Why Did Jesus Weep?
“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!” (John 11:33–36).
This was a scene of intense sorrow and pain. Not only was Mary weeping (a form of the verb klaio; “to wail,” or “to lament loudly”), but the Jews who came with her were also weeping and wailing loudly. According to Jewish custom, even the poorest family was expected to hire at least two flute players and a professional wailing woman. Since Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were a prominent family, they would likely have had even more professional mourners, in addition to the others who came to pay their respects (v. 19).
Observing the chaotic scene, Jesus groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. Groaned in the spirit is a translation of the verb embrimaomai, which literally means to snort like a horse. It is used three other times in the New Testament (Matthew 9:30; Mark 1:43; 14:5), where it is translated “straightly” (meaning narrowly or strictly) or “ murmured” (which in the context means criticism with anger). It thus includes the connotation of anger, outrage, or indignation. Jesus appears to have groaned not only because of the death of Lazarus and the grief the pain of separation causes, also with the mourners, who were acting like the pagans who have no hope (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13). Tarasso (troubled) further adds emphasis to the intensity of the Lord’s reaction. The term is similarly used elsewhere to describe Herod’s reaction to the magi’s arrival (Matthew 2:3), the disciples when they saw Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:26); Zacharias when he saw the angel in the Temple (Luke 1:12); the disciples at seeing Jesus after His resurrection (Luke 24:38); Jesus’ reaction to His impending death (John 12:27); and His response to Judas’s imminent betrayal (John 13:21); all translated as ‘troubled’.
Like the others, Jesus wept. But the Greek verb is not the usual word for weeping: klaio, as in verse 33, but dakruo, a rare word that is used only in this place in the New Testament. In contrast to the loud wailing implied by klaio, dakruo has the connotation of quietly bursting into tears; that is, real mourning and grief, unlike the typical funeral mourners. Jesus’ tears came from both by His love for Lazarus, and by His grief over the deadly effects of sin in a fallen world.
Verse 35, “Jesus wept”, though the shortest verse in the Bible, is rich with meaning. It emphasizes Jesus’ humanity; He was truly “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). The Jews correctly perceived Jesus’ sorrow as evidence that He loved Lazarus and wasn’t putting it on “for show” like the actors, but they were completely wrong to think that His tears reflected hopeless despair.
Jesus was now about to use the death of Lazarus to demonstrate that he not only had power of death and resurrection, but that God is compassionate towards men and women who are convicted of their sin before God and their own helplessness to be right in his sight, and call upon him for mercy and forgiveness.
Published by Bible Truth For You. (http://bibletruthforyou.org)
About Dallas MacDonald
Dallas has had a mixed career, first working in biological, chemical and physical laboratories, and have also served in special security services for the Australian Government. He studied theology, Bible doctrines, evangelism and other subjects at Word of Life Bible College, and also served an internship as an Associate Pastor at the Parkes Independent Baptist Church. Dallas also preached about Jesus Christ in rural New South Wales and Queensland.
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