Jesus Wept

I read the story of Lazarus today, and I was most definitely intrigued.

The brevity of John 11:35 caught me by surprise: "Jesus wept." (That's a pretty easy memory verse, by the way...)

Why did he weep? Because he loved Lazarus? Sure, I guess. But there seems to be more going on than that. Jesus knew he was sick, and also declared that the type of sickness didn't lead to death. And he also said that he was going to wake Lazarus up on his way to Bethany, where Lazarus lived and more recently, was laid to rest.

Jesus also loved Lazarus' sisters, Martha and Mary. He met both and openly received their anguish in so many words: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Which was true. He also saw the people who were gathered to comfort and offer condolences to the sisters. They were also quite grieved by the sound of it.

He knew Lazarus was to die, and he knew that he was to raise Lazarus from the dead. With that knowledge, why did he weep? Why not just say, "Cheer up, watch this!" and poof Lazarus alive, no tears needed?

Maybe it was a production, or maybe because it wasn't fun where Lazarus was, but neither of those assumptions seem to jive with the rest of what I know of Jesus. Throughout the gospels, Jesus shows incredible compassion to many, including those who betrayed him and wanted to kill him.

I'm beginning to think he wept because of the anguish and grief that had to occur for God's glory to be revealed. He was obviously emotionally attached to the Lazarus clan. But if he came zooming in and poofed Lazarus well before he died, those present wouldn't have seen what God could really do. They'd miss the point. So would we.

Remember, that was the plan all along--Lazarus had to die. And in the interim, where the grief was, he identified with those who felt the pain. Not for show, but for real. Sickness is rough, especially the terminal kind. And it happened to a good man, with a family that believed in the deity of Jesus and the promise of God. They still trusted Jesus even though they knew he had the power to heal, and deliberately chose not to. And he understood their pain. Jesus wept.

This changes what I normally think about God when I'm in times of strife. A lot of times, I think He says back to me, "Hey, cheer up, I have a plan!" And I have to deal with it. But understanding that God in human form grieved with those experiencing the pain says something different. That He understands living in this world hurts. That it grieves Him when we cry out in anguish and desperation. And understanding that sometimes, it has to be that way, and it pains Him deeply. Yet, unless that occurs, we would never begin to understand His glory. We would not know the extent of His love and desire for us. We would zoom through this life missing the whole point.