Jesus Wept

“Jesus wept.” John [11:35]


This is commonly referred to as the shortest verse in the bible. For such a small verse, it certainly holds a lot of weight. At this point in the gospel of John, Jesus has just learned of the death of one of His closest friends, Lazarus. Lazurus’ sister Mary and some of the other Jews come out to meet Jesus, weeping. Jesus takes notice of this and “is deeply moved” (John [11:33]). He then asks where Lazarus has been buried and is led to the tomb. Jesus, overcome with grief, weeps over the loss of His friend. 


The beautiful thing about this verse is that it points directly to the humanity of Christ: fully human, fully God. As humans, we have the innate ability to experience a multitude of emotions – love, joy, peace, fear, pain, anger, etc. – and some even simultaneously. I take comfort in knowing that God, through His son Jesus, meets us in our sorrow and pain to offer comfort and healing. As followers of Christ, we can act as an extension of this unconditional love by joining with others in their sorrow (or joy). 


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