Jesus Wept | The Real Reason Jesus Wept - More to The Story - Episode 3
Jesus Wept | The Real Reason Jesus Wept - More to The Story - Episode 3
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Jesus wept. That is one of the most famous scriptures in the Bible, but the opinions on what he wept about varies greatly. What do you think he wept about? More to the story with Nancy Jackson, episode 3. What made Jesus weep, and does he still weep? I believe the humanity that Jesus bore made him weep, and I believe he still weeps over us.
Let's explore John 11. This is the famous scripture where it's the short scripture that says Jesus wept, but let's explore it a little and see what really propelled him to weep, and weep openly as well. So on John 11 verse 4 it says, when Jesus received the message, now this is regarding Lazarus, who was his friend and Martha and Mary's brother, he said, this sickness is not to end in death, but on the contrary, it is to honor God and to promote his glory, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.
Let's skip to 6. Therefore, even when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he still lingered two days longer in the same place where he was. He wanted to make sure that Lazarus had been dead long enough that there would be no dispute at the miracle he was about to perform. Verse 11, he said these things and then added, our friend Lazarus is at rest and sleeping, but I am going there that I may awaken him out of his sleep.
The disciples, and this is verse 12, the disciples answered, Lord, if he is sleeping, he will recover. However, Jesus had spoke of his death, but they thought he was referring to falling into a refreshing sleep. Verse 14, so then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
This is funny, sometimes we just have to be blunt, don't we? Verse 15, and for your sake, I am glad I was not there. It will help you to believe, to trust and rely on me. However, let us go to him.
Verse 17, so when Jesus arrived, he found that he, Lazarus, had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. This made me ponder, if something's two miles away, it doesn't take you an additional two days to get there, or does it? I may be missing something here.
Put it in the comments if you have the answer to that one. Let's skip to verse 25. Jesus said to her, I am myself the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in, adheres to, trusts in, and relies on me, although he may die, yet he shall live. And whoever, excuse me, continues to live and believes in, has faith in, cleaves to, and relies on me, shall never actually die at all. Do you believe this? Verse 30, now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the same spot where Martha had met him.
32, when Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw him, she dropped down at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Now I am skipping through these scriptures for time's sake, but let me encourage you to read all of John 11. I'm reading out of the Amplified Bible because that's my favorite.
Verse 33, when Jesus saw her sobbing, and the Jews who came with her also sobbing, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. He chafed in spirit and sighed and was disturbed. And let me point out here, they weren't merely crying, like sometimes we cry with, you know, tears will run down our face and, and, you know, we'll weep, so to speak, but they were sobbing.
And we've all sobbed where our body is physically convulsing with sobs as we're crying. They were grieved. And this grief, this pain that Jesus saw his friends in, moved him.
Now, if he had wept over Lazarus' death back when he was notified, if that had moved him, he would have wept at that point, just like we do. When somebody gives us notice that a loved one of ours has died, we at that moment are wrenched, we are grieved, and we sob. But Jesus did not, because he knew he was going to go raise Lazarus from the dead.
And it didn't disturb him. He referred to him as sleeping, because in his mind, he was going to awake from that sleep, and Jesus was going to have him provide a miracle so that they could believe. This was to show them yet again the majesty and Godhead that Jesus was part of.
But when he saw his dear beloved friend Mary and those with her sobbing, grieving, openly, it moved him. He was deeply, deeply moved in spirit and troubled. I believe the troubled part came from the fact that they didn't believe he was going to raise him from the dead right then.
I think, you know, because Martha had said, well, yeah, on the last day you'll be risen with the rest of us. That's not what Jesus meant. Now, these are people that had lived with him for nearly three years by his side, and seen not only the miracles that we see in the Bible that are made note of in the Bible, but it also said that many, many, many other miracles that were too numerous to count were done.
So if they had lived with him every single day, heard his teaching, knew the character of Jesus, and seen the wonders that he had done, and they still didn't understand that when he said he was going to raise him from the dead, that he would. They still had trouble actually believing even after all of that, and that troubled Jesus. But he was deeply moved in spirit because of their pain and because of their grief.
In verse 35 is where we see Jesus wept. Now let's skip to verse 38. Now Jesus again sighing repeatedly and deeply disquieted approached the tomb.
It was a cave, a hole in a rock, and a boulder lay against the entrance close to it. Verse 40, Jesus said to her, did I not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on me, you would see the glory of God. Verse 41, so they took away the stone and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said to the father, I thank you that you have heard me.
Now I think this is interesting because he's not committed the miracle yet. He's not performed the miracle yet, but he's using past tense. He's confident that God is going to work through him.
Are we that confident when we pray? Thank you father that you have heard my request. Verse 42, yes I know you always hear and listen to me, but I have said this on account of and for the benefit of the people standing around, so that they may believe that you did send me, that you have made me your messenger. So here we see that Jesus wept from seeing the pain of those he loved.
He hated to see their grief. He hated to see the pain that they were in, and he wept openly. He heaved sighs.
He was troubled. He was troubled of their disbelief, and both opinions I've heard about this is one or the other. It said that he wept because of Lazarus death, or they say that he wept because of their lack of faith.
I don't believe any of it had to do with Lazarus death because he was confident he was getting ready to raise him from the dead. I believe he wept from the genuine heartfelt grief of seeing their pain, but he was troubled from their disbelief. Okay, let's go to another scripture here.
Let's go to Luke 19, and again let me encourage you to read these in full context. It will help you to get the full picture, but for time's sake I'm condensing. Verse 41, and as he approached he saw the city, and he wept audibly over it, exclaiming, Would that you have known personally, even at least in your day, the things that make for peace, for freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin, and upon which your peace, your security, safety, and prosperity, and happiness depends.
But now they are hidden from your eyes, for a time is coming upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank with pointed stakes around you, and surround you, and shut you in on every side. And they will dash you down to the ground, you Jerusalem and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, all because you did not come progressively to recognize, and know, and understand from observation and experience, the time of your visitation. That is when God was visiting you, the time in which God showed himself gracious toward you, and offered you salvation through Christ.
So he is looking upon the city of Jerusalem who he loves dearly. He's given his life to this city in hope that they would see God in him, in hope that they would recognize the new covenant, the kingdom of God has come in the flesh. But they were stubborn, and they were willful.
Now of course there were many who did follow Jesus, and he knew that in AD 65 through 70 the Roman Empire would send a siege upon that city and do exactly what he just said. They put up spears, they put up an entire army around the walled city, and when it was done there was not a Jewish person left alive except one or two that they had allowed to remain alive for history's sake or prosperity's sake to send the message and to make note of it.
Now there was an anomaly that I just marvel at the goodness of God because it is recorded that every Christian who had either known Jesus personally or who had heard of him and become a Christ follower since his ascension to heaven, all of those people were given warning either in their heart, in their mind, or by another person.
I believe God himself spoke to them, said get out of the city and get out now, because later it says leave everything. When you hear of this, leave the city, leave the rooftop, leave your coat, leave everything and go. He knew there would be an urgency, and they did.
They actually did, and it is recorded that not one Christian died in this siege, only those who chose to reject Jesus. And I think it's a tragic, tragic thing, and if you really read the history, the Josephus and Eusebius and all of those, it's almost more than you can stomach. It is that vile and cruel.
And he wept. He stood on that hillside, and he looked at his beloved Jerusalem, and he wept with grief. You can't make somebody love you.
You can't make somebody follow you. You can't make somebody listen to you, and he did the best that he could within his humanity, because he wanted them to follow him with a heart to follow him. He doesn't want robots.
That's why he's given us free will. If he forced us to do things, if he forced us to be good, if he forced all these things upon us, it would be a hollow victory, because it would mean nothing. But when we come out of a heart of love, out of a heart with a free will to follow him, it means everything.
But he looked at this city grieved, because he saw and he knew what was ahead for them, and he tried with everything he could to prevent that. And the apostles that came after, and the other disciples, or the other apostles, and the workers that were converted, there were 3,000 converted on the day of Pentecost, and then they made disciples, and they made other followers of Jesus. And it grew exponentially, but it wasn't enough to save the city of Jerusalem.
So again, he wept from a heartfelt pain of seeing his people hurt. He saw it in his mind's eye. He knew what was coming, and it grieved him, and he wept.
And I believe Jesus still weeps to this day. Yes, he's on the right hand of the Father, but I believe our compassionate and loving Jesus looks down, and when we hurt, he hurts with us, and he weeps with us. And what is the answer to that today? It is the same as it's always been.
Come to me, all you who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It's still the same answer that it's always been. Come to Jesus, and he will relieve your pain.
Think about that today. Check out my other podcasts. The story contains my professionally narrated novels, and after the story, where we discuss those books one section at a time.
Thank you for listening.
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