesn’t mean anything. A yellow light is not an emergency but it does indicate you might need to do something soon to avoid having more lights, perhaps red ones, show up in the future.

Read the full story of Lazarus in John 11.