Jesus Wept

John 11:28-37 And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
 
“Jesus wept.” Oh, this is such great comfort! Have you considered that if the Triune God had not wept over death, Jesus would not have come to give life.
    Can you imagine the incarnate Lord of Life standing in front of a grave? He had surely done this before. Other friends had died. Apparently his earthly father Joseph was dead when Jesus’ ministry began. Jesus had wept before.
    But why would the Resurrection and the Life have wept here? He knows that in a few minutes this grave will open, and his friend will walk out. Why did Jesus weep?
    When we consider Scripture’s revelation of God’s great work to redeem mankind, we can understand Jesus wept for all humanity. He wept because so very much had been lost. After all, Jesus is the eternal God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1-2)  At the Father’s command and with the Spirit’s power, the Son spoke life into the void. He formed a sparkling universe of extraordinary, perfect beauty. The Resurrection and the Life put eternity into the hearts of man. Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Jesus wants us to know what God has done from beginning to end.
    With a grievous heart Jesus witnessed Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit. How could Jesus deal with death –  the death of God’s holy perfection, the death of peace, the death of humanity’s unity with our Creator?
    He could only tolerate the corrupted creation because he knew his resurrection power would come to redeem the world. Since eternity before time, the Son knew the day would come when mankind would experience once again the life-giving wonder of the Father’s imperative: “Let us make man in our image.” (Genesis 1:26)
    Jesus wept because he loves us.
    Jesus’ love is why Jesus’ walk to the cross is called “passion”. He has a deep passion to awaken his people to witness and know his resurrection power.
    Do you see this power? Do you know it in your life? May it be so.
 
Resurrection Truth: Jesus is alive. He wants you to be alive in Him!