jesus wept?

in john 11, john tells the story of a close friend of jesus dying, and then subsequently being raised from the dead by jesus. jesus' response (his emotion) is what i find interesting in this story. because when he first gets word that lazarus is fallen ill, he is not at all worried about what the final outcome is going to be. everyone else is concerned, but jesus seems to know something everyone else doesn't -he will raise him up!

now, why then when jesus enters the city and sees mary and all the jews gathered around her, was he "moved in the spirit?" why does he cry? he knows what is about to happen. a more appropriate response might have been, "hey, watch this!" but jesus cries. the bible even goes on to say he was "deeply moved" again as he approached the tomb. if you read this story closely and really begin to enter into it, you can get caught up in the emotion of it all. you may even reflect back to a moment in your life when tragedy struck, when your emotions were hitting an all time high and you couldn't even bear to open your eyes because the pain was so great. when words didn't help, when your faith even seemed to waiver. when you might have been asking "where is god?"

why did jesus cry? interesting question. we can only speculate, but my opinion is jesus was broken hearted. knowing how life "should" be and how it actually plays out is heartbreaking. there is immense beauty all around, and yet there is darkness and ugliness to the same extreme. there is joy in this life and there is horrible and awful sadness. and jesus understands this. i am glad we have this story recorded in the bible. jesus cries, jesus wept. here is the son of god - who walked straight out of heaven - into our mess. he actually entered into our story, physically - and experienced the pain of it all. the truth of the incarnation has far reaching implications on our view of god. it is about saving us from our sins, but that is not the whole story. when life is tragic - jesus weeps. when life is too hard and unbearable to even take another step - jesus weeps. when the child is born blind - jesus weeps. when life is filled with pain and suffering - jesus weeps. when bombs are falling from the sky - jesus weeps.

jesus wept. god in the flesh, the one we worship and adore, the holy one of god, is "god with us." he is the suffering servant of the world. now take up your cross and follow him, knowing that he is walking alongside us!