Jesus wept.
Why would Jesus weep?
Even deeper…
Why would Jesus weep, knowing that he was going to soon after take away the reason for the tears?
The context in John 11 is that Jesus has received word that his friend Lazarus is quite sick. Upon hearing the news, Jesus does not rush to his side but rather takes his time before even embarking on the journey.
When he arrives one of the man’s sisters and then the other say to Jesus.
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:32
The scripture then tells us this:
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 11:33-36
The crazy thing is that the very next thing that Jesus does after this is to go to the tomb of Lazarus and powerfully call him back to life.
Jesus knows that he’s going to take away the cause for the tears.
And yet he doesn’t tell his friends Mary and Martha that it’s all gonna be alright.
He doesn’t tell them that she’s wasting her time crying because they need to go take care of the situation.
Instead,..
In response to her her deep emotion…
Jesus shares in her sorrow.
Jesus wept.
His emotion was so visibly profound that those onlookers gathered there said,
“See how he loved him!” John 11:36
Since Jesus cried even though he knew things were soon going to be alright, I think that means that it’s okay for us to cry.
When we lose a friend. Even though we believe in heaven. Even though we believe in the resurrection. Even though we believe that God works all things together for good for those that love God and are called according to his purpose.
It’s okay to cry.
It’s okay for us to feel what we’re feeling. To feel the love. To feel the pain and the loss.
It’s not necessarily a lack of faith.
After all, Jesus did it.
And so I say…
If Jesus can cry, so can I.
Going Deeper 