Jesus and his Tears
During the time when Jesus was traveling and teaching, one of his close friends died. People had told Jesus that he was sick, but Jesus assured them that the sickness would not end in death. Then, once Jesus’ friend died from the sickness, he waited four days before showing up to the tomb. Everyone was already there, mourning, and this is what happened:
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.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
John 11:32-36
If you read the rest of the story, you will know that Jesus’ friend does not stay dead. Jesus amazingly, like he predicted, brings him back to life. But this brings up a very good question: why is Jesus so sad if he knows what will happen? This account says he wept. This is not just shedding a tear… this is the sobbing, shaking kind of crying. Why does Jesus do this?
If you read this passage, you will notice that Jesus’ intense sadness is because he saw his friends mourning. He wept because they wept. He was moved to sob because they were sobbing. Jesus, who knew the ending of the story, who had the power to make everything all right, cried his eyes out because he hated to see the people he loved in mourning.
Many people think that God is sitting far away from us and helps us, but maybe does not feel the things that we feel. Jesus show that is just not true! He feels our feelings intensely because he is close to us and cares about us. When we weep, he weeps with us.
If you are mourning something or feeling sad, know that Jesus is not distant or un-empathetic. He is feeling things just as intensely as you are, and because of that, there is no one better to comfort you.
Prayer for Today
God, it feels strange that you, the Maker of the Earth, want to be so close to me that you feel what I feel. But I am so incredibly grateful for that. Comfort me in what I am feeling, Jesus, and help me know trust that you are with me closely.