"Jesus Wept."
That's it, just two little words. The shortest verse in the entire Bible but when you stop to think about it, it is loaded with wonderful meaning!
Let me set the scene for you. Jesus has arrived in Bethany after hearing that Lazarus has died. Martha and Mary have both told Him that if He had been there, their brother would not have died. Jesus, seeing their tears, is deeply moved and sheds tears Himself.
Now, a couple of things cross my mind as I think about this:
- If you look back to verse 11 you see that Jesus tells his disciples that "our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." (NIV) Jesus knew He was going to raise him from the dead!
- If you go back farther to verse 6 you see that Jesus intentionally waited two days before He set out for Bethany. He knew Lazarus was going to die and was not in a hurry to get there because He was planning to perform miraculous works to bring glory to God.
So why did Jesus weep?
Here's what I think: Jesus loves us so much that even though He knows He is going to take care of all our problems and see us through all of our trials and tribulations, He still feels our pain when we hurt. When we feel like our heart is breaking, His heart is breaking too. When we fall down and get hurt on the road of life, He hurts right along with us!
He is all powerful God with unlimited power and authority to create or destroy universes yet he will put His loving arms around us and cry right along with us until the pain is gone. He is our best friend and like a true friend, He is never going to turn His back on us when we are down!
So the next time you feel alone and imagine that nobody cares or understands what you are going through, remember this little verse, and know that Jesus is by your side, matching you tear for tear as His heart aches with the pain you are going through! But unlike any earthly friend we have, He is also able to carry us through that pain if we just put our lives in His capable hands.
