The Weeping Christ

32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”

John 11:32-37 (NASB)

A Dead Lazarus

In my last blog post, I wrote to you regarding the Biblical story of Lazarus and how Jesus, despite the pleadings from Martha and Mary, waited two days more to come to the place where Lazarus was located. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had died and all hope in Lazarus' recovery had faded from the faith of his friends and family. As I mentioned in that post, Jesus' delay in coming to them had been purposeful and He had even told His disciples that He was "glad that He had not been there."

In today's post, I would like to add a second truth that I realized in reading that story. For this, I would like to focus on the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35: Jesus wept. Far too often, I have heard sermons discuss how Jesus wept because of His broken heartedness over how those around Him had been weeping at the loss of Lazarus. They point out that Jesus was tenderly showing His "humanness" and compassion towards the broken hearts of his followers. They will also often point out verse 36: So the Jews were saying, "See how He loved him." However, the Jews who said this could only see the outward weeping reaction, they did not see what Jesus was thinking on the inside. For us today, as those who have come after the Bible was put together, we are allowed a better understanding of what was truly going on at that time.

A Righteous Anger

You need to remember that Martha and Mary had proven their faith that Jesus could heal Lazarus simply by pleading with Him to come and heal him. Even after Jesus arrived at Lazarus' tomb we see them mention again the faith that they once had in Jesus (verse 32): Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” As I wrote last time, their faith only went so far; they believed in healing, not a resurrection from the dead.

Much of our misunderstanding regarding Jesus' weeping comes from our lack of study of verse 33: When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled...

There are two verses in this story where the original Greek is translated into the English phrase "deeply moved:" verse 33 and again in verse 38. It is easy for us to overlook a deeper study of this passage and assume that His being "deeply moved" means that He was saddened at Lazarus's death, or at least at the broken hearts of those around Him. However, when you consult Strong's Concordance, the meaning of the original Greek words used here means that Jesus "snorted with anger and was indignant." The word indignant means "feeling or showing anger or annoyance." This idea that Jesus became angry and indignant and not "broken hearted" is also supported later in verse 33 with the English word we translated as "troubled." The original Greek word used here actually means "to stir or agitate." In reality, seeing those at Lazarus' tomb demonstrate their lack of faith in Christ being able to do anything more for Lazarus caused Christ to weep with anger and moved Him to become agitated.

The first time Jesus became angry, or annoyed (deeply moved) was as He looked around and saw the lack of faith of those who were there at Lazarus' tomb. The second time He became angry (deeply moved) was in verse 38 after people began to say, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?" Yes, it was this questioning of Jesus' ability to heal Lazarus, of His decision to come too late, in their lack of faith for Jesus to be able to do anything more now that Lazarus was dead, that stirred Christ to anger.

You see, we have been told that Jesus wept because of His humanness and brokenness in seeing his friends around Him hurting. But in truth, Jesus wept out of anger because of their lack of faith. Those who knew of the miraculous power of Jesus had exhibited faith that He could heal Lazarus from his sickness, but that was where their faith stopped. Now that Lazarus had died, their faith was gone. Now they had turned their faith into grief, their hope into despair.

Weeping Over a Lack of Faith

This is not the only time we see Jesus weeping over the lack of someone's faith. In Luke 19, as Jesus looks over an unbelieving Jerusalem, He weeps over their lack of faith in who He was and their unwillingness to believe on Him to make their peace with God.

41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. Luke 19:41-42 (NASB)

We must continually remind ourselves and each other of the great need there is for us to be people of faith. It is a childlike faith (Matthew 18:1-3) that God requires of us; to believe as He says regardless of whether or not we understand (John 3:1-21). Remember that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

A childlike faith comes to Christ and says, "I don't understand it all (or maybe even very little), but I believe anyway; I trust you regardless."

Personal Application

So, in gaining this deeper insight into the story of Lazarus, I must ask myself the following question: "Is my lack of faith causing Christ to weep over me?" Where in my life have I given up hope? What is it in me that once believed when the circumstances were easier to mentally process, but now that the situation has become more distressed, I no longer have faith?

This is not meant to be a condemning question nor is it meant to make anyone feel like they have failed in their faith. Instead, I hope it will encourage all who read this to stay the course and keep your eyes on Christ no matter how bleak things may become. Jesus calls us to a life of complete surrender, trusting that His plan is greater, even though we cannot see. Does your faith only extend to what you think you can mentally or physical handle, or do you simply place all your trust in Christ regardless of the outcome of your circumstances? Have you caused Christ to weep over your lack of faith? If so, repent and believe. As a faithful father, He desires to forgive, restore, and renew.

God bless!

Matt