Why Did Jesus Weep?

John 11:32-37

When 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.”

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!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
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This is the only verse in the Bible that records Jesus weeping. Take note the Greek for this word “wept” in the verse above did not meant mourning or intense crying. It means a silent weeping or the shedding of a tear or two. So be reminded that Jesus did not fall on the ground and weep like a baby.

But why did Jesus weep?

That is a question that I would attempt to study and answer in this post today.

Did Jesus cry because he loved Lazarus so much? I would say no. Jesus knew that Lazarus was “asleep” and he intended to resurrect Lazarus. Why would he weep then?
Many would argue that Jesus wept because of Lazarus’ death. This is not true. The Bible records that Jesus was deeply moved in the spirit and he was troubled. Why was he moved and troubled?

Jesus wept because of their lack of faith in him. The people would not have buried Lazarus and placed him in a tomb if they had known that Jesus will come to raise him up again. They would not have acted in disbelief if their faith in God was strong. Having been proving God’s power working through Jesus, the people had not yet believed in Jesus that he was the Son of God. For this very reason Jesus was saddened and troubled.

When Mary led Jesus to the tomb, Jesus probably wept silently when he saw that Mary led him to a tomb instead of a house. Because in a tomb, it could mean that they had lost faith in Jesus but if the body was in a house, it could have meant that they were expecting Jesus to come and heal Lazarus.

This little incident tells us that God has emotions too. And God is would be deeply saddened if we His children were to lose our faith in God. Let us think of all the little incidents that we did not trust God and believe in His power. Let us count each and every one of them and see how much we have made Jesus wept.

Mary and Martha were both close to Jesus and they had both listened to Jesus’ messages intently when he shared with them. But even with a personal encounter with God, they could still acted faithlessly. What more we who have not seen God? Could we then be more faithless than these individuals? I would not say so. God has sent us the Holy Spirit to live in us, making us closer to God than we can ever imagine.

Do not make Jesus cry.

O, Lord. Forgive me for my unbelief.

John 11:25
I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies.