Why Jesus Wept
Jesus wept. John 11:35.
When Jesus went with Mary and Martha to the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus knew what plans He had for turning the scene of sorrow into one of rejoicing. Yet we see in the Bible record that “Jesus wept.” How could this be?
Jesus wasn’t afraid that Lazarus was stuck there, behind that stone. What we call death is no problem to God. Death has never been any problem to God. Raising Lazarus to life was probably one of the easiest things on earth that Jesus ever did. And when the Lord Himself descends from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the dead in Christ come forth from their sleeping beds, wherever they are, that will be one of the easiest things that God has ever done.
The only problem for God that still goes on is unbelief. That’s the problem. It’s a far greater miracle to see a person go from skepticism and atheism to Jesus, far greater than the raising of Lazarus. Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus because of the unbelief.
They said, “Oh, He’s weeping because He loved him.” No, that wasn’t why He was weeping. He was weeping because of the people in the crowd that didn’t believe. They did not accept what He had to offer. As He had said, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
There was another reason why Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. He wept in sympathy with those who were hurting. Not only with Mary and Martha but with all the sorrowing of all ages, as His glance swept over the centuries, seeing the pain of the human family for ages to come.
His love was so great that He sympathized with the sorrow of His friends, even though He knew it would last but a little while. He longs to relieve the distress of each of His children. He weeps, today, with those of us who weep. And because of the sacrifice He made in our behalf, we have the promise of a time and a place where all our tears will be wiped away.
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