“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35)
We all know it as the shortest verse in the Bible. But it is long on what it tells us about the character of Jesus, both as the Son of Man and as the Son of God.
The setting is in a small town, Bethany, located just two miles east of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, or anywhere near it, was not the safest of places for Jesus to show up. Word about His miracle-working power was spreading through the region like wildfire. The Pharisees were threatened by what they were seeing and hearing.
When Jesus received word that His friends’ brother, Lazarus, was ill, He decided to take the risk and travel back toward Jerusalem. Before He left for Bethany, He prophetically declared, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4)
Interestingly, the Bible tells us that Jesus was in no hurry. In fact, He stayed two more days after He had received appeals from Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, to come quickly. Lazarus died four days before Jesus arrived.
I am sure His followers were puzzled as to why He did not leave immediately when He heard that Lazarus was sick. Personally, I think Jesus gave us the answer to that question at John 11:4: Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death. Instead, the Son of God would be glorified because of it. Notice that Jesus did not say the Son of Man. He said the Son of God. He knew a miracle of Godly proportion was in the making.
We all know the rest of the story. Jesus arrived and after learning that Lazarus had died four days earlier, He said to Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” (John 11:34)
The story tells us that Jesus became “greatly troubled” when He saw Mary crying over the death of her brother. The same Mary, who knelt at the feet of Jesus and anointed Him with her own perfume and wiped His feet with her hair, again knelt at His feet, mourning the loss of her brother. Jesus was moved to tears by what He saw.
Theologians say that the tears shed that day were not shed not by the Son of God, but by the Son of Man. Indeed the story clearly illustrates that the fully human Jesus was a compassionate, loving man who was truly sorry to see His friends grieving over the death of their brother. We should remember this story when we go through a crisis and wonder if Jesus could possibly understand how we feel. He walked among us and He lived as we did to help us understand that our Creator hurts when we hurt. What father wouldn’t?
But I believe that the Son of God was also moved to tears by what He had seen, albeit for a different reason. Think about it. Lazarus was in a better place. The Bible tells us that “to be absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:8) Jesus was fully human, but He was also fully God, and the Son of God knew that the miracle He was about to perform would mean that Lazarus would return from a land of perfect peace. It was enough to make God cry.
Jesus was right. Lazarus sickness would not end in death and God would be glorified by the miracle that Jesus performed. Why? Only God could raise someone from death.
I love knowing that I worship a God who is a miracle worker. But I take greater comfort in knowing that I have a friend who loves me so much that He will cry with me when I come to Him, fall at His feet, and say, “Lord, please help me.”
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