A Second Look Pt. 2

"Jesus Wept" John 11:35


Now I know you're probably wondering what i'm getting at, and that's completely understandable, because when I first felt like this should be my next verse I was at a complete loss of ideas, but then I thought about what I find misleading about this verse...and the answer hit me.

Nothing.

There is nothing misleading about that verse...I also feel no emotional purpose to this verse. Which just isn't right; So I decided to look at it in context.

17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles[a] from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ,[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When 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."
33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" -- John 11:17-37


So when Jesus wept he was thinking of his dear friend Lazarus, whose death he could have prevented had he been there. I do not believe that he was crying because he wasn't there to save Lazarus, he could have done that from anywhere. In my opinion, Jesus wept because he missed Lazarus, showing that he does in fact love us. Whether you believe it or not if the God of the Universe (that's right, the Universe) will cry because he misses a friend who lived on Earth, a mere human of his own creation, then he surely loves us the same.

--Jared