JESUS WEPT
John 11:25-27, 35
John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said to her, \”I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?\”
John 11:35
Jesus wept.
THE REASON JESUS ALLOWS DEATH
Why did the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings weep? He knows everything
in advance and controls everything. Why would He weep?
Four days earlier, Jesus received the word that Lazarus was sick. Jesus knew
Lazarus was dead by the time the messenger got to Him. Jesus knew the
purpose of Lazarus\’ death.
Jesus could have healed with a word, He did not need to be in Bethany
Had he wanted to, Jesus could have slipped into town, touched Lazarus
, and slipped back out. He let Lazarus die for the good of all believers.
JESUS ACTS TO GIVE THE FATHER GLORY
John 11:4-6
\”This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God\’s glory so that God\’s Son may be glorified through it.\” 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.
Jesus went straight to the tomb of Lazarus and wept. As usual, a crowd follow
Jesus to witness His reactions and to watch His every move. Mixed in the crowd
was His enemy, the religious leaders.
Some say He wept because of the loss of a friend. When Jesus came to Jerusalem
He stayed at Mary and Martha\’s home, the sisters of Lazarus.
Grief was part of the nature of Jesus\’ character
Isaiah 53:3
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Grief is a normal emotion for the loss of a loved one. Let me suggest that Jesus
was not grieving for Lazarus. He was dead but would be alive at His command.
Consider what He said.
John 11:4-5
\”This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God\’s glory so that God\’s Son may be glorified through it.\”
Your troubles are not all about you. Sometimes they are given to you so you can have
reason to Glorify the Father and the Son.
JESUS WEPT FOR BELIEVERS
The word wept in this case is dakruo which means “He shed a tear “
as opposed to the word klaio which means a “loud expression”. Jesus shed a tear
but it was not for Lazarus. The crowd was close enough to see the tear rolling
down His cheek and assumed it was because of His love for Lazarus.
Let me suggest some reasons why our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ wept or
shed a tear.
Jesus wept because of Mary and Martha’s unbelief. They were students of Jesus
yet they did not see the big picture. The sisters had faith in Jesus because they had
witnessed His healing power, but they had some doubt that He would make it to
Bethany in time.
Mary and Martha were closer to Jesus than the Centurion, the Roman soldier
who had faith that He could heal from a distance. The Roman soldier had no
relationship with Jesus but Mary and Martha did.
Mary and Martha blamed Jesus for the death of their brother,
Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
Has anybody ever been there? Lord if you had shown up, I wouldn\’t
be in this situation.
Jesus had revealed to Martha earlier that He had power over life and death.
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, \”I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?\”
It just went over her head. She went back and told Mary Jesus was in town, not
mentioning verse 25. Mary came to Jesus, Lord if you had been here my
brother would not have died.
I think Jesus wept because Mary and Martha didn’t understand their prayer.
Request. There is no mention of what illness caused Lazarus\’ death. There is no
mention of Lazarus being cured permanently of all illnesses.
Lazarus was going to die again. The family would grieve for Lazarus
one more time.
As we grow the body begins to deteriorate. Sooner are later the body is worn
out. When our older parents get sick we pray for their recovery. Not God’s will
but our will. If they recover, God may keep them here for you still suffering.
God has already determined the day we will die. There is a time when we need
to ask them, Mamma, Daddy what do you want?
JESUS WEPT FOR UNBELIEVERS
I think Jesus wept because the nation, of Israel had rejected Him. He said
I came for the lost sheep of Israel
Matthew 15:24
24 He answered, \”I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.\”
Crowds witnessed every miracle He did, and they failed to realize He
was the Messiah they were taught in the scriptures was coming. They didn\’t
consider that no other man could do what He did. They drank all the
graces he gave with no impact on their lives.
Maybe Jesus wept because the leaders of the religious community
were leading His people astray. They were standing in the crowd waiting
for Him to say something against their traditions that they could condemn
Him for.
John 12:10-11
So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.
The Chief Priest couldn’t perform any miracles. They were so blinded by their
desire for power, control, and recognition that they could not see the truth in
the scriptures they taught.
Jesus may have wept because His four brothers and sisters were not students of
the gospel and didn’t know who He was. They thought Jesus was out of His mind.
Mark 3:20-21
Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, \”He is out of his mind.\”
Jesus may have wept because His mother knowing who He was, didn’t make it known
to his sibling her discussion with the Angel Gabriel about Her virgin Birth. She had not discussed with her other children that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.
Maybe Jesus wept for the world lost in sin. Some will accept Him and many will not.
The world is influenced by the lies of Satan, eat, drink, and be merry, you can get
what you want when you want it. God will understand.
John 10:16
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
JESUS WEPT FOR THE UNRESPONSIVE CHURCH
Maybe Jesus wept for the Christian community that is complacent and not
active.
Matthew 9:37-38
\”The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Maybe Jesus wept because we are worried, sad, and fearful and not living the life
that He made available to us.
John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Maybe Jesus wept because He is standing in front of us and we still live in darkness
John 12:35-36
Walk while you have the light before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.\”
Maybe Jesus wept because the Christian community is not the salt of the earth
Mark 9:50
\”Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.\”
Jesus loves us and is grieved that his grace is not received fully by us
Nowhere in the Bible do we find Lazarus giving praise to Jesus for what was done.
We find Lazarus reclining at the dinner table with Jesus but never a Word proclaiming
Jesus as his lord and savior.
Jesus always has us on His mind. He grieves for us when we are not in fellowship
with Him.
Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Jesus has done everything to make us comfortable while we run this Christian race.
Romans 8:28-29
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Jesus loved us so much that He went to the cross to die for our sins. He took
our place on the cross. John 3:26 God so loved the world……
Jesus loves you so much that He is ahead of you everywhere you go.
Psalms 139:7-8
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
We must believe that Jesus is with us, in us, and for us so that there will
be no unnecessary weeping of Jesus. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want.
Considering all that Jesus has done for us, we ought to do all we can
to keep Jesus from weeping for us.
We all know what we are doing to cause Jesus to weep for us.
I say to myself as I say to you, let\’s be watchful, waiting and in prayer
for the return of our Lord and Savior. When He returns there will be no
more weeping.
Weep for me for my ignorance and disobedience. Pray for my
full restoration so Jesus will not have to weep for me.
CLASS QUESTIONS:
WHO DO YOU WEEP FOR?
WHAT WILL YOU DO TO KEEP JESUS FROM WEEPING?
All lessons are posted on my blog; revmmitichell.com
