Grief

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Jesus Wept

The shortest verse in the Bible is found in John 11:35. It says: Jesus wept. There is no need for any different translations for this verse. They all simply say: Jesus wept. Even though this is the shortest verse, I think it is one of the most significant verses in the Bible. Think about it for a minute. Why would Jesus weep for Lazarus? He knew all the time He would raise him from the dead! So why the tears? Mary was very distraught with Him, it seemed. She accused: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!” Doesn't that sound familiar? We always want to blame God when we lose a loved one. But God hurts with us. Satan is the one we should be blaming.

My KJV says in verse 33 that He groaned n the Spirit and was troubled. He was not just sad for this man’s passing, He was consumed with despair. The Jews nearby saw Him weeping and said: “Behold, how He loved him! But He opened the eyes of the blind, why could He not save him?“ Yes, Jesus knew He was about to resurrect Lazarus but still He wept with compassion and love for the sisters of Lazarus, for the family of the deceased. He felt their pain and sorrow, their hopelessness, their grief. He saw their unbelief in Him and it troubled Him deeply. He felt their disappointment in Him as their Messiah and in the resurrection into eternal life that He had been preaching. I think their unbelief grieved Him tremendously.

He had been with them talking of the kingdom of Heaven for a long while by that time. He had proven Himself many times and they had all seen the miracles He did. He had told them to believe in Him to receive eternal life. But they couldn’t get past the physical life that had been lost. I believe He groaned in His spirit and wept over the unbelief of all mankind on that day. It wasn’t just the loss of Lazarus’ life that caused Jesus to weep, it was the death that we will all face. It’s the pain and sorrow that satan caused for all mankind that grieved Jesus. I am sure He confirmed again in His heart, right then and there to overcome this horrible thing called death that causes so much sorrow. He had to show them and us with this story that He was truly God in the flesh by resurrecting Lazarus.

Death still causes us to react the same way today. When we lose someone close to us, we are terribly grieved over the loss. It is so hard and so….final. We might have been with that person just moments before and they were so alive. Then death came knocking. I always think; "Why, I just saw them the other day! How could that be?" We don’t understand why. We feel like it’s not fair. Like it’s not supposed to happen! And really, it’s not. We all have within us a longing for eternity. Our souls know this but sometimes it’s hard for our spirit or our physical person to understand. If we can just get past the physical realm of the pain, there is sometimes great joy in knowing a saved loved one is finally home, safe in the arms of the Saviour. If you stay in prayer, and simply BELIEVE in God’s promises, He will give you peace in the passing of that loved one. They say “Time heals” but the real truth is: “God heals.” He loves us so much. He knows our pain, He’s been here and felt it. Remember, Jesus also 'wept.' He just wants us to believe in Him. Believe in eternal life. Jesus will always bare our sorrows for us if we ask Him and truly believe in Him who freely gave to us eternal life. Thank you, Jesus.

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