Jesus Wept

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you put him?” He asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they answered.
Jesus wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
But some of them asked, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?”
Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” Jesus said. 
John 11:33-39

Why did Jesus weep? The raising of Lazarus is the only written account of Jesus weeping. Why on this occasion was Jesus brought to tears? Jesus was compassion incarnate, and so it has been logically assumed it was in response to the sorrow of Mary and that of their friends and family, as well as His own love for Lazarus. From a human standpoint, that makes sense, even the Jews said, “See how He loved him,” but from the Messiah’s perspective, this understanding is deeply flawed. The real answer for Jesus’ tears might surprise you.

Notice in this passage, immediately following the comment by some that said, “Could not this man who opened the eyes of the blind also have kept Lazarus from dying?” scripture again says, “Jesus, once again ‘deeply moved’…” This is interesting given the context, because the Jews, in one form or another, indirectly or directly were expressing doubt, just as the disciples had done before they began their journey to meet Mary. In fact, in verses 38 – 44 the idea that is highlighted is belief. “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” in verse 40 and again in Jesus’ public prayer in 41 and 42 which He states the purpose of is, “that they may believe that you sent me.”

In this passage, the phrase “deeply moved” also translated as “grieved” in some versions, is a loose interpretation of the Greek made here to fit a human assumption of sorrow and does not reflect the actual word “embrimaomai” used in verses 33 and 38. It does not mean to grieve, mourn, or be sorrowful. “Embrimaomai” means “to charge with earnest admonition, or to sternly charge” and it comes with a sense of indignation which is characterized in the appropriate synonyms of rebuke, criticize, or chastise. Jesus wept, but not out of sorrow, but because of their unbelief. Jesus felt grief but not in empathy but rather at their blindness.

Jesus knew what He came to do at Lazarus’ tomb. He knew death was not the end and even when Lazarus should die again, the story would not end there. Yes, Jesus is filled with compassion, but the reason Jesus did the things He did was to glorify the Father, to move men to believe. The Israelites were made to wander in the wilderness because of unbelief. Unbelief is disobedience. Disobedience is sin. Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sin, to be the example of obedience, to make us believe. “Trust in the Lord your God will ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding…” Obedience flows from love. Love believes all things. Love God with everything (you can’t love God fully, if you don’t trust Him fully) and love your neighbor. The ability to love your neighbor comes from your ability to love (trust) God.

This is the good news. Trusting God is love, love is obedience, obedience is repentance. In fact, this is the full expression of repentance, the fruit in keeping with it, that we believe God. The devil’s first deception in the garden is the very expression of doubt when he asked Eve, “Has God said…?” Doubt robbed Adam and Eve of their intimacy with the Father. Jesus wept at the people’s doubt. The enemy attacked Jesus in the wilderness with doubt. The Israelites were delayed in receiving their inheritance because of doubt. Jesus was seeing the depths of people’s blindness, how they were deprived of relationship with the Father because of doubt. They were not only missing out on their inheritance but were made ignorant of what they were missing out on because of the veil of doubt that blinded them.

Jesus saw all this, and wept. His sorrow was because of our destitution. He wept at our spiritual poverty, at the chaos and heartache the enemy had wrought when he infected the creation Jesus dearly loved with doubt. Jesus wept at our ignorance. He wept at the depths of our darkness. On the cross Jesus prayed, “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” This prayer is at the heart of Jesus’ tears here in this passage.

Jesus in His first reading of the Torah, read the following passage in Isaiah to inaugurate His ministry.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me,
because the LORD has anointed Me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of our God’s vengeance,
to comfort all who mourn,
to console the mourners in Zion—
to give them a crown of beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3

I find this interesting because, faith, that is, trust in God accomplishes all these. Believing God is for you and not against you, and that God Himself is your inheritance is good news to the poor. Trusting God loves you and made you with purpose, can bind up the brokenhearted. Faith that God is with you and has redeemed you is liberty and freedom when you’ve been enslaved to sin. Now is the day of your salvation is a favorable a report to those who trust they’re being saved and a dire warning to those who refuse to believe. To those wallowing in regret and shame of their sin and suffering its consequences, trusting in God is a comfort and a consolation, it replaces the ashes of our lives with a beautiful crown, washes away sorrow with its joy, and replaces our rags of despair with robes of praise. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Those that trust in the Lord will be called, “oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.“

It’s faith, trusting in the Lord, that accomplishes all these things. So if you want to wipe Jesus’ tears, if you want heaven to rejoice, if you want to know the Father and be known by Him, trust Him with all your heart. Jesus wept because of our unbelief, imagine the extent of His joy when we entrust Him with everything.