In John 11:35 we read; Jesus wept.
The familiarity of this verse, for many people, lies in the
fact that it is the shortest verse in the Bible. But this is a very profound
verse. It reveals Jesus' perfect human nature and deity in
His compassion for people because He loved them with the perfect love
of John 3:16... “God SO loved
the world...” God expressed His love for His creation in that
verse... and His plan for redemption. This kind of love does not bring a
reserved compassion, but mournful grief for the state of creation. As Isaiah
53:3 says, He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.
So, Jesus had not yet arrived at the tomb of Lazarus., but
was among the crowd of Jews with Mary who said to Him, “Lord,
if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 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. John
11:32-33. These phrases, “deeply moved” and “greatly troubled” are
so easily skipped over in the habit of reading because
that’s what we do if we do not stop and study. These are
superlatives that are describing the emotions and anxiety of the Lord Jesus Who
was God on earth; and God said he so loved the world... He had such
compassion and sorrow for the condition of mankind, that He would sacrifice
that body of His Son, as Abraham demonstrated to us in Gen. 22.
I, in
this life, will NEVER be that “moved” or “troubled” by anything.
But Paul’s prayer in Eph. 3:18-19 gives us hope... may you, being securely grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints the width and length and height and depth of His love; and that you may come to know practically, the love of Christ which far surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives (AMP)
Jesus’ conversation with Mary is preceded by His conversation with Martha who met Him first, where she said to Jesus, “If You had been here my brother would not have died.” To which Jesus responded in verse 23, Your brother shall rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said to her, I AM THE RESURRECTION, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
One of the most profound statements in the whole history of the world... “I AM THE RESURRECTION!”
His resurrection and ascension make His humanity eternal in transfigured glorified form, in which the fulness of the Godhead is pleased to dwell, Col. 2:9 ...and, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is, 1 John 3:2.
...totally incomprehensible to me.
Obviously, Jesus wept more than once.
Luke 19:41 As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it.
And perhaps a lesser-known passage of Jesus weeping is...
Heb. 5:7-8, Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and (He) was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
Romans 12:15 says, Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
This is what love does. This is what love is.
1 Timothy 1:5 says, The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
The goal is not to keep the law so as to fulfill love, but to love so as to fulfill the law. Not from commandment, but from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and from our sincere faith. Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth, says 1 John 3:18.
The greatest of the virtues is Love because... God is love. 1 John 4:8
and ...love is the fulfillment of the law. Rom. 13:10.
Christ has produced a heightened sense of joy in me... and a mournful sorrow, to the point that I easily weep now, in both situations... joy or sorrow. Lately, I find joy in things I never sensed before, especially children and always the Word of God. The Gospel of John affected me immediately from the beginning. Some people, way in my past, described me as stoic and aloof. But I realized a while ago that my true personality was “UNLOVING.” Jesus changed all that for me.
So in this life we will share in Jesus’ joy and sorrow, and we may weep in every instance, depending not on the situation, but the depth of our love and faith.
1 Peter 1:8 says, Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.
Isaiah 65:17-19 says, “Behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come upon the heart.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create
Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in
Jerusalem, and joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be
heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
I read something of Matthew Henry’s the other day, relevant
to the new year...
"Firmly believing that my times are in God's hand, I
submit myself and all my affairs for the ensuing year, to the wise and gracious
disposal of God's divine providence. Whether God appoints for me, health or
sickness, peace or trouble, comforts or crosses (joys or sorrows), life or death, may His holy
will be done!"
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die
is gain!" Phil.
1:21
My prayer would be the same as Paul’s... that we, be securely grounded in love, fully capable of comprehending with all the saints the width and length and height and depth of God’s love; and that we may come to know practically, the love of Christ which far surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God so that we may have the richest experience of God’s presence in our lives, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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